DC WIC Workforce System Technical Assistance Call February 7, 2017

Introduction & Welcome

Lauren Scott WIOA Program Manager DC Workforce Investment Council

Rosalyce Broadus-Brown Policy Analyst DC Workforce Investment Council

Anika Holmes Workforce Intermediary Program Manager DC Workforce Investment Council

Technical Assistance Team

Diane Pabich Interim Executive Director DC Workforce Investment Council

Jeanna Fortney Career Pathways Coordinator DC Workforce Investment Council

Session Agenda and Session Objectives

Diane Pabich, Interim Executive Director DC Workforce Investment Council

Session Agenda • Technical Assistance Strategy Overview • Overview of three WIGLs:

• WIOA Adult Eligibility and Priority of Service (DC-WIGL-2017-001) • WIOA Youth Program Eligibility (DC-WIGL-2017-002) • WIC WIOA Policy Manual (DC-WIGL-2017-003)

• Update on: • OSSE AEFLA/WIC Career Pathways Grants (DC-WIGL-2017-004)

• Q&A

Session Objectives • Provide an overview of three recently released

WIGLs • Provide relevant updates • Answer questions submitted prior to today’s session

and gather any additional questions for future response

Session Note – Q&A - There weren’t any previously submitted questions

that we will be answering on the call today. - For anyone who did not submit questions in advance

of today’s session, we will open the phone lines up at the end of the call to take questions.

- Please include your name, organization, and program with your question.

- We will provide answers to all questions submitted today in the call summary.

WIOA Adult Eligibility and Priority of Service

(DC-WIGL-2017-001)

Lauren Scott, WIOA Program Manager DC Workforce Investment Council

Overview of key changes WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker Program Changes

Applicable to Both Programs • Removes the sequence of services that was required under WIA; a participant

may receive services in any order that is deemed appropriate if he/she meets certain requirements

• Combines Core and Intensive services into "Career Services"

• Allows service providers to provide services to employers

• Permits coordination with outside agencies to provide comprehensive services to participants

Overview of key changes WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker Program Changes Applicable to WIOA Adult Program Only

• Adds individuals who are "basic skills deficient" to the list of participants who must be given priority of service

• Requires that priority of service considerations be factored in at all times rather than implementing priority of service only when funds are limited

• Considers individuals receiving free or reduced lunch as "low income"

Applicable to WIOA Dislocated Worker Program Only

• Adds two new categories of individuals who may be served as dislocated workers:

1. spouses of members of the military on active duty; and

2. separated military members

• Adds dependent spouses of members of the Armed Forces on active duty as a category of individuals who may be served displaced homemakers

General Eligibility In order to be eligible to receive services or participate in activities funded by the WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker programs, an individual must: • Be 18 years of age or older; • Be a citizen or noncitizen authorized to work in the

United States; and • Meet Military Selective Service Registration

requirements (males only)

Dislocated Worker Program Eligibility The WIOA dislocated worker program offers employment and training services for eligible workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own or who have received an official layoff notice.

• WIOA expands the definition of dislocated worker to include the spouse of an active military member who lost employment as a result of a permanent change in duty location or is unemployed or underemployed and experiencing difficulty in obtaining or upgrading employment.

• To be eligible to receive WIOA services as a dislocated worker in the adult and dislocated worker programs, an individual must:

o be a citizen or noncitizen authorized to work in the US;

o meet Military Selective Service registration requirements (males only); and

o meet the definition of dislocated worker at WIOA §3(15).

Service Priority Individualized Career Services and Training Services must be given on a priority basis to:

• Public assistance recipients, other low-income individuals, and individuals who are basic skills deficient

• Under WIA, priority with adult funds was to be provided in the event that funding was limited; that provision was removed from WIOA. Priority applies regardless of funding levels.

• Veterans receive the highest priority for services, but must meet the eligibility requirements for the Adult Program

This priority applies to funds allocated to a local area for the WIOA title I adult program; this priority is not required for the WIOA title I dislocated worker program. There is no priority of service in the dislocated worker program, other than veteran’s priority of service.

Definitions Low-Income Individual: An individual who meets any one of the following criteria satisfies the low-income requirement for WIOA services:

• Receives, or in the past six months has received, or is a member of a family that is receiving or in the past six months has received, assistance through SNAP, TANF, or the SSI program, or state or local income-based public assistance;

• Receives an income or is a member of a family receiving an income that, in relation to family size, is not in excess of the current combined 70 percent Lower Living Standard Income Level;

• Is a homeless individual as defined in §41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, or a homeless child or youth as defined in §725(2) of the McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act;

• Receives or is eligible to receive a free or reduced-price lunch under the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act;

• Is a foster youth on behalf of whom state or local government payments are made;

• Is an individual with a disability whose own income meets:

o WIOA’s income requirements, even if the individual’s family income does not meet the income requirements; or

o the income eligibility criteria for payments under any federal, state, or local public assistance program

Basic Skills Deficient: an individual who is unable to compute or solve problems, or read, write, or speak English, at a level necessary to function on the job, in the individual’s family, or in society. This may also include lack of computer literacy.

WIOA Youth Program Eligibility

(DC-WIGL-2017-002)

Lauren Scott, WIOA Program Manager DC Workforce Investment Council

Overview of key changes • Raises the minimum percentage of funds required to be spent on out-of-school

youth from 30 to 75 percent of youth allocations, minus administration costs.

• Requires local workforce development boards to spend at least 20 percent of youth funds on work experiences such as summer jobs, pre-apprenticeship training, on-the-job training, and internships that have academic and occupational education as a component.

• Adds five new program elements that are available to youth.

• Automatically deems youth living in a "high poverty area" as meeting any low-income eligibility requirement for participation in the youth program.

• Allows a local workforce development board to serve out-of-school youth who are not attending school but are required to attend school by making school attendance a priority and scheduling services outside of normal school hours.

Focus on OSY • The most significant change is the focus of resources to out-of-school

youth (OSY). WIOA raises the minimum percentage of funds required to be spent on OSY from 30 percent to 75 percent.

• This intentional shift refocuses the program to serve OSY during a time when large numbers of youth and young adults are out-of-school and not connected to the labor force.

• In making this population shift, we need to focus on recruiting additional out-of-school youth for their WIOA programs. Among other strategies, the Department of Labor’s guidance recommends more intensive partnerships with school districts, Temporary Assistance for Needy Family programs, and community-based organizations.

Introduces 5 New Program Elements

1. Financial literacy; 2. Entrepreneurial skills training; 3. Services that provide labor market and employment information

about in-demand industry sectors or occupations available in the workforce areas;

4. Activities that help youth prepare for and transition to postsecondary education and training; and

5. Education offered concurrently with and in the same context as workforce preparation activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster.

WIOA Youth Eligibility To be eligible to receive WIOA youth services, an individual must: • Be a citizen or noncitizen authorized to work in the United

States; • Meet Military Selective Service registration requirements (males

only); and • Be an ISY or OSY, as defined by WIOA §129(a)(1)(B)–(C).

OSY Eligibility Out-of-school youth must be aged 16-24, not attending any school (as defined by state law), and meet one or more additional conditions, which could include: 1. A school dropout;

2. within age of compulsory attendance but has not attended for at least the most recent complete school year calendar quarter;

3. holds a secondary school diploma or recognized equivalent who is low-income and basic skills deficient or an English language learner;

4. an offender;

5. homeless, runaway, in foster care or aged out of the foster care system, eligible for assistance under Section 477, Social Security Act, or in out-of-home placement;

6. pregnant or parenting;

7. an individual with a disability;

8. A low-income individual who requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure and hold employment.

OSY Eligibility Not attending any school: for purposes of WIOA, USDOL does not consider providers of Adult Education under Title II of WIOA, YouthBuild programs, and Job Corps programs to be schools. Therefore, WIOA youth programs may consider a youth to be out-of-school for purposes of WIOA youth program eligibility if he/she is attending Adult Education provided under Title II of WIOA, YouthBuild, or Job Corps.)

School dropout: a youth attending an alternative school at the time of enrollment is not considered a dropout;

Low-income: Low income is not a requirement to meet eligibility for most categories of OSY under WIOA. For OSY, only those youth who are the recipient of a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent and are either basic skills deficient or an English language learner and youth who require additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment must be low-income. OSY with disabilities do not need to meet low-income eligibility requirements.

Co-Enrollment

Individuals ages 18 through 24 may be eligible for the adult and/or dislocated worker and youth programs if they meet the respective eligibility requirements for each program, and may be co-enrolled.

ISY Eligibility In-school youth must be aged 14-21, attending school (as defined by state law), low-income, and meet one or more additional conditions, which could include:

1. Basic skills deficient;

2. English language learner;

3. an offender;

4. homeless, runaway, in foster care or aged out of the foster care system; pregnant or parenting;

5. an individual with a disability;

6. person who requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure and hold employment (No more than 5 percent of ISY served in the workforce area may be deemed eligible because of the criteria described in this bullet)

ISY Eligibility All ISY must be low-income with the exception that up to 5% of ISY who meet all the other eligibility requirements need not be low-income. The up to 5% is calculated based on all newly enrolled youth who would ordinarily be required to meet the low-income criteria in a given program year.

Low-income/high-poverty areas WIOA includes a special rule where “low-income individual” includes youth living in a high-poverty area. A youth who lives in a high poverty area is automatically considered to be a low-income individual. A high poverty area is a Census tract, a set of contiguous Census tracts, an American Indian Reservation, Oklahoma Tribal Statistical Area (as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau), Alaska Native Village Statistical Area or Alaska Native Regional Corporation Area, Native Hawaiian Homeland Area, or other tribal land as defined by the Secretary in guidance or county that has a poverty rate of at least 25 percent as set every 5 years using American Community Survey 5-Year data.

*Youth receiving or eligible to receive a free or reduced price school lunch are also considered low-income under WIOA

Non Low-Income Exception In each local area not more than 5 percent of “covered individuals” may be persons who are not low income, but who otherwise meet the definition of covered individuals. WIOA sec. 129 (a)(3)(A)(i) defines a covered individual as any ISY or an OSY who meets all other eligibility requirements and who meets the following conditions:

• Recipient of a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent who is basic skills deficient or an English language learner; and

• An individual who requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment.

Individuals who are not low income must provide source documentation (no self-attestation) to prove they are covered individuals.

Definitions English language learner: An individual who has limited ability in reading, writing, speaking, or comprehending the English language, and whose native language is a language other than English; or who lives in a family or community environment where a language other than English is the dominant language.

Basic skills deficient: A youth who has English reading, writing, or computing skills at or below the 8th grade (8.9 or lower) level on a generally accepted standardized test; or who is unable to compute or solve problems, or read, write, or speak English, at a level necessary to function on the job, in the individual’s family, or in society.

Requires additional assistance: An individual (including a youth with a disability) who requires additional assistance to enter/complete an educational program or to secure and hold employment. WIOA final rules make a distinction between Needs Additional Assistance for In-School and Out-of-School Youth, as follows:

• In-School Youth Requires Additional Assistance – requires additional assistance to complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment

• Out-of-School Youth Requires Additional Assistance – requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment

Administrative Requirements Requires additional assistance: Because the WIC has not chosen to issue a policy that defines “requires additional assistance” as relates to WIOA Youth program eligibility, the WIOA Grant Administrator has the responsibility for determining its own definition of this eligibility category. A policy should be developed that specifies what conditions must be met for an in-school youth or for an out-of-school youth to require additional assistance and what documentation is needed to demonstrate this eligibility category. Policies established at the administrative level should be reasonable, quantifiable, and based on evidence that the specific characteristic of the youth identified in the policy objectively requires additional assistance. For example, “reading below grade level” is an example of an evidence-based, quantifiable characteristic; whereas, “low GPA” is an example of a policy needing more specificity.

High Poverty Area: Similarly, the Grant Administrator must establish procedures for determining and documenting youth eligibility based on living in a High Poverty Area.

WIC WIOA Policy Manual (DC-WIGL-2017-003)

Lauren Scott, WIOA Program Manager DC Workforce Investment Council

Policy Manual • Comprehensive Policy Manual was approved by

WIC Executive Committee in September 2016. • Manual was posted on January 24, 2017 at:

http://dcworks.dc.gov/page/policy-and-technical-assistance.

• Manual will be reviewed, expanded, and refined as necessary moving forward.

• The manual will become effective May 1, 2017, and we will provide guidance through WIGLs and TA Calls until then.

Forthcoming policy • Documentation sources for establishing WOA Title I

program eligibility • Services for Adults and Dislocated Workers, including

additional eligibility requirements for specific services • Low-income eligibility determination

OSSE AEFLA/WIC Career Pathways Grants

(DC-WIGL-2017-004)

Jeanna Fortney, Career Pathways Coordinator DC Workforce Investment Council

Update • In alignment with WIOA, the DC Unified State Plan, and Career Pathways Task

Force recommendations, the WIC will fund innovative sector-based grant partnerships, (similar to those from Maryland EARN and Minnesota FastTRAC) to serve District adults with high-barriers to employment, including low levels of literacy and basic skills.

• The WIC is partnering with OSSE’s Adult and Family Education on this effort. The model will blend WIC’s Innovation Fund and OSSE’s Title II funding.

• This partnership will reduce duplication of programming and increase capacity, two areas essential to building a strong career pathways system.

• WIC funding will allow for an additional 200-300 slots • Added services such as work-based learning component and a planning

phase for those providers who need time to ramp up operations.

• Check out the RFA posted on dcworks.dc.gov for more information and details on how to submit questions pertaining to the RFA.

Q&A

Q&A Q: Are DACA participants eligible to participate in WIOA?

A: Section 188 of WIOA contains a specific nondiscrimination provision that provides that participation in WIOA is available to citizens and nationals of the United States, lawfully admitted permanent resident aliens, refugees, asylees, and parolees, and other immigrants authorized by the Attorney General to work in the United States. Individuals with employment authorization qualify under this provision as “immigrants authorized by the Attorney General to work in the United States.” Therefore, DACA participants with employment authorization may access any WIA services for which they otherwise would qualify. See, USDOL ETA Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 02-14 and 20 CFR 38.12. Discrimination prohibited based on citizenship status

Q: What documentation must be provided to prove that a young person is ELL (for ISY and OSY)?

A: Additional WIC guidance on establishing and documenting participant eligibility may be issued at a later date, however in the interim, you may use the following to establish ELL status:

• School records

• Statement from school official

• Statement from Adult Basic Education provider

• Case notes

• Standardized assessment test (dated and scored)

• Applicant statement

Workforce System Technical Assistance

Workforce Implementation Guidance Letters • WIGLs posted at

http://dcworks.dc.gov/node/1202060 • To be notified of new WIGLs, email contact

information to dcworks@dc.gov

TA Calls • Bi-monthly calls to provide workforce system guidance, TA, and

updates • Audience:

• Senior-level, mid-level, and frontline supervisors and staff involved with operation of the WIOA One-Stop system, performance reporting, activity by Eligible Training Providers, and the implementation of WIC policies and WIOA law

• NOTE: TA call participation is mandatory for WIOA core partners and roll will be taken on the call. Please designate one person to represent your agency for each call. • Department of Human Services • Department of Disability Services • University of the District of Columbia • Department of Employment Services • Office of the State Superintendent for Education

TA Calls • Previously-submitted questions will be answered on each

call • Questions submitted during calls will be addressed in call

summaries • To be notified of upcoming TA calls, email contact

information to dcworks@dc.gov

Upcoming TA Calls • April 4 • June 6 • August 1 • October 3 • December 5

Additional calls may be added as needed.

Contact Information Rosalyce Broadous-Brown Policy Analyst DC Workforce Investment Council 202-724-5098 rosalyce.broadous-brown@dc.gov

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THANK YOU! We appreciate your interest and engagement and

look forward to our continued work together!