Evaluation of Waivers Granted Under WIA

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is the nation’s largest source of training and employment services. To provide greater local and state flexibility and responsiveness in administering the program, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) allows states to apply for waivers from federal regulations. Mathematica conducted a study of states’ and local areas’ use of eight WIA policy waivers. This report provides descriptive analysis of the findings from each phase of data collection, discussing the reasons for waiver requests and implementation of waivers at the state and local levels, the successes and challenges of these efforts, and lessons that can be learned from these states’ and local areas’ waiver use.