I.Purpose

This communication provides guidance on post placement activities and post-exit followup services available under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

II.Effective Date

Immediately

III.Guidance Statements

The goal of post placement activities and post-exit followup services is to ensure job retention, wage gains and career progress for WIA registered participants who have entered unsubsidized employment. Under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), placement is an activity that may or may not initiate exits from WIA.

Adults and dislocated workers do not need to be immediately exited from the WIA program once placed into unsubsidized employment. One impact of not immediately exiting participants who have entered unsubsidized employment is that the counting of performance measures may be delayed. Case management providers are encouraged to continue services to registered participants to meet the needs of the participants and ensure successful completion of goals and to ensure reasonable expectation that participants can retain employment after exiting from the WIA program.

There are two types of followup services: post placement activities which are provided after an individual has entered unsubsidized employment and before exiting from WIA, and there are post-exit followup services which may be provided after an individual has been exited from WIA.

Post placement activities must be made available for a minimum of 12 months after the first day a WIA registered participant has obtained unsubsidized employment and not to exceed a maximum of 15 months. A participant who has entered unsubsidized employment must remain registered in WIA to be eligible to receive post placement activities. The intensity of appropriate post placement activities may vary depending upon the needs of the individual. Although post placement activities must be made available, not all of the adults and dislocated workers who are registered and placed into unsubsidized employment will need or want such activities.

Post-exit followup is a core service and may be provided to individuals that have exited WIA with or without unsubsidized employment. These followup services are informational and do not require significant staff assistance or registration.

A.Post Placement Activities

Post placement activities are only for participants who have entered unsubsidized employment and have not been exited from WIA. The purpose of post placement activities is to ensure continuation of participant contact, success in retaining self-sufficient employment and career progress.

Post placement activities include, but are not limited to:

• Additional Career Planning and Counseling
• Assistance with Work-Related Challenges That May Arise
• Contact with Participant's Employer
• Continued Career Planning and Other Core Services
• Counseling in the Workplace
• Staff Assisted Workshops/Job Clubs
• Information about Additional Educational Opportunities
• Intervention to Eliminate Employee-Employer Conflict
• Peer Support Groups
• Job Coaching
• Staff Assisted Job Referrals
• Referral to Supportive Services Available in the Community
• Skills Upgrading and Retraining
• Staff Assisted Job Development
• Supportive Services (provided on a limited basis)
• On-the-Job Training and Customized Training (provided on a limited basis)

Supportive services and training may be provided on a limited basis during the post placement period. The provision of training may be provided for 90 days after an individual enters employment and should be reasonable, necessary and appropriate in a post placement situation. Training that exceeds 90 days should be approved on a case by case basis. Post placement training should be for training that is not normally provided and paid by the employer.

Financial assistance, such as needs-related payments, is not an allowable post placement service for employed participants.

Before providing post placement activities to a participant that has obtained employment, WIA administrative entities must ensure that the core, intensive and training sequence of service requirement has been met.

WIA services are coded in the Sharing Opportunities and Training Information (SCOTI) system to distinguish between core, intensive and training services received by participants prior to entering unsubsidized employment and post placement core, post placement intensive and post placement training services received after entering unsubsidized employment. The codes are as follow:

CCore services

IIntensive services

TTraining services

PCPost placement core services

PIPost placement intensive services

PTPost placement training services

Post placement activities will be monitored by the State. A report will be generated that will show those participants that have received post placement activities for 15 months.

WIA administrative entities will need to decide when to record employment for participants in order to establish when the post placement activities begin. The post placement employment is defined as the employment that leads to being counted for performance after a participant is exited from the program. Participants may be placed in a low paying, low skilled job for interim employment. The interim employment does not have to be the employment that starts post placement activities or counted for performance measures.

The SCOTI system will allow employments to be recorded on the Job Placement option and Job Placement Summary tab and such employment should be documented in the participant file. The Post Placement button will need to be selected to indicate employment that will allow for post placement activities to begin.

WIA post placement activities must be recorded on the Work Readiness Plan in the Service/Type/Service Activity section in the SCOTI WIA participant tracking system. The need for WIA activities after placement into unsubsidized employment must be documented in the individual employment plan (IEP) and in the participant's case file.

B.Exit

An exit from the WIA program must occur when a registered participant is no longer receiving services and have no activities and services planned for the future. Exits can occur for participants regardless of whether or not they have completed services and goals outlined in their Individual Employment Plan (IEP).

The timing of an exit is important. The quarter in which participants exit from the program will impact local performance measures and overall performance of the State. As a general rule, case managers should prepare appropriate participants for an exit during the last week of the program quarter. In cases where a participant has received training services the individual should not be exited until the credential is obtained and the individual is employed in order to meet the employment and credential performance rate.

A soft exit occurs when a participant has not received services or activities for 90 consecutive calendar days. Participants who have not received services for 90 consecutive calendar days and have no services scheduled must be exited from WIA. SCOTI does not automatically create a soft exit.

A hard exit occurs when a participant has a date of case closure, completion or known exit from WIA-funded or non-WIA funded partner activities or services within the quarter. A participant's exit date is the last date of WIA funded or partner services received by a participant. Participants exited from WIA may continue to receive partner services. The partner services would not be recorded and tracked in SCOTI after the participant has exited the WIA program.

WIA administrative entities have the discretion to define and determine when a participant is job ready and which employment has potential to lead to being counted for performance purposes. Administrative entities must carefully determine which participants are prepared to be exited after entering unsubsidized employment with the expectation that the participant will likely be employed in the first and third quarter after exit.

It is important to develop a strategy for exiting participants who reach either wage gain or wage replacement criteria, earnings change in six months and to continue services for those who have not.

C.Post-Exit Followup Services

After a participant has entered unsubsidized employment, received post placement activities and is then exited from WIA, post placement activities are no longer available for the customer.

Participants who have exited may receive post-exit followup services through WIA core services or non-WIA funded services. The provision of core services does not require registration. WIA and partners' core services must be available at the One-Stop center.

Adults or dislocated workers needing staff-assisted core, intensive or training services following an exit must be re-registered into WIA, including determining eligibility and obtaining necessary eligibility documentation. A new record is created and will count again for performance measures.

D.Example of Scenarios

Following is guidance regarding scenarios that may occur and how post placement activities and post-exit followup services will be handled:

• A participant who has entered unsubsidized employment and not exited from WIA. The participant may receive post placement activities for a minimum of 12 months and not to exceed 15 months. Participant must be exited after 90 consecutive calendar days of no services or activity received or after 15 months, whichever comes first.
• A participant is currently enrolled in a program of training services and obtains unsubsidized employment. The participant may continue in the program of training services.
• A participant receives staff-assisted core services, obtains unsubsidized employment, not exited and needs post placement activities. The participant will need to receive a post placement intensive service before receiving the post placement training.
• A participant who has entered unsubsidized employment, not exited from WIA, receiving post placement activities and loses the employment before exiting. The participant may continue in post placement activities or may receive another WIA activity.
• A participant who has entered unsubsidized employment, received post placement activities, exited from WIA and is in need of additional WIA staff-assisted core, intensive and/or training services. The individual must be re-registered into WIA. The re-registration is a new record and will count again for performance measure.
• A participant who has not been placed in unsubsidized employment and exited from WIA. This individual may not receive post placement activities. The individual may receive core followup services which do not require re-registration. The individual can also be served again and must start the process over. The individual may return to the One-Stop center and receive staff-assisted core, intensive and/or training services, but the individual must be re-registered to get these WIA services. The re-registration is a new record and will count again for performance measures.
• An individual that comes to the One-Stop center seeking services and is currently employed. The individual may receive core services and intensive and training services if determined eligible. If the individual is registered in WIA, the participant may be provided post placement activities. The participant will not be counted for entered employment; however, the individual could be counted in the wage gain and retention performance measures and if applicable the credential performance measure.

Followup for Youth

One of the ten program elements that must be available for youth is followup services. The goal of followup services is to ensure youth continue participation and achieve their goal(s). All youth participants must receive some form of followup services for a minimum of 12 months after the completion of participation and as appropriate. Followup is the only program element that is required for all youth.

The type of service provided must be determined based on the needs of the youth. For youth, followup services may be provided beyond exit and beyond12 months. Followup services may be less intensive for youth that participate only in the summer employment opportunity program element.

There may be costs incurred for followup services for youth who are not registered in WIA at the time the services are provided. Before seeking competitive bids from youth providers, local WIA administrative entities should determine a strategy and budget to ensure followup services will be available when subcontracts for the other program elements end and youth participants are exited.

Followup services may include, but are not limited to:

• Adult Mentoring
• Assistance in Securing Better Paying Jobs
• Career Development and Further Education
• Contact with a Youth's Employer
• Leadership Development
• Supportive Services
• Tracking the Progress of Youth in Employment After Training
• Work-Related Peer Support Groups

For youth who are concurrently enrolled in the adult, dislocated worker and youth programs, followup activities and services must be provided for individuals who are concurrently registered in the youth program and may be provided for youth registered in the adult and/or dislocated worker program. For example, when a youth has exited from the youth program, the youth must receive followup services even though the youth may be currently enrolled in the adult and/or dislocated worker WIA program. Once the youth has entered unsubsidized employment as a result of services received through the adult and/or dislocated worker program and remains registered, the youth may receive post placement activities and services.

IV.Technical Assistance

You may call John Weber, Chief, Bureau of Workforce Services at (614) 644-8836 for additional information.

V.Reference

Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Public Law 105-220

WIA Final Rules, 20 CFR Part 652 et al.

Recissions: None