I. Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to communicate the documentation requirements
necessary to support eligibility determinations in the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA) adult, dislocated worker, and youth programs.
II. Effective
Date
Immediately
III. Rescission
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Workforce Innovation
and Opportunity Act Policy Letter No. 15-07, Source Documentation Policy, (July
15, 2015).
IV. Background
WIOA establishes general and specific program eligibility criteria.
As recipients of WIOA Title I, Subtitle B funds, the ODJFS Office of Workforce Development
(OWD), the local workforce development areas (local areas), and Comprehensive Case
Management and Employment Program (CCMEP) lead agencies are required to maintain
and report accurate program and financial information.
V. Definitions
Comprehensive Case Management and
Employment Program (CCMEP): An integrated intervention program that combines
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the WIOA youth program to provide
employment and training services to individuals ages 14 through 24 years.
Lead agency: The local participating
agency designated by the board of county commissioners to administer CCMEP.
Ohio Workforce Case Management System
(OWCMS): A system used by workforce professionals to gather and report WIOA
and CCMEP participant and program data and information.
Personal information and personally
identifiable information (PII): Any information describing anything about
a person, indicating actions done by or to a person, or indicating a person’s personal
characteristics, which can be retrieved from a system by a name, identifying number,
symbol, or other identifier assigned to a person. This information can be used to
distinguish or trace an individual’s identity, either alone or when combined with
other personal or identifying information that is linked or linkable to a specific
individual.
Registration: The process of collecting
information to support a determination of eligibility for the WIOA adult, dislocated
worker, and youth programs. This information may be collected through methods, including
electronic data transfer, personal interview, or an individual's application.
Workforce service providers (WSPs):
Local areas, career services providers, youth program providers, and CCMEP lead
agencies that carry out a workforce development activity or program.
VI. Workforce
Service Provider Requirements
Workforce service providers (WSPs) Local areas, career services providers,
youth program providers, and CCMEP lead agencies must verify or confirm eligibility
requirements through an examination of documents or by using one or more of the
additional methods of source documentation described below.
Documentation requirements to support WIOA adult and dislocated worker
eligibility are tied to the level of services provided to the participant. For adults
and dislocated workers receiving only basic career services which do not trigger
participation in the WIOA program, the local area may accept information provided
by these reportable individuals at face value to complete the basic intake process
without requiring source documentation.
Documentation requirements increase for participants who receive
basic career services triggering participation, individualized career services,
or training services. Definitions and examples of basic career services and individualized
career services are contained in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy
Letter (WIOAPL) No. 15-08.1, Career Services for Adults
and Dislocated Workers.
CCMEP WIOA youth program eligibility documentation does not vary
between types of services or program elements received.
Attachment A provides guidance for the specific types of source documents
that may be used to verify participant eligibility at each level of service.
A. Electronic Files
Eligibility documentation may be stored electronically. However,
the documentation requirements remain unchanged. If WSPs use electronic files, the
documents must be available to the program and fiscal monitors and auditors for
monitoring purposes.
The Ohio Workforce Case Management System (OWCMS) is the system of
record for all WIOA workforce activities. Per rule 5101:9-30-04 of the Administrative
Code, local areas must use OWCMS to accurately report the following:
1. WIOA participant
information, including eligibility criteria and barriers to employment;
2. Services provided
to the participant;
3. Case management
activities, including case notes; and
4. Performance information.
Information must be placed into OWCMS within 30 days of obtaining
the information. No other system of case management shall be maintained.
B. Electronic Signatures
WSPs may have an electronic WIOA adult and dislocated worker programs
eligibility form. In these instances, the electronic form must capture the electronic
signatures of the applicants.
For the CCMEP WIOA youth program, WSPs must use the JFS 03002, WIOA Youth Program Eligibility Application. This form must
be used to determine eligibility for all WIOA youth program participants per rule
5101:14-1-02 of the Administrative Code. WSPs making this form electronic must capture
all required electronic signatures.
C. Additional methods of Source Documentation
For documentation of eligibility for WIOA adult, dislocated worker,
and youth programs, there are multiple forms of acceptable source documentation.
In most instances, one of the source documents listed in Attachment A, Allowable Source Documentation for WIOA Program Eligibility,
should be used to verify the eligibility of a participant. Below are additional
methods that WSPs may use if, per Attachment A of this policy letter, the method
is permissible for the eligibility criteria or data element being verified.
1. Telephone or Electronic Communication
In instances where telephone or electronic communication is acceptable
and used, the case file must contain the name of the agency representative, the
date of the conversation, and the result of the eligibility verification.
WSPs must use the JFS 13188, WIOA
Telephone Eligibility Verification, to document telephone communication.
If a telephone communication is used to verify dislocation, the case file must contain
the date and reason for termination, and a possible recall date if applicable.
2. Self-Attestation
Self-Attestation occurs when a participant states his or her status
for an eligibility criterion or set of eligibility criteria, and then signs and
dates a form acknowledging this status. The key elements for self-attestation are:
a The participant
identifying his or her status for permitted eligibility criteria; and
b Signing and dating
the form attesting to this self-identification.
WSPs must use the JFS 13186, Self-Attestation,
or the JFS 13187, Citizenship Status/Authorization to
Work Self-Attestation.
Local areas may add the JFS 13186 to a local area WIOA Adult and
Dislocated Worker eligibility determination form if all the components of the form,
including language, remain intact. The self-attestation is not a blanket verification
for all eligibility components as noted in Attachment A. Within this self-attestation,
the individual must document which specific elements of eligibility he or she is
attesting (e.g., authorization to work, proof of termination or layoff, etc.) and
how he or she meets the eligibility criteria.
WSPs must be cognizant that not all eligibility source documentation
may be verified with self-attestation. Therefore, self-attestation does not alleviate
or replace the need to collect documentation of some eligibility elements from the
individual.
3. Case Notes
Case notes refer to statements placed in OWCMS by the case manager
and identify, at a minimum, the following:
a A participant's
status for a specific eligibility criterion or set of eligibility criteria;
b The date on which
the information was obtained; and
c The case manager
who obtained the information.
4. Cross-Match
A cross-match requires the WSP staff to acquire detailed supporting
evidence for the eligibility criteria in another database (e.g., public assistance
records). An indicator or presence of a social security number in a database alone
is not sufficient evidence to document WIOA eligibility; additional details such
as the date of the eligibility determination, date of participation, and services
rendered should be obtained from the cross-match to confirm the accuracy and currency
of the information.
5. State Management Information System (MIS)
State MIS refers to specific, detailed information that is stored
in OWCMS and supports eligibility criteria. An indicator such as a checkmark or
date on a computer screen is not acceptable source documentation.
D Handling and Protecting Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
1 Identifying information
collected about adult, dislocated worker, and youth workforce program participants
is not considered a public record, should only be used for workforce program administrative
purposes, and should not be disclosed to the general public or to unauthorized individuals.
Identifying information includes, but is not limited to, names, home and email addresses,
phone numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, and other identifying information
collected or maintained about individual job-seekers, those seeking education or
training, and those seeking assistance in overcoming their barriers to employment.
2 Moreover, certain
types of personally identifiable information (PII) about workforce participants
are more sensitive and confidential than others, because the disclosure of such
information could result in financial or other harm to the individual whose name
or identity is linked to that information. Such information requires a higher level
of security — including staff training — to prevent unauthorized access, use and
disclosure. Examples of the types of PII that are more sensitive, and therefore
subject to a higher level of security, include, but are not limited to, social security
numbers (SSN), state and federal tax identification numbers, driver’s license numbers,
state identification numbers, credit and debit card numbers, bank and financial
account numbers, student educational records (including transcripts, and information
about current or prior enrollment, course progress, or graduation), medical history
and information about an individual’s current or prior physical or mental status,
financial information, and information identifying the individual as an applicant
for or recipient of unemployment compensation benefits, or food or cash assistance.
3 Any WSP 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 OMJ Center partner organizations.
4 Federal law, OMB
Guidance, and United States Department of Labor (USDOL) policies require that PII
and other sensitive information be protected. To ensure that PII and sensitive information
is handled appropriately, WSPs must:
a Ensure PII is
not transmitted to unauthorized users and all PII transmitted through e-mail or
stored electronically (e.g., DVD or thumb drive) is encrypted.
b Take necessary
steps to ensure the privacy of all PII obtained from participants and/or other individuals
and to protect such information from unauthorized disclosure.
c Ensure that any
PII used as part of the WIOA grant has been obtained in conformity with applicable
Federal and state laws governing confidentiality of information. PII shall not be
stored on personally owned equipment, at off-site locations (e.g., employee’s home),
and on personal e-mail accounts.
d Ensure that all
PII obtained through the WIOA grant is stored in an area that is physically safe
from access by unauthorized persons at all times.
e Store PII only
on secure work servers and equipment that are approved by ODJFS or the local board.
Storing PII on personally owned equipment, at off-site locations (e.g., employee’s
home), and on personal e-mail accounts is prohibited.
f Advise all local
area and/or provider staff who have access to sensitive/confidential/proprietary/private
data of the confidential nature of the information, the safeguards required to protect
the information, and the civil and criminal sanctions for noncompliance with such
safeguards.
g Implement policies
and procedures regarding the handling of PII, including staff acknowledgement of
their understanding of the confidential nature of the data and the safeguards with
which they must comply in their handling of such data.
E Outlined below are requirements to protect PII:
1 Before obtaining
a participant’s SSN, the WSP should have the participant sign a release acknowledging
the use of social security numbers for eligibility determination and federal grant
purposes only.
2 WSPs should use
unique identifiers for participant tracking instead of the SSN. If SSNs are to be
used for tracking purposes, they must be stored or displayed in a way that is not
attributable to an individual, such as using a truncated or masked SSN (e.g., last
4 digits only).
3 WSPs using an
electronic system in addition to OWCMS for basic career services tracking or other
registration processes must truncate or mask an individual's SSN in such systems.
4 WSPs using paper
applications containing SSNs must, at a minimum, enter the basic intake information
and the SSN in OWCMS the day the information is received and destroy the paper application
if feasible. If all eligibility information is not placed in OWCMS that day, staff
must mask the SSN on the paper application and store in a secure manner.
5 Documentation
of SSNs (e.g., physical copy of social security card) shall not be obtained until
such time WIOA eligibility is determined, the individual receives a WIOA adult,
dislocated worker, or WIOA CCMEP youth program service which triggers participation
in the program, and the individual becomes a participant.
6 When an individual
becomes a participant, the WSP must attempt to obtain and verify the SSN for performance
reporting purposes but shall not deny access to the American Job Center’s (in Ohio,
called OhioMeansJobs center) resource room or to WIOA program services if the individual
does not disclose his or her SSN. If the individual refuses to provide an SSN, the
local area will assign a temporary alternative identifying number. The individual
will use this number for identification during subsequent visits to the OhioMeansJobs
center or for program-funded activity tracking.
7 WSPs should keep
SSNs electronically in OWCMS minimizing the use of paper files. If paper files are
used or if the participant’s SSN is listed on other forms of source documentation
listed in Attachment A, the WSP must ensure that the SSN on the paper document has
been masked.
8 WSPs must use
appropriate methods for destroying sensitive PII in paper files and securely deleting
sensitive electronic PII.
9 WSP staff at the
OhioMeansJobs center or other service delivery location shall not leave records
containing PII open and unattended.
10 WSPs shall store
documents containing PII in locked cabinets when not in use.
11 Local workforce
development board directors shall report within 24 hours any breach or suspected
breach of PII by the area or its subrecipient to the Deputy Director at OWD, ODJFS
and to Ohio’s assigned Federal Project Officer at the Department of Labor (DOL),
Region 5, and follow any instructions provided by ODJFS or DOL.
F. Retention of Records
Per rule 5101:9-9-21 of the Administrative Code, ODJFS and local
areas are to retain records for a period of at least three (3) years after submittal
of the final closeout expenditure report for that funding period.
VII. Monitoring
At the local level, the local area must conduct oversight of the
implementation of the WIOA adult, dislocated worker, and youth programs to ensure
that participants are eligible for enrolled programs and documentation supporting
the eligibility are contained in the case files. The procedures for protecting PII
must also be monitored by the local area.
Through the state’s monitoring system, program monitors will review
the local area’s implementation of the WIOA adult, dislocated worker, and youth
programs, including a participant file review during the annual onsite monitoring
review for compliance with federal and state laws and regulations. Any issues will
be handled through the state’s monitoring resolution process.
VIII. Technical Assistance
For technical assistance, you may send your request to the Office
of Workforce Development: WIOAQNA@jfs.ohio.gov.
IX. References
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Pub. L. 113-128.
29 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.
O.R.C. Chapters 6301 and 5116, and O.R.C. § 5101.241.
O.A.C. Chapters 5101:9-31 and 5101:14-1, and O.A.C. rules 5101:9-9-21
and 5101:9-30-04.
USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 39-11, Guidance
on Handling and Protection of Personally Identifiable Information (PII), (June 28,
2012).
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter No.
15-08.1, Career Services for Adults and Dislocated Workers, (June 6, 2017).
Attachment A, Allowable Source
Documentation for WIOA Program Eligibility
JFS 13188, WIOA Telephone Eligibility Verification
JFS 13186, Self-Attestation
JFS 13187, Citizenship
Status/Authorization to Work Self-Attestation