The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) was originally enacted in 1973. CETA was a culmination of previous legislative efforts to decentralize and decategorize employment and training programs. A major departure from previous programs was in the administration of CETA, which was delegated to elected officials of cities, counties, and states throughout the nation. These chief elected officials, called “prime sponsors”, were considered to be most attuned and responsive to the needs of their local communities, and thus best able to plan and operate employment and training programs designed specifically for their local areas.
CETA was amended in 1977 to add the Youth Employment Demonstration Programs, and reauthorized in 1978. The Amendments of 1978 added the Private Sector Initiatives Programs, tightened the eligibility criteria for CETA participation, and added several new administrative provisions to guard against fraud and abuse.
The purpose of CETA has stayed essentially the same - it is to provide employment and training opportunities leading to permanent employment for economically disadvantaged unemployed or underemployed persons to enhance their self-sufficiency and to increase their earned income - and it is still administered by prime sponsors. However, the focus of CETA has changed considerably - from a loosely regulated decentralized program in 1973, to the use of Public Service Employment as a major anti-recessionary tool in the late 1970's, and now toward training programs that focus on the private sector. It is expected that this shift in focus will continue as employment and training programs move through the 1980's.
CETA's authorization expires at the end of Fiscal Year 1982, so its future remains uncertain at this time. The prime sponsor administrative structure may be modified, or abandoned altogether. Increased linkages with vocational education, the employment service, and private industry seem likely. Whether or not CETA continues to exist, the demonstrated need for and effectiveness of employment and training programs mandate their continuation in one form or another.
From Wisconsin Department of Industry, Labor, and Human Relations, Division of Employment and Training Services, Balance of State Annual Report, 1983, p. 8.
