Tara Armstrong

The January 2026 panel meeting commenced with housekeeping announcements regarding proper recording procedures and public comment guidelines. Executive reports covered two upcoming funding opportunities: the Seed 3 program for immigrant and limited English proficient entrepreneurs ($7.5 million potential funding) and the Paid Family Leave Small Business Grant (up to $1 million). For this meeting, 26 proposals were submitted for review, seeking approximately $5.6 million in total funding, with 50% from new contractors and 58% benefiting small businesses. Panel members were informed of the departure of panel member Mike Kill. The panel addressed legislative updates, noting that the introduction of bills for the 2025-2026 legislative session closes February 20th. Financial reports indicated that approvals would bring the total funds dispersed to $65.2 million for the fiscal year, training 57,984 workers. The panel successfully approved funding for Bellow's Plumbing, Heating, and Air Inc. ($315,840) and HP Hood LLC ($495,400). Several other proposals were withdrawn or had representatives absent, including Cover Technologies Inc. and Mariani Nut Company. The panel also reviewed and approved the January panel meeting agenda and voted to approve the December panel meeting minutes.

The meeting involved the approval of the current agenda and the minutes from the October 2025 Panel Meeting, with a correction made to the October minutes. The Executive Report indicated this was the fifth panel meeting of the 2025-26 fiscal year, with 53 proposals submitted for review, potentially disbursing approximately $15.8 million. Key topics included updates on the $7.5 million SEED 3 funding launch in early 2026, and IT updates regarding CalEForce auto-save functionality and new language for application rollovers and draft inactivity. The Chief Deputy Director's report detailed that the panel was considering funding 53 projects totaling $15,852,708, which would bring the fiscal year's approved contracts to 199 totaling $60.2 million. The Policy Committee reviewed updates on MEC application revisions, program guidelines, and ETP delivery method names, and approved moving edits for CNA to LVN guidelines and changes to Form 100B. The main portion of the meeting focused on reviewing and approving 42 Single Employer and Multiple Employer Contracts, as well as 3 Apprenticeship agreements and 2 Amendments. Specific discussions involved contractors' turnover rates, wage progression plans, project performance, and training methodologies. For instance, Movement For Life, Inc. had its proposal right-sized based on prior performance concerns, and El Clasificado dba El Clasificado / EC Hispanic Media received funding despite performance impacts from a fire. The meeting concluded with no requests for future agenda items or public comment, and adjourned.

The agenda for the Panel meeting includes preliminary matters such as the approval of the January Panel Meeting Agenda and the December Panel Meeting Minutes. Key discussion items involve an Executive Report covering legislative and budget updates, a Policy Committee review and action on PE Demand, and a memo to approve revised CNA to LVN Guidelines. The Panel is scheduled to review and take action on numerous funding proposals for single employer and multiple employer contractors, totaling approximately $15.8 million if fully approved, alongside amendments and apprenticeship proposals. A presentation will address a temporary pause on application submittals. The meeting packet also includes information regarding future meeting sites and summaries of delegation orders approved between December 2, 2025, and January 12, 2026.

The December panel meeting included housekeeping announcements regarding meeting procedures for in-person and virtual attendees. Executive reports covered updates on the planned launch of the SEED 3 funding in early 2026 and technological improvements, such as automatic saving of proposals in the CaliForce system and updates to terms and conditions regarding application rollovers. The panel reviewed 53 proposals requesting approximately $15.8 million for workforce training. The policy committee met previously, discussing revisions to application processes, medical skills guidelines, and delivery method names, recommending no action on revising delivery method names. A specific proposal for 10X Geomatics, Inc., requesting $97,440 for training 232 workers in commercial operations, was presented and subsequently approved.

The Policy Committee Meeting focused on several key discussion items related to guidelines and application revisions. Discussions included proposed updates to the CNA to LVN Guidelines, specifically concerning reimbursement simplification and eligibility, where the committee ultimately approved the suggested edits for later formal action. The committee also reviewed proposed edits for the Medical Skills Guidelines, addressing grammar, removal of the CBT training cap, and correcting a comparison table error. Further discussion on Medical Skills involved performance data requests regarding MECs versus SEs and training modality splits. Regarding MEC Application Questions, the committee reviewed existing and newly drafted questions, favored additions to the 100B Demand List indicators, and proposed new inquiries regarding geographic service areas and business models. The committee decided to return the application restructuring to the Application Workgroup without taking immediate action.