Overview of the Department of Career Services

This section describes the makeup and responsibilities of the Department of Career Services

Table of Contents

Overview

The Department of Career Services (DCS) was established within the state’s Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development pursuant to Section 1 of Chapter 23H of the Massachusetts General Laws, which states that the agency’s mission is “to develop, coordinate, and maintain a coherent workforce development system that fills the needs of employers for a skilled workforce and promotes lifelong learning among employees.” During our audit period, DCS had an average of 248 employees. In fiscal year 2015, it had a budget of $95,571,938, of which $80,320,956 (84.0%) came from the federal government; in fiscal year 2016, it had a budget of $98,883,699, of which $82,658,208 (83.6%) came from the federal government. The federal funding comes primarily from the Department of Labor.
 

32  The number of One-Stop Career Centers managed by DCS

DCS manages a network of 32 One-Stop Career Centers (27 full-service and 5 limited-service centers). These centers offer job seekers job search assistance, access to online job listings, career counseling and coaching, networking opportunities, and guidance on unemployment insurance, as well as access to computers, résumé-building software, and reference materials. The centers also offer special services for veterans, dislocated1 workers, workers with disabilities, and other targeted groups. The services offered by each center vary based on the needs of local communities.

Section 4a of Chapter 6A of the General Laws requires each cabinet- or secretary-level department and the agencies within it to establish “outcome-based performance goals and a focused set of performance metrics to track progress and execution” of those goals. To comply with this requirement, DCS has established performance metrics and goals and requires the comparison of actual program performance to these goals annually.

According to its quarterly Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I Performance Measures Reports,2 DCS achieved between 88.7% and 113.3% of its goals in terms of job retention, earnings, and the number of people who obtained employment during our audit period.

The chart below indicates the geographic disbursement of the 156,439 people at the 32 One-Stop Career Centers who obtained employment while using DCS services during our audit period.

A pie chart showing the percentage employed, by geographic area of the 156,439 people at the 32 One-Stop Career Centers who obtained employment while using DCS services during our audit period. 23.6% were from Greater Boston, 15.2% were from Northeastern Massachusetts, 36.1% were from the Southeastern Massachusetts, 14.8% were from Central Massachusetts, and 10.3% were from Western Massachusetts.

DCS uses the Massachusetts One-Stop Employment System (MOSES) database to record all of its employment and training service information. JobQuest is a self-service Web-based portal that enables employers to post job openings and allows job seekers to enter their résumés, register for career services, sign up for training and classes, and research job opportunities. MOSES is integrated with JobQuest, and all transactions performed at the One-Stop Career Centers or through JobQuest are stored in MOSES. MOSES is currently used by the 32 One-Stop Career Centers plus partner agencies, including community colleges, cities and towns, and state agencies such as the Department of Veterans’ Services and the Department of Transitional Assistance.

1.    A dislocated worker is someone who has been terminated or laid off or who is unemployed because of general economic conditions.

2.    These reports track actual performance against goals for nine programs to comply with the WIA, a federal law passed in 1998. A program is credited with having met its performance goal if it achieves between 80% and 100% of the goal; it is credited with exceeding the goal if it achieves a score above 100%.

Date published: September 26, 2018

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