Frequently Asked Questions

Explore the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative's Frequently Asked Questions for answers to questions about the initiative and its metrics and methodology. The first section below offers an overview, with the next two sections exploring the Metrics and Methodology.

Overview

The Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative was conceptualized in support of the CareerSource Florida Board of Directors' core value of continuous improvement for Florida's workforce development system. Aligned with CareerSource Florida's corporate goals and supported by local workforce development board leaders, this initiative represents the evolution of how we measure, track and improve performance at the state and local levels. The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) includes Primary Indicators of Performance in which all states are responsible for achieving targeted performance. The metrics and components included in the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative offer additional measures specifically aligned with WIOA and the goals and strategies of the State of Florida.
The initiative was designed and developed based on input from local workforce development board leaders during strategy planning and feedback sessions. Team members from CareerSource Florida and the Department of Economic Opportunity conducted best practices research, historical data analyses and evaluation of past systems. Florida's Performance Funding Model was instrumental in the design of the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative. Additionally, a Performance Advisory Council, consisting of local workforce development board representatives, was established to provide ongoing feedback and recommendations for continuous improvement.
The Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative focuses on three mission-critical metrics:
  • Employment Rate 1st Quarter After Exit: The percentage of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and Wagner-Peyser participants* who exited the system and had certified wages the first quarter after exit.
  • Participant Training Rate: The percentage of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act participants* who received training services.
  • Business Penetration: The number of business establishments provided a staff-assisted, high-value service by a local workforce development board.
* Excludes participants served through time-limited special initiative grants that do not include local formula funds (e.g., apprenticeship grants).
Local workforce development boards must be currently certified as required by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (per Administrative Policy 91 and Administrative Policy 93) to participate in the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative.
The Metrics, Methodology and FAQ pages on this website provide a wealth of information regarding the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative. To view local workforce development board performance on this initiative, select a board from the dropdown on the website's navigation menu once logged in to the site.
The CareerSource Florida Performance website is updated on a monthly basis, around the 15th of the month as follows:
  • Preliminary data supporting the three Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative metrics is updated as soon as it is available.
  • Final quarterly data for the training and business metrics is updated after the end of the month following the end of each quarter to allow local workforce development boards a full month after each quarter to finalize their data in Employ Florida.
  • Final quarterly wage data for the employment metric is updated five months after the first quarter after exit (when wages are earned) to allow for the certification of wages by the Florida Department of Revenue.

Below is the schedule for the certified wage data for fiscal year 2020-2021 performance:

Performance Period / Participant Exit Dates 1st Quarter After Exit / Wages Earned Wage Data Updated Online
July 1 – Sept. 30, 2020 Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2020 May 2021
Oct. 1 – Dec. 31, 2020 Jan. 1 – March 31, 2021 August 2021
Jan. 1 – March 31, 2021 April 1 – June 30, 2021 November 2021
April 1 – June 30, 2021 July 1 – Sept. 30, 2021 February 2022
The CareerSource Florida Board of Directors allocated $5 million per year to recognize local workforce development board performance during fiscal years 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 on the metrics within the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative.
Performance awards are allocated using the federal formula funding model, with each local workforce development board allotted the same proportionate percentage as their federal formula funding. Each local workforce development board's annual allocation is divided evenly by quarter among the three metrics.
Performance in the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative is measured on a quarterly basis. Current-year performance, including additional credit, is compared to performance, excluding additional credit, from the same quarter in the previous year.
Each local workforce development board that meets the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act requirements for certification and meets its target for a Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative metric in any given quarter, receives award funding for that quarter.
Inquiries regarding the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative may be sent to CareerSource Florida by email at performance@careersourceflorida.com.

Metrics

The numerator and denominator for each Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative metric is as follows:

  • Employment Rate 1st Quarter After Exit

    • Numerator: Participants* who exited during the period being measured and had certified wages, reported by the Department of Revenue, in the first quarter after exit.

    • Denominator: Participants* who exited during the period being measured.

  • Participant Training Rate

    • Numerator: Participants* who are in training, or have completed training, during the period being measured.

    • Denominator: Participants* served during the period being measured.

  • Business Penetration

    • Numerator: The number of business establishments that were provided a staff-assisted, high-value service by the local workforce development board during the period being measured.

    • Denominator: N/A (this metric is not a rate)

*Excludes participants served through time-limited special initiative grants that do not include local formula funds (e.g., apprenticeship grants).

The Employ Florida service codes included in the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative were selected to align with the service codes included in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act's Primary Indicators of Performance.
The Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative recognizes performance with award funding allocations aligned to the baseline funding formulas for each local workforce development board. Awards for the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative support core services rendered by local workforce development boards to job seekers and businesses; and, therefore, excludes participants served through time-limited special initiative grants that do not include local formula funds.
The Employment 1st Quarter After Exit metric includes only certified wage data from the Florida Department of Revenue.

Participants who complete training during a quarter will not be counted in the numerator the following quarter, unless they are receiving additional training. Participants will be counted in the denominator of subsequent quarters if they continue to receive services, other than training, in those quarters.

If participants are no longer receiving services, they should be exited from the system per Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act's exit definition, available in Attachment I of the Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 10-16, Change 1.

The Business Penetration metric measures the number of business establishments provided a staff-assisted, high-value service in each performance quarter. The additional credit added to the metric measures the number of staff-assisted, high-value services provided to business establishments in up to five board-selected industry sectors.
A local workforce development board receives credit in the business metric for any business establishment served by that board regardless of geographic location.

Methodology

The methodology for the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative is as follows:

  • Targets are set for each local workforce development board based on thorough reviews and analyses of historical performance data. Updated performance targets are provided as data becomes available following the completion of each quarter.

  • As data becomes available, the Employment Rate, Training Rate and Business Penetration for the quarter being measured is calculated using the metric’s numerator and denominator, as applicable.

  • Additional credit is added to the Employment Rate, Training Rate and Business Penetration.

  • The performance of local workforce development boards is measured by comparing the quarterly metric including additional credit (e.g., Employment Rate + Additional Credit) to baseline performance (the metric without additional credit from the same quarter in the previous year).

  • Local workforce development boards receive funding awards for each metric for which the improvement/performance target is met each quarter.

Visit the Methodology section of this website for more details.

Quarterly targets for each local workforce development board are set following thorough reviews and analyses of historical and current performance data. The quarterly improvement/performance target for each metric within the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative is based on the Employment Rate, Training Rate and Business Penetration, without additional credit, from the same quarter in the previous year.

Local workforce development boards receive .20 (or one-fifth of a point) in additional credit in the employment and training metrics for each barrier to employment identified in Employ Florida for the participants in the numerator. For individuals with multiple barriers, each barrier counts toward additional credit.

Local workforce development boards also receive .30 (or approximately one-third of a point) for each staff-assisted, high-value service provided to business establishments in up to five board-selected industry sectors identified in their current Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act plan. Industry sectors with more than one NAICS code (e.g., manufacturing, retail trade, and transportation and warehousing) count as one industry sector for the purpose of additional credit. Employ Florida maintains an updated list of NAICS codes.

The Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative follows the definitions for barriers to employment in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. A full list of the barriers to employment included in the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative is available here.
Employ Florida is the sole data source for the Continuous Improvement Performance Initiative. The data for the three metrics and additional credits are pulled from Employ Florida (not Connect, One-Stop Service Tracking, Salesforce, or any other system), with wages certified by the Florida Department of Revenue.