How Wyoming Measures Workforce Program Success

Wyoming measures workforce program success on the six federal WIOA performance indicators, negotiated with the U.S. Department of Labor and reported by the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services (DWS) for a single statewide workforce area. Because Wyoming has one local area rather than several, the state's negotiated levels are the program's negotiated levels; there is no separate local board layer between a provider and the federal number. On top of that, DWS publishes an annual WIOA narrative that pulls all six core programs into one report, and a separate Wyoming Workforce Annual Report from its Research and Planning section on the labor market itself.

• Employment rate, 2nd quarter after exit: the share of exiters employed in the second full calendar quarter after leaving the program, verified against state UI wage records.
• Employment rate, 4th quarter after exit: the same measure two quarters later.
• Median earnings, 2nd quarter after exit: the midpoint of quarterly earnings among those employed.
• Credential attainment rate: credentials earned during the program or within one year of exit, among participants in education or training.
• Measurable skill gains: documented progress toward a credential or employment during the program year.
• Effectiveness in serving employers: measured at the state level on retention with the same employer.

Wyoming negotiates a target for each indicator by funding stream (Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth). The six-indicator guide covers the denominators and the two indicators where programs most often lose credit they earned; the Wyoming WIOA guide covers how the Wyoming Workforce Centers deliver the programs being measured.

Every two years the state and the U.S. Department of Labor agree on a target for each indicator and each program. In Program Year 2024 (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025), Wyoming served 296 adults, 102 dislocated workers, and 498 youth in WIOA Title I programs. It met 4 of the 15 targets it reported. Here are the PY2024 targets, the PY2024 results, and the level Wyoming agreed to for PY2025.

Here are the three biggest gaps. Employment in the second quarter after exit for adults came in at 74.3 percent. The target was 75.4 percent. Employment in the fourth quarter for adults came in at 65.2 percent. The target was 78.0 percent. Credential attainment for adults came in at 67.7 percent. The target was 73.4 percent. Federal rules give some room. A program passes if its average across the indicators reaches 90 percent of the targets. It also has to keep every single indicator above 50 percent of its level two years in a row.

• One combined annual narrative. Wyoming's WIOA Annual Statewide Performance Report Narrative is a joint product of the six core programs: Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth; Title II Adult Education; Title III Wagner-Peyser; and Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation. A provider's results sit in the same document as the rest of the system's.
• A single statewide area. With no local boards, DWS is both the state agency and the local administrator, which shortens the reporting chain and removes the local negotiation step other states have.
• The Wyoming Workforce Annual Report. Published by DWS Research and Planning, it covers employment, wages, and industry trends statewide, and is the labor-market context the federal indicators are read against.

Your program's success is judged on the federal layer, at the state's negotiated levels, with DWS reading the results directly. In a small state, a handful of participants can move an indicator, so documentation discipline matters more than in a large local area where the denominator absorbs noise. A skill gain recorded July 1 counts for the next program year; a credential earned 13 months after exit counts for nobody.

Programs that track the windows per cohort are the ones whose reported results match what they produced. The deadline calculator shows when each window closes for a given cohort.