(1) The department must establish a grant review committee to review grant applications and make recommendations on who should receive a matching grant and the amount. The grant review committee must consist of eleven members with representatives from the following:
(a) The department of labor and industries;
(b) The employment security department;
(c) The department of enterprise services;
(d) The workforce training and education coordinating board;
(e) The state board for community and technical colleges;
(f) Two representatives from business;
(g) Two representatives from labor; and
(h) Two representatives from the Washington apprenticeship and training council.
(2) The grant review committee shall designate a chair to oversee the committee's meetings.
(3) The grant review committee shall establish criteria for ranking eligible applicants for matching grant awards. The grant review committee shall consider and rank eligible applicants based on which applicants currently are able to or have the best potential to:
(a) Reach a broad diverse audience, including populations with barriers as identified in the state's comprehensive workforce training and education plan, through their recruitment and outreach efforts;
(b) Collaborate with and utilize centers of excellence within the community and technical college system;
(c) Significantly increase enrollment and completion of the training program the applicant plans to promote;
(d) Fill existing needs for skilled workers in the market; and
(e) Demonstrate the following, prioritized in the following order:
(i) That the eligible applicant will provide monetary contributions from its own resources; and
(ii) That the eligible applicant has secured:
(A) An industry partner; or
(B) Monetary contributions from an industry partner, conditional job placement guarantees, or articulation agreements.
(4) The grant review committee shall submit its recommendations to the director of the department, who shall determine to whom and in what amounts to award matching grants. Matching grants must be awarded no later than April 1st each year following the application submittal deadline.
[ 2017 c 225 § 5.]