GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA Department of Employment Services Open Government Report 2014 To institutionalize a culture of transparent and open government, accountability, and to expand opportunities for resident participation and collaboration, this Report describes how the Department of Employment Services (DOES) has and will continue to develop and enhance transparency, public participation, and collaboration. In accordance with Mayor’s Order 2014-170, this report addresses the following topics: 1) Transparency Describe the steps your agency has taken or plans to take to be more transparent. Please include a description of: How and to what extent your agency shares information with the public, e.g. publication of information in the District register and on the agency website, press releases, and documents in the agency’s FOIAXpress reading room. DOES shares information with the public through various methods of external communication, including written letters, correspondence, and email blasts to customers; brochures, flyers, fact sheets, and poster displays at American Job Centers; and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) messaging via our main DOES customer service telephone line. One of our central communication methods to disseminate public information most expeditiously, however, is via the DOES website where we publish timely press releases on employment data, program and event announcements and outcomes, and major grant and funding awards from the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), etc.; current labor statistics and new labor publications developed by the Office of Labor Market Research and Information; and unemployment compensation information and important announcements for UI claimants and employers. The DOES website is constantly monitored and updated regularly. DOES also publishes major announcements related to employment-related laws and law modifications in the District’s public register (e.g., Office of Wage and Hour law updates, First Source law updates, etc.) as well as public Notices of Funding Availability (NOFAs) and grant opportunities, etc. www.does.dc.gov http://does.dc.gov/newsroom http://does.dc.gov/page/labor-statistics http://does.dc.gov/page/unemployment-compensation How the agency meets its obligations pursuant to the District’s Freedom of Information Act and Open Meetings Act. DOES publishes all public meetings and events on its online calendar on the front page of the DOES website, and minutes of all applicable DOES public proceedings are published 1 online. In addition, DOES makes all final opinions and orders of adjudicated cases available online and FOIA-able. All FOIA requests sent to DOES via the DC Government Public FOIA Portal or by mail, fax, or email are processed by the agency’s FOIA officer and handled professionally and expeditiously. http://does.dc.gov/page/dc-apprenticeship-council-meeting-minutes http://does.dc.gov/page/compensation-review-board Steps your agency will take to increase public access to information. DOES will continue to publish all vital public information on its main website, including press releases with regard to employment-related information and updates, significant USDOL announcements, and event announcements and outcomes; post, display, and distribute vital public information at all American Job Centers; broadcast regularly updated messaging on our IVR system; and provide timely written correspondence to our customers, as warranted. In addition, DOES will begin to disseminate at American Job Centers and public forums, as well as post online, more employment-related fact sheets and FAQs, including job retention and job readiness information; employee wage and hour rights and changes to laws that effect employees; veteran-, youth- and senior-related services and opportunities; unemployment compensation-related announcements and materials, etc. Steps your agency will take, including an implementation timeline, to webcast live and archive on the internet board or commission meetings. (This question only applies to agencies that are overseen or advised by a board or commission that is subject to the Open Meetings Act.) How your agency has taken or plans to take steps to make more of its data available to the public. N/A DOES is working closely with the Office of the City Administrator (OCA) and the Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) to identify a significant number of datasets that OCA and OCTO expect to publish online later this year. If no dataset from DOES is selected to be included in this 2014 release, we will continue to work with OCA and OCTO to identify datasets appropriate to publish in 2015. In the future, requirements for open data reporting will be provided by the Chief Data Officer. 2) Public Engagement and Participation Describe the steps your agency has taken or plans to take to enhance or expand opportunities for the public to participate in agency decision-making. Please include a description of: 2 1. How your agency provides online access to proposed rules and regulations and secures public input on them. Please list links to specific websites. DOES lists links to all proposed and final rules, regulations, and requests for public comment on all program-related web pages pertaining to said proposed rulemaking and regulations. Specifically, the most frequently amended employment-related rulemakings and laws pertain to the Office of Wage and Hour (e.g., Living Wage, District of Columbia Minimum Wage Law, Accrued Sick and Safe Leave Act), and all amendments and updates are posted on the DOES Wage and Hour Compliance web page in real time. http://does.dc.gov/service/wage-and-hour-compliance 2. How your agency shares information and resources to keep the public properly informed, e.g. community meetings, public hearings, FAQs, and ways the public can provide input such as Twitter, grade.dc.gov, email contacts. DOES shares with and distributes information and resources to the public at American Job Centers, public forums, ANC meetings, hiring fairs, and public outreach events held at DOES Headquarters, American Job Centers, and external venues with partner organizations throughout the Washington metropolitan area. The DOES IVR system is updated regularly with important announcements, and the DOES website is a principal medium to disseminate vital information to the public, including public meeting notices, programmatic FAQs and factsheets, public testimony, grant and funding availabilities, annual reports, state plans, etc. In addition, requests for comment on proposed rulemakings are posted on the DOES website as well as published in the District’s public register. DOES also maintains an active social media presence. Twitter updates are posted regularly to the DOES website front page, and the Office of Youth Programs uses social media as a primary communication method to engage and correspond with District youth. Constituents young and old respond regularly to DOES Twitter and Facebook postings. Grade DC is another primary mechanism used by DOES to obtain feedback from customers regarding DOES customer service and is marketed at all DOES events as well as employed by American Job Center staff to solicit real-time, constructive feedback. 3. How your agency identifies stakeholders and invites their participation. DOES has a vast network of partner organizations, stakeholders, and customers and constituents who have participated in DOES employment-related events or received agency services. DOES maintains several stakeholder databases, including the One City • One Hire database, the Contracts and Procurement database, and the District’s DCNetworks database/Virtual One Stop (VOS) system that serves as the system for all Wagner/Peyser, Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Trade Act participants. To invite relevant stakeholders to participate and/or partner in specific events or to apply for applicable funding opportunities, DOES identifies and matches stakeholders in these database with related pre-screening and hiring events, partnership opportunities, 3 and grants and funding solicitations. Requests for participation are sent via written or verbal correspondence that includes letters, emails, online registrations (e.g., Eventbrite) and in-person and telephonic invitation requests; invitations and calendar announcements are also posted on the main DOES website. www.does.dc.gov www.dcnetworks.org http://onecityonehire.org/ 4. Steps your agency will take to improve public engagement and participation including any new feedback tools or mechanisms the agency is considering. To enhance our public engagement efforts as well as increase instant, real-time customer feedback, DOES will begin generating more online feedback tools to post on the main DOES website and individual programmatic web pages, including online customer service surveys using Survey Monkey; installing desktop customer feedback links (e.g., Grade DC) on all public access computers at American Job Centers, and developing a cost-efficient strategy to utilize the agency’s One-Stop Mobile Unit on a steady basis to register District residents for DOES programs and services at community events across the city. 3) Collaboration Describe the steps your agency has taken or plans to take to enhance or expand cooperation among departments, other governmental agencies, the public, and nonprofit and private entities in fulfilling its obligations. Please include a description of: How your agency currently collaborates with the above parties. Please list links to specific websites if appropriate. DOES partners with several sister District agencies as well as collaborates with numerous external private and non-profit organizations to fulfill its mission, vision, and public obligations. DOES engages in robust collaborations with the following sister agencies: DC Public Schools (DCPS)/ Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)/ Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS)/ Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) – Various youth-related initiatives, including Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), Mayor’s Youth Leadership Institute (MYLI), One City High School Internship Program (OCHSIP), In-School and Out-of-School Programs, etc. (http://dcps.dc.gov, http://osse.dc.gov, http://dyrs.dc.gov, http://dc.gov/agency/child-and-family-services-agency, http://cfsa.dc.gov) Office of Human Rights (OHR) – Language Access Program (http://ohr.dc.gov) 4 Office of Disability Rights (ODR) – Disability-related customer services and relations, e.g., American Sign Language customer services (http://odr.dc.gov) Office on Aging (DCOA) – Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) (http://dcoa.dc.gov) Office of Veterans Affairs (OVA) – All DOES veteran-related initiatives (http://ova.dc.gov) Office on Returning Citizens Affairs (ORCA)/Office of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs – Project Empowerment Program (http://orca.dc.gov, http://glbt.dc.gov) Office of Contracting and Procurement (OCP) – All DOES contracting, procurement, and funding initiatives (http://ocp.dc.gov) Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) – All DOES customer-related adjudication services (http://oah.dc.gov) Steps your agency will take to improve collaboration with the above parties including any new feedback tools or mechanisms the agency is considering, e.g. prizes, competitions, and other innovative methods. To enhance our collaborations with external private and non-profit organizations, DOES will develop strategies to increase partnerships with stakeholders who share a mission akin to the DOES mission which is to help put people to work. These collaborations include increased public outreach efforts, hiring fairs, and employment-related public forums. DOES will also begin sharing DOES programs and services links to post on partner organization websites to increase DOES online traffic and in-person visits to American Job Centers. In addition, DOES will continue to enhance and update its job seeker resources web page with a wide range of direct links to partner organization sites and a number of tools and resources, complete with and a brief description of what the sites have to offer. (http://does.dc.gov/node/206292) 5