Workforce board asks legislature to fund extra youth‑services hours as WIOA expands to age 24

Tompkins Workforce New York and the Workforce Development Board told legislators they are recommending a maintenance‑level county contribution while asking for a targeted over‑target request to strengthen youth services.

Julia Maddock, Workforce Development Board director, said the board’s recommended budget includes $72,059 in local funding and that the career center’s county amount is $69,921. She told the legislature that most funding remains federal and that the program will maintain existing service levels while adding a grant‑funded disability resource coordination (DRC) halftime position at the career center.

Maddock said an OTR would purchase additional County Youth Services time for program monitoring and to develop staff expertise serving young people through age 24 under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). “This OTR buys 7.5 hours a week,” she said when asked to clarify the request. The change would increase purchased time from 10 hours/week to a total of 17.5 hours/week to support summer youth employment monitoring and WIOA youth programs.

The board emphasized that WIOA has increased emphasis on intensive case management and aligning training with employer demand. Maddock said the career center served more than 1,600 people in the last program year, the summer youth program served 207 young people this year, and the average earnings for customers placed and retained was about $29,000. On placement rates, she said the board’s retention/placement performance “tends to be around 70%.”

During questions, legislators pressed on what “training” means. Maddock said it is “predominantly occupational skill training,” supplemented by soft‑skills components as part of contractor agreements, and that training spend must be tied to demand occupations in the local labor market.

Members also asked about services for people returning from incarceration. Maddock said youth programs already serve participants with prior criminal justice involvement and that the career center provides federal bonding assistance and coordinates with the Community Justice Center and BOCES to support reentry populations.

Maddock flagged a potential dislocation at a local employer, saying officials are preparing for services if a WARN notice is issued; she estimated up to 185 workers could need retraining and said staff are pursuing dislocated‑worker funding and a Trade Adjustment Act petition on behalf of those workers.

Next steps: the legislature will consider the OTR for additional youth‑services hours as part of budget deliberations; program staff said they would provide demand‑occupation lists and follow up on specific data requests from legislators.