Department of Labor

The Department of Labor fosters and promotes the welfare of the job seekers, wage earners, and retirees of the United States by improving their working conditions, advancing their opportunities for profitable employment, protecting their retirement and health care benefits, helping employers find workers, strengthening free collective bargaining, and tracking changes in employment, prices, and other national economic measurements. In carrying out this mission, the Department administers a variety of Federal labor laws including those that guarantee workers’ rights to safe and healthful working conditions; a minimum hourly wage and overtime pay; freedom from employment discrimination; unemployment insurance; and other income support. KRA has provides the following services for DOL.

Oneonta, New York Job Corps Center.
Five-year contract to continue the operation and management of the Oneonta Job Corps Center, which provides comprehensive education, vocational training, social skills and employability training, career development and placement services, and related support services for 370 residential students.

Delaware Valley (Callicoon, New York) Job Corps Center’s Social Development Program.
Five-year subcontract for the continued operation of the Center’s social development program, which includes residential living and recreation programs, social skills training, and related support services for 390 male and female students.

Employment and Training Administration

Professional, Administrative, and Management Services.
Since 1998, KRA has been providing DOL/ETA with various technical assistance and support services. KRA responds to task order requests and provides technical services in the areas of policy and program evaluation, research, technical assistance, and training in a myriad of ETA program areas.

Evaluate STRIVE (Support and Training Results in Valuable Employment) Program.
KRA evaluated the STRIVE program to: identify predictors of success and the impediments and constraints to successful implementation; gauge customer satisfaction; and assess efforts to replicate STRIVE in other programs that secure jobs for disadvantaged individuals and dislocated workers.

Evaluation of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Title III Dislocated Worker Technology Demonstration (DWTD) Program.
KRA’s evaluation of the outcome, impacts, and benefits of the DWTD grantees, documented the existence of and responded to the widely reported shortage across the nation of workers in information and advanced technology jobs.

Evaluation of JTPA Title III Dislocated Worker Manufacturing Technology Demonstration (DWMTD) Program.
KRA extracted lessons learned from the DWTD evaluation (above) and evaluated the DWMTD, which included programs that had been helping workers find jobs in technology-related manufacturing jobs and helping incumbent manufacturing employees upgrade their technology skills.

Measuring State Unemployment Insurance Administrative Needs.
Using quantitative and qualitative data collection, comparable systems analysis, and statistical analysis, KRA developed a two-stage automated modeling technique that combined both technology and workforce requirements to yield an overall sum for each State's needs, and also assessed funding, sensitivity analyses, and parameter changes.

Core Data Elements Report Development and Presentations.
KRA provided research, report writing, and presentation services to assist DOL in identifying a core set of data elements for employment and training programs funded under five different Employment and Training Administration (ETA) acts.

Study and Analysis of Employee Leasing Firms.
KRA analyzed the employee leasing industry and measured its impact on State UI programs, including the effects on State trust funds. KRA conducted literature reviews and mail and telephone surveys of all State UI agencies, then obtained and analyzed wage record data.

Advisory Council on Unemployment Compensation Rapid Response Project.
KRA researched the effectiveness of the UC program, and made recommendations on numerous aspects of the system. KRA prepared research summaries and briefing papers; analyzed datasets; performed quantitative data analysis; and developed a database of allocation, workload, and performance measures for analysis.

Specialized/Targeted Dislocated Worker Services (STDWS) Project.
Employing a strategy based on two series of field visits the first centered on program implementation, and the second focused on early placement and earnings results, customer satisfaction, and program costs KRA evaluated all 10 programs and provided TA with reporting and survey issues.

Additional Work on JTPA Evaluation.
KRA participated in an evaluation of the long-term effects of participation in the JTPA program. Primarily concerned with the employment outcomes of JTPA participants prior to participation and 5 years after their training, this study was a follow-up to a JTPA Evaluation containing only 18-month follow-up data.

Technical Assistance and Technical Support to the Reinvention Office.
KRA provided expert advice, assistance, and counsel to ETA’s Assistant Secretary and Deputy Assistant Secretary; designed and facilitated key meetings of the reinvention and management teams, and provided TA and support to ETA program and field offices.

Improving Data Analysis Skills.
KRA assessed the skill gaps within ETA's workforce and devised training to help improve the agency's data analysis skills. Phase one included a self-survey of incumbent workers’ competency levels related to detailed skill dimensions; phase two provided training modules used for a data analysis course.

Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Training for Arizona Farmworkers.
KRA evaluated this CDL program for potential replication with similar farm worker populations, and found that the program was an effective way to upgrade the skills of former farm workers to qualify them for better paying, more stable jobs.

Research Synthesis Papers.
KRA facilitated the development of several research synthesis papers, including Trade and Broadly Shared Prosperity, State Programs to Provide Incumbent Worker Training, Job Readiness Training, and Post-Employment Services: What are States Doing to Help Welfare Clients Stay Employed?

School-to-Work Instructor Training for Job Corps.
KRA designed, developed, and delivered training to selected Job Corps instructional staff, including skills and strategies for integrating STW system ideas into the traditional Job Corps training delivery model which consists of a two-pronged (academic education and vocational training) educational program.

Technical and Research Assistance to the Out-of-School Youth (OSY)/School-to-Work Project.
KRA provided technical, logistical, and research support designed to promote the development of promising STW practices for OSY to rural and urban grantees representing a cross-section of youth-serving programs such as Private Industry Councils, Job Corps, and community colleges.

Technical Assistance to Youth Fair Chance (YFC) Project.
KRA provided technical assistance to 17 YFC grantees to expand opportunities and improve outcomes for youth through locally determined initiatives. KRA provided technical assistance services through on- and off-site assistance, telephone support, and materials.

Capacity Building and Logistics Support.
KRA provided extensive capacity building and logistics support to assist DOL in providing information dissemination and operational upgrading to facilitate the introduction of the Job Training Partnership Act amendments.

Technical Support for Training.
In support of its JTPA subject-specific training efforts, KRA provided DOL training for service delivery area monitoring; course evaluation and analysis; extensive follow-up evaluation to determine the extent to which workshop participants were satisfied with the training; four summer youth-enrichment sessions, and meeting and travel support.

Capacity Building and Reporting System Development.
To improve the management information system for the JTPA programs, KRA defined system requirements and analytical needs within the overall JTPA reporting system; assessed reporting procedures and data processing systems; and developed a comprehensive system of data reporting and program performance analysis.

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Implementation.
KRA provides professional on-site staff assistance to ETA in the development, refinement, and application of performance measures, by assisting in the development of performance accountability policies, guidelines for reporting employment and training outcomes and for negotiating reasonable levels of performance with States.

Technical Assistance to Youth Opportunity Grant (YOG) Recipients.
As one of 25 "coaches" assigned to the representative group of grantees, KRA worked with a YOG site in Pine Bluff, AR and another in Hillsboro County, Florida. TA areas included startup strategies, governance, management, program and staff development, and center operations.

Training Boards of Directors of Grantees Responsible for Administering Migrant and Seasonal and Farmworker Programs Under Section 402 of the JTPA.
KRA conducted a centralized training conference for 35 private nonprofit organizations, including: designing and developing the agenda; designing and developing a technical assistance train-the-trainer manual, in English and Spanish; and designing, developing, and conducting the conference.

TA and Technical Support to the Enterprise Council.
Although specific to Title III Dislocated Worker programs at that time, this effort offered great potential to the job-training system at large. KRA provided strategic planning and organizational development assistance to the Council, its five standing committees, and its Staff Support Team.

Support Contract for Performance Standards.
KRA supported the Workforce Development Performance Measurement (WDPM) initiative by collecting performance measurement data from 16 One-Stop Implementation Grant States, preparing technical issues papers and coordinating WDPM Policy Committee and Work Group meetings.

Fact Sheet Development and Production.
For the Office of Public Affairs, KRA provided publications services for the development and production of 23 fact sheets on DOL's nationwide programs. KRA edited and rewrote content, updated data and information, and created a design that added consistency and appeal among all fact sheets and brochures. KRA writers interviewed program staff for updates on DOL/ETA programs and offices
Logistical Support for Individual Training Account Technical Assistance Sessions.

For the Office of Policy and Research, KRA provided administrative and logistical coordination services for several technical assistance events to support the Regional Individual Training Account effort. KRA’s responsibilities included a full range of pre- and on-site activities, including date and site selections, site inspections, hotel negotiations for meeting and sleeping rooms and meal functions, preparation of mailing and participants’ lists, on-site administrative and logistical coordination, and preparation and distribution of training materials.

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management

Administrative and Logistical Support to the National Skill Standards Board (NSSB).
KRA provided administrative, logistical, and management services to support the members of the NSSB in accomplishing their goals and mission. Support areas included full-Board meetings, NSSB Executive Committee and sub-committee meetings, public hearings, public speaking engagements, and publications/transcription services. NSSB was created as a result of the National Skills Standards Act of 1994, and is made up of 24 members from labor, employer, education, and community groups, as well as the Secretaries of Commerce, Education, and Labor who serve in an ex-officio capacity.

National Skill Standards Board Clearinghouse.
For 3 years, KRA provided a variety of administrative and management support services to the NSSB, a congressionally mandated organization designed to encourage the development of a national system of voluntary skill standards across all job categories. These services included conducting policy and program research, arranging Board meetings and public hearings, and making travel arrangements for Board members. When DOL decided to create an NSSB Clearinghouse, the agency selected KRA due to our vast experience, not only in NSSB concerns and issues, but also in the management and operation of clearinghouses and information, referral, and resource centers. Since 1998, KRA has maintained the Clearinghouse, and continued to provide administrative and logistical support services to the Board.

DOL Information Technology Center.
KRA provided ADP technical support that encompassed extensive, highly technical network and programming services to all of DOL through the OASAM. As DOL expanded its LAN and WAN environments, KRA augmented task activities in over 30 different IT labor categories. Network support was provided through Microsoft Windows NT, and programming support using Visual Basic, Lotus Notes and COBOL, Adabase Natural, and PowerBuilder. On-site KRA staff engaged in providing high-level analysis and strategy development to enhance applications, end-user support, and Internet training for all DOL organizations. KRA provided comprehensive technical assistance to OASAM for meeting its long-term objective for a more standardized and compatible information environment under the direction of the Chief Information Officer. KRA technical personnel provided support to specific agency or department task-order requests for technical knowledge in the areas of network operating systems, workstation environments, and various application programming languages.

Employee Benefits Security Administration

Employment Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 Public Disclosure Office.
Since 1994, KRA has supported the PWBA by providing employer benefit plan documentation and financial information to DOL offices, other government agencies, and the general public in fulfillment of requirements mandated by Congress under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974. KRA provides the following services to manage and operate the PWBA ERISA Public Disclosure Office: provision of information and documents in hard-copy, microfilm, and electronic formats; help-desk operations; systems design; applications development; microfilm quality control; end-user training; online searching; electronic data transfer; FOIA responses; compliance verification; electronic and manual file maintenance; document tracking and routing; and indexing and data entry.

International Labor Affairs Bureau

Employment Services Counseling Project.
Designed to develop effective means of handling layoffs resulting from implementing a privatization law—under which many State-owned enterprises were sold to private-sector interests—KRA assisted the Turkish Employment Organization in selecting new systems to support expanded service delivery to the unemployed in Turkey.

Labor-Related Projects

Massachusetts STW Technical Assistance Resource Bank.
KRA was selected—as part of a cadre of highly qualified TA providers—to help implement the State's STW system. KRA offered assistance in the following components of STW: Serving All Students; Building Capacity of Community-based and Intermediary Organizations; Engaging Employers; Providing Professional Development; and Developing Skill Standards.

National Association of Manufacturer’s Partnership for a Smarter Workforce (PSW).
To support the development and implementation of the PSW project, KRA provided project management and budget administration; coordinated communication among partners; designed and conducted a study of employer practices; and produced a final report that presented the research findings.