SEC. 174. EVALUATIONS AND RESEARCH.

    (a) In General.--Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and 
Opportunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3224) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) by redesignating subparagraph (G) as 
                        subparagraph (H);
                            (ii) in subparagraph (F)--
                                    (I) by striking ``; and'' at the 
                                end; and
                                    (II) by inserting ``, including 
                                individuals with barriers to 
                                employment'' after ``demographic 
                                groups''; and
                            (iii) by inserting the following after 
                        subparagraph (F):
                    ``(G) the extent to which such programs or 
                activities are using emerging technology to--
                            ``(i) collect, analyze, use, and 
                        disseminate accurate and transparent local and 
                        State level labor market information;
                            ``(ii) integrate administrative data, in 
                        accordance with Federal and State privacy laws, 
                        to more comprehensively understand and improve 
                        education and workforce outcomes; and
                            ``(iii) identify and address deficiencies 
                        in existing Federal, State, and local workforce 
                        data infrastructure and related source systems; 
                        and'';
                    (B) in paragraph (3)--
                            (i) by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
                        inserting the following:
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary''; and
                            (ii) by adding at the end the following new 
                        subparagraph:
                    ``(B) Limitation.--The Secretary may not use the 
                authority described in subparagraph (A) if the 
                evaluations required under paragraph (1) have not been 
                initiated or completed in the time period required.''; 
                and
                    (C) in paragraph (4), in the second sentence--
                            (i) by striking ``The Secretary'' and 
                        inserting ``Beginning after the date of 
                        enactment of the A Stronger Workforce for 
                        America Act, the Secretary''; and
                            (ii) by striking ``2019'' and inserting 
                        ``2028''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) by amending paragraph (4) to read as follows:
            ``(4) Studies and reports.--
                    ``(A) Study on employment conditions.--The 
                Secretary, in coordination with other heads of Federal 
                agencies, as appropriate, may conduct a study examining 
                the nature of participants' unsubsidized employment 
                after exit from programs carried out under this Act--
                            ``(i) including with respect to factors 
                        such as the availability of paid time off in 
                        the employment, health and retirement benefits 
                        provided through the employment, workplace 
                        safety standards at the place of employment, 
                        the predictability and stability of the work 
                        schedule for the employment, the ability to 
                        obtain through the employment credentials that 
                        may permit articulation into a higher level or 
                        other degree or credential program, and 
                        advancement opportunities in the employment; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) that includes a description of the 
                        feasibility of Congress establishing, through 
                        future legislation, an indicator of performance 
                        under section 116 related to such factors.
                    ``(B) Study on improving workforce services for 
                individuals with disabilities.--The Secretary of Labor, 
                in coordination with the Secretary of Education and the 
                Secretary of Health and Human Services, may conduct 
                studies that analyze the access to services by 
                individuals with disabilities, including whether an 
                individual who is unable to receive services under 
                title IV due to a wait list for such services is able 
                to receive services under titles I through III.
                    ``(C) Study on the effectiveness of pay for 
                performance.--The Secretary shall, not later than 4 
                years after the date of enactment of the A Stronger 
                Workforce for America Act, conduct a study that--
                            ``(i) compares the effectiveness of the 
                        pay-for-performance strategies used under 
                        sections 129, 134, and 172 after such date of 
                        enactment to the awarding of grants and 
                        contracts under such sections as in effect on 
                        the day before the date of enactment of such 
                        Act; and
                            ``(ii) examines, with respect to grants 
                        under sections 129, 134, and 172 after such 
                        date of enactment--
                                    ``(I) the competition structure of 
                                pay-for-performance grants and 
                                contracts under such sections;
                                    ``(II) the quality of applications 
                                received for grants and contracts under 
                                such sections; and
                                    ``(III) whether individuals with 
                                barriers to employment were effectively 
                                served under the pay-for-performance 
                                strategies for grants and contracts 
                                under such sections.
                    ``(D) Study on individual training accounts for 
                dislocated workers.--The Secretary shall, not later 
                than 4 years after the date of enactment of the A 
                Stronger Workforce for America Act, conduct a study 
                that compares the usage of individual training accounts 
                for dislocated workers after such date of enactment to 
                the usage of such accounts prior to such date of 
                enactment, including a comparison of--
                            ``(i) the types of training services and 
                        occupations targeted by dislocated workers when 
                        using their individual training accounts; and
                            ``(ii) the effectiveness of the skills 
                        development funded through individual training 
                        accounts in helping such individuals attain 
                        credentials and secure unsubsidized employment.
                    ``(E) Study on statewide critical industry skills 
                funds.--The Secretary shall, not later than 4 years 
                after the date of enactment of the A Stronger Workforce 
                for America Act, conduct a study that will review the 
                usage of statewide critical industry skills funds 
                established by States under section 134(a)(4) and 
                identify, for purposes of measuring the overall 
                effectiveness of the program--
                            ``(i) the industries targeted by the funds 
                        under section 134(a)(4);
                            ``(ii) the occupations for which workers 
                        are being upskilled;
                            ``(iii) how frequently skills development 
                        is provided to prospective workers and 
                        incumbent workers, and
                            ``(iv) the reported performance outcomes.
                    ``(F) Study on industry or sector partnership and 
                career pathways development funds.--The Secretary 
                shall, not later than 4 years after the date of 
                enactment of the A Stronger Workforce for America Act, 
                conduct a study that will review the usage of industry 
                or sector partnership and career pathways development 
                funds established by States under section 134(a)(5) and 
                identify, for purposes of measuring the overall 
                effectiveness of the program--
                            ``(i) the industries targeted by the funds 
                        under section 134(a)(5) and the growth in 
                        employment opportunities in such industries 
                        over the period of the study;
                            ``(ii) the occupations workers are 
                        receiving skills development for and how 
                        frequently such skills development is occurring 
                        through the funds under section 134(a)(5);
                            ``(iii) the States where such funds were 
                        used to establish new industry or sector 
                        partnerships, the States where such funds were 
                        used to expand existing industry or sector 
                        partnerships, and an overview of the types of 
                        partners participating in such partnerships; 
                        and
                            ``(iv) the reported performance outcomes.
                    ``(G) Study on the effectiveness of employer-based 
                training.--The Secretary shall, not later than 4 years 
                after the date of enactment of the A Stronger Workforce 
                for America Act, conduct a study that measures the 
                effectiveness of on-the-job training, employer-directed 
                skills training, apprenticeship, and incumbent worker 
                training under this title in preparing jobseekers and 
                workers, including those with barriers to employment, 
                for unsubsidized employment. Such study shall include 
                the cost per participant and wage and employment 
                outcomes, as compared to other methods of training.
                    ``(H) Study on the effectiveness and use of 
                emerging technology in the workforce development 
                system.--The Secretary shall, not later than 4 years 
                after the date of enactment of the A Stronger Workforce 
                for America Act, conduct a study that--
                            ``(i) measures the effectiveness of 
                        emerging technology (including artificial 
                        intelligence and machine learning) and other 
                        advanced computational methods, in improving 
                        State workforce development system service 
                        delivery, labor market data system performance, 
                        data collection and integration to understand 
                        participant and program outcomes, and end-user 
                        tools for facilitating career exploration or 
                        related data insights;
                            ``(ii) measures the extent to which States 
                        have adopted and implemented such technology 
                        and methods in their workforce development 
                        systems, including by describing how the 
                        technology or method is being used, analyzing 
                        the accuracy of such technology or method, and 
                        identifying any exhibited bias by any such 
                        technology or method; and
                            ``(iii) includes an analysis of the 
                        consequences of advances in automation 
                        technology on employment opportunities, skills 
                        development, including digital literacy skills 
                        development, and worker dislocation.
                    ``(I) Study on the alignment between education and 
                workforce development systems.--The Secretary of Labor, 
                in coordination with the Secretary of Education, shall, 
                not later than 4 years after the date of enactment of 
                the A Stronger Workforce for America Act, conduct a 
                study on the alignment of workforce development 
                programs under this Act with elementary and secondary 
                education and postsecondary education. The study shall 
                examine--
                            ``(i) State efforts to integrate data 
                        related to career and technical education 
                        programs, dual enrollment programs, pre-
                        apprenticeships and apprenticeships, and other 
                        work-based learning programs to inform 
                        decisionmaking and improve educational 
                        opportunities and outcomes;
                            ``(ii) challenges related to and strategies 
                        that promote such alignment to facilitate 
                        student participation in high-quality college 
                        and career pathways; and
                            ``(iii) governance structures and funding 
                        sources to promote such alignment.
                    ``(J) Study on job corps.--The Secretary of Labor 
                shall, not later than 4 years after the date of 
                enactment of the A Stronger Workforce for America Act, 
                conduct an evaluation that--
                            ``(i) uses the most rigorous available 
                        methods that are appropriate and feasible to 
                        evaluate program effectiveness;
                            ``(ii) measures the effect of the Job Corps 
                        program on participating individuals on 
                        outcomes related to the purposes described in 
                        section 141(1), including educational 
                        attainment, employment, earnings, and other 
                        related outcomes, compared with the non-
                        participant peers of those individuals, to 
                        determine if the program has a statistically 
                        significant effect (including long-term 
                        effects) on such outcomes; and
                            ``(iii) evaluates the cost-effectiveness of 
                        the program.
                    ``(K) Reports.--The Secretary shall prepare and 
                disseminate to the Committee on Health, Education, 
                Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on 
                Education and the Workforce of the House of 
                Representatives, and on the publicly available website 
                of the Department, reports containing the results of 
                the studies conducted under this paragraph.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (5), by adding at the end the 
                following:
                    ``(C) Evaluation of grants.--
                            ``(i) In general.--For each grant or 
                        contract awarded under this paragraph, the 
                        Secretary shall conduct a rigorous evaluation 
                        of the multistate project to determine the 
                        impact of the activities supported by the 
                        project, including the impact on the employment 
                        and earnings of program participants.
                            ``(ii) Report.--The Secretary shall prepare 
                        and disseminate to the Committee on Health, 
                        Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate 
                        and the Committee on Education and the 
                        Workforce of the House of Representatives, and 
                        to the public, including through electronic 
                        means, reports containing the results of 
                        evaluations conducted under this 
                        subparagraph.''.