Highlights: September Board and Committee Meetings
NASWA held meetings for the Board of Directors and Policy Committees in New Orleans, LA on September 24, 2024.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The NASWA Board of Directors held a one-day meeting led by Board Chair, Michael Harrington (VT). The Board received updates on policy committees and heard from President and CEO, Scott B. Sanders. NASWA teams presented updates on WIOA reauthorization, the UI Data Dashboard, the Open UI Initiative and highlights from the fiscal year. The Board also heard from the USDOL and held a roundtable discussion. The next Board of Directors meeting will be on Tuesday, December 3, 2024 in Marco Island, Florida.
ADMINISTRATION & FINANCE (A&F)
More than 40 members attended the A&F Committee meeting, representing over 25 states. Members discussed committee business and held a roundtable discussion. The next committee meeting will be on February 13, 2025, in Washington, DC, following NASWA's Winter Policy Forum.
COMMUNICATIONS
More than 25 members attended the Communications Committee meeting, representing 20 states. Attendees heard updates from the outreach, resources and onboarding workgroups, and established a new workgroup on AI in communications. Host-state Louisiana shared insights on their workforce programs and states participated in a robust roundtable discussion. Eightfold and the DC Department of Employment Services presented on AI in Strategic Communications and elections were held for Vice Chair-Nominee. The next committee meeting will be on February 13, 2025, in Washington, DC, following NASWA's Winter Policy Forum.
EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING (E&T)
More than 70 members attended the E&T Committee meeting, representing over 35 states. Meeting attendees covered a range of topics, including delivering workforce services to non-custodial parents and exploring new models of service delivery. The meeting also featured a joint session with NASWA’s WLMI Committee, updates from USDOL-ETA’s Office of Workforce Investment, an overview of a new USDOL-VETS policy and a roundtable discussion. The next committee meeting will be on February 13, 2025, in Washington, DC, following NASWA's Winter Policy Forum.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY (EO)
More than 30 members attended the EO Committee meeting, representing over 20 states. In addition to getting updates from Miguel Escobar, Dong Kim and Naomi Barry-Perez from the USDOL Civil Rights Center, members heard about updates to the National Labor Exchange (NLx) Research Hub from NASWA’s Paul Daniels. Members also identified various work groups for the coming year, Promising Practices, William J. Harris Award, Communication, and Legislative Priorities, and elected to begin hosting monthly virtual “fireside chats” to educate, inform and share ideas with each other more frequently. The first call was held Wednesday, October 30. The next in-person committee meeting will be Thursday, February 13, 2025 in Washington, D.C. following NASWA's Winter Policy Forum.
TECHNOLOGY
More than 40 members attended the Technology Committee meeting, representing over 25 states. The Committee held a roundtable discussion to discuss state IT priorities and initiatives and heard updates from NASWA’s Workforce ITSC and UI ITSC teams. In addition, members from Tennessee and New Mexico shared spotlights on recent projects, and Arkansas provided an update on its CiviForm project. The next committee meeting will be February 13 and 14, 2025 in Washington, D.C. following NASWA's Winter Policy Forum.
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE (UI)
More than 70 members attended the UI Committee meeting, representing over 35 states. Representatives from USDOL shared updates and members held a roundtable discussion to share accomplishments and seek feedback from each other. The next committee meeting will be on Wednesday, December 4, 2024 in Marco Island, Florida.
WAGE & HOUR
More than 20 members attended the Wage & Hour Committee meeting, representing over 10 states. The Committee heard highlights from host-state Louisiana, updates from USDOL’s Wage and Hour Division, and hosted a state roundtable discussion. Members from New Jersey also shared state practices.
WORKFORCE & LABOR MARKET INFORMATION (WLMI)
More than 30 members attended the WLMI Committee meeting, representing over 20 states. A panel with members representing North Carolina, Arkansas, Texas and South Carolina discussed Artificial Intelligence – Use Cases for LMI Production. Representatives from New Jersey and Massachusetts shared insights on clean energy industries and occupations – approaches to coding. Additional meeting topics included a roundtable discussion on staff development, updates from NASWA teams, and a moderated discussion with USDOL’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The meeting also featured a joint session with NASWA’s E&T Committee. The next committee meeting will be February 13 and 14, 2025 in Washington, D.C. following NASWA's Winter Policy Forum.
