I.Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to
provide guidance on the requirements for delivery and reporting of
Wagner-Peyser (WP) Employment Services (ES) to individuals seeking employment.
II.Effective
Date
Immediately
III.Rescission
ODJFS, Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Transmittal Letter No. 35,
Job Seeker Registration (Intake) in Sharing Career Opportunities and Training
Information (SCOTI) Labor Exchange System (February 1, 2008) and ODJFS, State-Operated
Workforce Programs Policy Letter (SOWPPL) No. 18-01 Delivering Wagner-Peyser
Labor Exchange Services in the OhioMeansJobs Centers (November 2, 2018)
IV.Background
Through the Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, the Employment Service
(ES) program brings qualified job seekers together with employers. Services
received through the ES program are provided and reported through the
OhioMeansJobs centers as mandated in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity
Act (WIOA) that establishes the public workforce system.
The goals of the ES program are to help job seekers obtain
meaningful employment opportunities. Employment services may be delivered using
one of three methods:
1.Self-service
(including virtual services);
2.Facilitated
self-help services; or
3.Staff assisted
services.
Under WIOA, the ES is identified as a core program that must
deliver basic career services in coordination with the other core partners located
at the OhioMeansJobs centers, as outlined in WIOAPL
16-09.1 (Establishment of the Workforce Delivery System).
All employment services must be conducted in accordance with WIOAPL
17-01 (Mandate Use of OhioMeansJobs.com for Labor Exchange Activities)
V.Requirements
Provision of Career Services by ES Staff
ES staff must assist job seekers by providing services that
include, but are not necessarily limited to, the services described below.
Job Search and Placement Assistance
ES Staff may provide an array of employment-related services to
universal job seekers, including, but not limited to:
- Labor market information;
- Resume assistance;
- Development of individual employment plans;
- Assistance with using electronic tools and
resources available to individuals on OhioMeansJobs.com and on United States
Department of Labor (DOL) platforms;
- Job placement assistance;
- Mock Interviewing sessions;
- Job club;
- Case management, including required
follow-up activities; and
- Assistance with filing programmatic or
civil rights complaints related to the delivery of ES.
Referral Services
As appropriate, ES staff will refer universal job seekers,
including those with barriers to employment, to programs and services carried
out by partners in the OhioMeansJobs center delivery system and to other
workforce development programs based on the job seeker’s needs. The referral to another program is
appropriate for a job seeker who is likely to meet that program’s eligibility
requirements and who:
1.Has significant
barriers to employment;
2.Lacks skills that are
in demand, including the lack of a secondary school diploma (or equivalent) or
post-secondary credential(s);
3.Needs supportive
services to obtain or sustain employment; or
4.Would be best served
by the services and resources provided by the other program to a target
population that includes the job seeker.
Meaningful Assistance to Unemployment
Insurance (UI) Claimants
ES Staff, along with the OhioMeansJobs center partners carrying
out WIOA Title I program services, have specific obligations to provide
meaningful assistance to UI claimants, which include:
1.Coordination of
career services, particularly employment services;
2.Targeting UI
claimants for job search assistance and referrals to employment;
3.Ensuring claimants
meet eligibility requirements, including searching and registering for work and
participating in reemployment services;
4.Providing
information to UI program staff that could affect a UI claimant’s or
applicant’s eligibility or benefits; and
5.Connecting UI claimants
to reemployment services.
In the OhioMeansJobs centers, meaningful assistance provided to
individuals seeking assistance in filing a UI claim includes the following
resources:
1.Computers available
for individuals to file a claim for UI or to file an appeal of their claim;
2.Telephones with
access to the direct, toll-free phone numbers utilized by the ODJFS Office of
Unemployment Insurance Operations for individuals seeking assistance from UI
merit staff in filing claims or appeals, which does not include referrals to a
general information phone number;
3.Posters providing
claimants with information on how to file UI claims, which must be visible in
the resource room;
4.Additional documents
meant to assist UI claimants, which must be available in the resource room; and
5.Resource room staff
who are trained on navigating the UI claim filing processes and who can provide
general information to claimants on their responsibilities.
Only UI Adjudication Center state staff may answer claim specific
questions, provide advice, or make decisions that could affect claimants' UI
eligibility.
Other Activities
In coordination with OhioMeansJobs center partners, staff may
assist universal job seekers through self-service or facilitated self-help
services through:
- Rapid Response (RR) Services
- Workshops (on site, online or at partner
locations)
- Resource Room Activities
- Outreach Activities
- Services to Employers (as directed by the local
OhioMeansJobs center)
Reporting ES Career Services
As appropriate based on each job seeker’s assessed needs and in
coordination with the other partners in the OhioMeansJobs center, documentation
of career services provided must be reported in the recipient’s case management
record using the appropriate code identified for each service in Attachment B: OhioMeansJobs Center Career Services for Job Seekers.
The reporting of ES delivery impacts program performance
measures. Ohio’s designated case management system is the only system of record
for performance and reporting compliance. Pursuant to Ohio Administrative Code
Rule 5101:9-30-04, services must be reported in Ohio’s designated case
management system within 30 days of their delivery or implementation using an
accurate service code.
Basic Career Services Not Triggering
Participation (N)
Some basic career services are informational services and
require limited to no assistance from staff. Job seekers engaged in
self-service and informational activities are not considered participants and
receipt of the service does not trigger participation into the ES program.
Job seekers who receive only N services and who provide personally
identifying information are counted among the reportable individuals who
accessed ES, but their employment outcomes are not included in the calculation
of ES program performance measures.
Basic Career Services Triggering
Participation (P)
Other basic career services require more staff assistance and
receipt of these services triggers an individual to become a participant and be
included in ES program performance measures.
The roles of staff in providing P services are to:
- Identify job seekers who have requested P services
or who are likely to need such services based on an assessment or a failure to
find and maintain unsubsidized employment within a reasonable timeframe;
- Provide career services directly when feasible
or to refer job seekers to other partners and services best suited to address
their unique needs;
- Ensure that all career services provided to a
job seeker are entered in the participant’s case management record.
ES Staff should attempt to contact job seekers who received ES
to increase the effectiveness of the program, gather supplemental employment
data, and identify additional service needs.
The outcome of each contact attempt, including unsuccessful efforts to
communicate with a job seeker, must be documented in a case note in the
individual’s case management system record.
Additional contact should be made with job seekers who received
N services to offer them the opportunity to participate in P services or to
explore other programs and activities if the job seeker has not gained
employment at the time of the follow-up communication.
For job seekers who have received at least one P service, communication
is required 14 days after the initial P service and then at least once every 30
days until the participant enters or returns to unsubsidized employment or
declines further services.
ES Staff may cease services after three documented, unsuccessful
attempts to contact the job seeker.
Follow-Up Services
Appropriate follow-up services must be made available to a
participant placed in unsubsidized employment for one year following the
participant's first date of employment. Follow-up services can be useful for
participants in order to maintain employment. ES Staff can provide workplace
information and tips for success in the workplace environment and other
counseling about the workplace.
Additionally, follow-up services provide the continuing link
between the participant and workforce system. These services allow ES staff to
assist with other services the participant may need once he or she obtains
employment. Examples may include assistance with employer benefits, health
insurance, and financial literacy and budgeting assistance.
Career Services for Special Population
Groups
Ten percent of WP ES funds are earmarked for the provision of
services to groups within a special population.
Members of one or more of the populations with barriers to employment
listed in Attachment C, ES Special Population Groups
are to be served using the earmarked ES funds.
The documentation requirements to verify the existence of a barrier
are meant to be minimal and may include, but are not limited to:
- Responses on an intake or assessment form signed
by the job seeker that indicates the existence of one or more of the barriers
described in Attachment C;
- A verbal statement by the individual as
documented in case notes; or
- Written claim of the existence of a barrier on
the self-attestation form (JFS form 13186) signed
by the individual.
When providing career services to a job seeker, ES staff shall
review available information and ask appropriate questions to determine whether
the individual falls within any of the special population groups. If so, staff must update the case management
system record to identify the specific barrier.
Staff time spent serving individuals who are members of a
special population group must be reported in the payroll reporting system using
the specific reporting code established for the ten percent earmark for serving
such groups.
Priority for Veterans and Eligible
Spouses
The Jobs for Veterans Act, Public Law 107-288 establishes
priority of service for veterans and eligible spouses. Priority means that
veterans and eligible spouses take precedence, with all other qualifying
eligibility requirements being equal, over non-veteran and eligible spouses in
obtaining services and program enrollment. Please refer to WIOAPL 15-20.2 (Priority of Service for
Veterans and Eligible Spouses) for requirements.
Reporting Entry into Employment
Entry of a participant into unsubsidized employment that was
facilitated by staff must be entered into Ohio’s designated case management
system within 30 days of the date employment is reported.
Follow-up should be conducted during the probationary period on
new employment. If the individual quits
or is let go during the first 90 days of employment, staff will continue
providing N or P services to the job seeker and entering the additional
services into Ohio’s designated case management system.
Follow-up communication with exited participants is required during
both the second and fourth quarter after exit from the program, to gather
information about employment outcomes. Because the information gathered is supplemental
data relevant to the calculation of performance measures, it must be entered into
the case management system.
Participant Exit
An ES participant shall exit from the program and begin to be
included in program performance measures after 90 consecutive calendar days
following the later of:
1.The last P
service provided to the participant by the ES program; or
2.The end-date of
all enrolled services provided to the participant by partner programs that use Ohio’s
designated case management system to report their services.
When all P services have been completed, staff must enter end dates and
outcomes for all services. A close reason must also be entered for a program participant.
At this point, the case is considered closed and remains in a holding status
for 90 days. During this 90-day period, staff may re-open the case if the
program participant re-engages employment services. After the 90-day
period has lapsed without re-engagement, the participant's case will exit and
trigger performance indicators.
Exclusions from ES Program Performance
A participant may be exited from the ES program and excluded
from performance reporting for the following reason(s):
1.The participant
has become incarcerated in a correctional institution or has become a resident
of an institution or facility providing 24-hour support (i.e., a hospital or
treatment center) during the course of receiving services;
2.The participant
exits the program because of medical treatment. The treatment is expected to
last longer than 90 days and precludes entry into unsubsidized employment or
continued participation in the program;
3.The participant
is deceased;
4.The participant
is a member of the National Guard or other reserve military unit of armed
forces and is called to active duty for at least 90 days.
If an ES participant exits the program for any of the above
reasons, staff shall document the exit reason on the exit screen to ensure
accurate calculation of the ES program performance measures.
Performance
WIOA forged the expectation that the core programs, including
ES, will work together to meet or exceed each program’s performance measures
through effective and coordinated service delivery and performance management.
The following are the federal indicators of performance relevant
to the ES program:
1.The percentage
of participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter
after exit from the program;
2.The percentage
of participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter
after exit from the program;
3.Median earnings
of participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter
after exit from the program.
The methodologies used to calculate the above performance
measures under ES mirror those used by the programs authorized under Title I of
WIOA.
Further explanation of the calculation of each program
performance indicator may be found in WIOAPL 17-02 (WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker,
and Youth Programs Performance Accountability)
Handling and Protecting Personally Identifiable Information
(PII)
ES staff who work directly with job-seekers and other workforce
program participants, or who handle or process PII about workforce
participants, must take steps to ensure that PII is processed in a manner that
will protect the confidentiality of the records/documents, and that PII is not
accessed, viewed, or used by either the general public, or unauthorized staff
at OhioMeansJobs Center partner organizations. Guidelines for safeguarding PII
are outlined in WIOAPL 15-07.2 (Source Documentation for
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Title I Program Eligibility)
and must be followed.
VI.Technical
Assistance
Ongoing support, guidance, and technical assistance on
delivering employment services is available by e-mailing EmploymentServices@jfs.ohio.gov.
VII. References
Wagner-Peyser Act of 1933, as amended by the Workforce
Investment Act of 1998.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, §§ 301- 308, Pub. L.
113-128.
20 C.F.R. Part 652 and Part 677.150.
USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter WIOA No. 19-16,
Operating Guidance for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Guidance
on Services provided through the Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs under the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and the Wagner-Peyser Act
Employment Service (ES), as amended by title III of WIOA, and for
Implementation of the WIOA Final Rules, (March 1, 2017).
USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter WIOA No. 16-16,
One-Stop Operating Guidance for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
(WIOA), (January 18, 2017).
USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter WIOA No. 10-16
Change 1, Performance Accountability Guidance for Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I, Title II, Title III, and Title IV Core
Programs, (August 23, 2017).
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter
No. 17-02, WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Programs Performance
Accountability, (September 21, 2017).
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter
No. 16-09.1, Establishment of the Workforce Delivery System), (April 1, 2019).
Attachment
A: Employment
Services for Job Seekers Glossary
Attachment
B: ES
Career Services for Job Seekers
Attachment
C: ES
Special Population Groups