Workforce Development Award Nomination Idaho

Idaho Workforce Development Award Nomination: Workforce Service Delivery Transition

Contact Information of Individual Submitting Nomination

Nominator: Laurel McMahan

Email Address: laurel.mcmahan@labor.idaho.gov

Agency Name: Idaho Department of Labor

Workforce Service Delivery Transition

Idaho Department of Labor transitioned 14 small offices from brick and mortar offices to providing services from partner locations (libraries, local government offices, nonprofit organizations, etc) in multiple cities and towns. The staff in these areas selected 2-3 additional towns within a 2 hour driving radius from the previous office location. The result is an increase from serving customers in 14 locations to providing service in 48 locations. Customers with transportation and other barriers have been overjoyed that they no longer have to figure out how to get to IDOL because IDOL comes to them. Staff have publicly advertised office hours available for walk-in customer traffic as well as hours available for meetings or outreach.

Provide a statement of results, accomplishments, impacts and any other appropriate information that demonstrates why the nominee’s efforts described in question #1 were an exceptional contribution. Response (400 word limit).

According to IDOL labor economist Sam Wolkenhauer, "88 percent of Idaho’s land area is in counties classified as rural, which is home to 28 percent of the state’s total population." IDOL's new service delivery model allows rural staff to more than triple their presence in rural Idaho. Many locations are reporting more walk-in traffic under the new model than any other post-recession time. Customer remarks have included things such as, "the government finally did something right and "this saves me so much time," with many also being introduced to the breadth of IDOL services for the first time. IDOL staff have met with walk-in customers in need of Vocational Rehabilitation services and have been able to connect them. This access did not exist prior to IDOL being in their community. Although Labor has been the vanguard for reaching into some of these remote communities, it has truly allowed Idaho to achieve continuity of the One-Stop vision by bringing services to areas often overlooked.

Provide a brief description of the nominee’s significant contributions in any one of the other two areas listed under “criteria” that you did not focus on above.Response (400 word limited).

The above described service delivery model meets the following criteria: Innovative Set of Services and Innovative Service Delivery. For the final criteria, "National Impact," IDOL is committed to sharing the results of the service delivery shift as metrics continue to accumulate. These results will be shared both regionally and nationally and IDOL hopes to set some nationally replicable best practice standards for the provision of Workforce Services.