MINUTES OF THE LINCOLN TRAIL WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT BOARD

Executive Committee

November 21, 2018

The Lincoln Trail Workforce Development Board (LTWDB) Executive Committee met on Wednesday, November 21, 2018 at 11:30 am EST, at the Kentucky Career Center-Lincoln Trail in Elizabethtown.

MEMBERS PRESENT 

Myra Covault

Mo Miller

Jim Rachlin

Dean Schamore

MEMBERS ABSENT

Stan Carton*

Laura LaRue*

Trish Niles*

STAFF

Angela Crenshaw

Sherry Johnson

Jackie Masterson

*Denotes excused absence

Dean Schamore, Chair, called the meeting to order. It was determined that a quorum was present. 

ACTION ITEMS

Consideration of Minutes –August 15, 2018 and October 25, 2018 (special called)

After review of the August 15, 2018 Executive Committee minutes, Mo Miller made a motion to approve the minutes as presented, Myra Covault seconded; motion carried. The minutes from the October 25, 2018 special called meeting were also reviewed. Mo Miller made a motion to approve the minutes as presented, Myra Covault seconded; motion carried.

Set Agenda for September Board Meeting

Committee members discussed the agenda for the September Board meeting and agreed on the following items:

• Overview of the Workforce Crisis Taskforce activities by Strategy Matters
• Update on outreach activities by Heartland Communications Consultants
• Update on the status of the KY Health Medicaid program
• Update on funding for ECTC Workforce Solutions by Dr. Juston Pate

DISCUSSION ITEMS

American Greetings Update

Jackie Masterson provided an update on Rapid Response activities for the American Greetings closure. Ms. Masterson stated that three Rapid Response sessions were held on November 1, 2018 for sixty employees. Kentucky Career Center-Lincoln Trail staff returned to the company the week of November 13^th to assist with filing of unemployment insurance claims as well as provide one-on-one information about programs and services.   Ms. Masterson indicated that three additional Rapid Response sessions were scheduled for November 29^th for eighty employees and the last layoff would occur in February of 2019, impacting approximately fifteen employees. Ms. Masterson stated that few people were taking advantage of training and most were getting jobs.

Workforce Challenges Ahead

Sherry Johnson provided an update on the SNAP E & T program. Ms. Johnson stated that, although the SNAP E & T contract was executed prior to November 1, 2018, neither the contract nor the funding had been received. Ms. Johnson expressed concerns to the State regarding the funding and they indicated that a notice of funding availability (NFA) would not be issued until the local workforce area closed their books. Ms. Johnson indicated the books would be closed, reports submitted next week and anticipated NFA once this was completed.

KY Health – Medicaid Community Engagement

Sherry Johnson informed the committee that the KY Health program was reapproved on November 20, 2018 with a proposed implementation date of April 2019. Ms. Johnson provided the committee with a copy of the State’s press release. Ms. Johnson stated that, in order for the program to be meaningful, participants should be placed in training or some type of work component to help them get off of benefits. Ms. Johnson also discussed the cliff effect if benefits are taken away too quickly and the work of the Workforce Crisis Taskforce to address this. Ms. Johnson expressed hope that the LTWDB would put heavy emphasis on meaningful plans to get people back to work.

Other Workforce Discussion

Ms. Johnson shared the Governor will be attending the KWIB Meeting on December 4^th to sign an Executive Order to establish the KentuckyWorks Collaborative. More information will be shared after that meeting. Ms. Johnson also shared that local workforce areas would be asked to defend their performance at the February Kentucky Workforce Investment Board meeting. Chair Dean Schamore agreed to participate, if needed. Ms. Johnson also discussed the implementation of the new case management system KEE Suite and the issues that have been experienced.

NEW BUSINESS

Jim Rachlin provided an overview of the Workforce Crisis Taskforce activities to date and distributed a copy of the October 2018 Strategy Matters report. Mr. Rachlin indicated that all subcommittee activities were going well. He also mentioned that Dr. Juston Pate requested that the taskforce include ECTC’s University Center concept into their official plans to show local support of the initiative and to help get more University’s to tie into the Center.   The committee agreed to include the information in their objectives on the business investments side. Mr. Rachlin also mentioned the challenge of obtaining data to update the Workforce Crisis Taskforce goals. Mr. Rachlin stated he discussed this issue with Liz O’Connor, with Strategy Matters, and the possibility of adjusting the metrics to reflect the data that was available.

OLD BUSINESS

None

ADJOURNMENT

With no further business to discuss the meeting was adjourned.