WIOA and Changes to LACES

WIOA (Workforce Investment Opportunity Act) was signed into law on July 22, 2014. The purpose of WIOA was to bring the Departments of Labor and Education together to provide job seekers access to a) employment and training services, and b) adult education and literacy programs.  WIOA replaced the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998.  LACES tracks and reports WIOA information related to the "Title II  Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)" program administered by the Education Department (ED).

The WIOA performance measures for Adult Education went into effect on July 1, 2016 (replacing the cohort process that began on July 1, 2012).  This represented a change in the way data is collected in LACES and reported to OCTAE (Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education).  Beginning in the 2016-2017 reporting year, data entered into LACES is reported with the new WIOA performance measures, which includes:

• Periods of Participation

• Updated NRS Tables 

• Statewide and Local Performance Report

It is important that all LACES users familiarize themselves with the NRS (National Reporting System) guidelines as they pertain to WIOA. LACES is OCTAE and NRS compliant, and is designed to report data based on the guidelines of those organizations. 

Additional information regarding WIOA can be found at the NRS website.  The "Featured Resources" section on the NRS home page contains links to important information, including the NRS Technical Assistance Guide.

How is my program affected by these changes?

The Genius/LACES goal was to implement the WIOA changes so your day-to-day data entry would not be greatly impacted.   WIOA related changes were released to all LACES clients, which includes state ABE/Literacy and Corrections, and independent literacy agencies. Even though many independent literacy agencies do not report to the NRS, the business rules for collecting and reporting WIOA data are the same in all LACES clients. 

You should enter your data in a timely manner and let the LACES rules do the rest.  For example, when you add assessments, enrollments, and hours, a Period of Participation (PoP) record will automatically populate based on the activity and dates associated with the assessments, enrollments, and hours records.

If your state data matches Employment, High School Equivalency attainment, or Postsecondary enrollment/completion, you do not need to manually enter those records. However, check with your agency director or state department of education for guidance if you are unsure.  

As always, it is important to enter data on the schedule set by your agency or state.  Because NRS reports are due on October 1 each year for the previous fiscal year (7/1 to 6/30) it is especially important that you stay up-to-date with your data entry. 

Acronyms and Definitions