I.Purpose
To define participant eligibility, allowable services, and other
policy parameters to enable participating local workforce development areas
(local areas) to implement and deliver opioid emergency grant services.
II.Effective
Date
Immediately
III.Background
Opioid use
disorder and overdose deaths have become the most pressing public health issue
and workforce challenge facing Ohio. According to the Ohio Chamber of Commerce,
half the businesses surveyed report suffering the consequences of substance
abuse in the form of absenteeism, decreased productivity, and worker
shortage. The effects of the crisis in
Ohio and other states prompted the President to declare an opioid epidemic
national health emergency on August 10, 2017. The U.S. Department of Labor
(DOL) then published Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 4-18 to
provide instructions on how states could apply for Disaster Recovery Dislocated
Worker Grants to respond to the opioid crisis.
In response, the
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) applied for and received an
$11 million discretionary National Health Emergency Disaster Recovery National
Dislocated Worker Grant. This time-limited grant will be used to:
- Facilitate community partnerships that are
central to dealing with this complex public health crisis;
- Provide training that builds the skilled
workforce in professions that could impact the causes and treatment of the
opioid crisis: addiction treatment, mental health, and pain management;
- Ensure the timely delivery of appropriate,
necessary career, training, and support activities to eligible participants,
including participants who have been impacted by opioid use, to promote
successful reemployment;
- Create temporary disaster-relief employment that
addresses the unique impacts of the opioid crisis in affected communities; and
- Increase engagement with and support for
employers to modify hiring practices and drug-free work place policies that
ensure more job opportunities and job retention.
IV.State
Requirements
As the state workforce agency and grantee, ODJFS shall:
- Submit grant applications, modifications,
quarterly reports, and other communications to DOL on behalf of the local
areas;
- Assign a project manager to serve as the
point-of-contact and coordinator of grant related resources and information;
- Review and approve implementation plans and
budgets submitted by the local areas;
- Manage grant funds including the determination
of sub-award amounts;
- Manage incremental funding to local areas and
potential revisions to such awards to address underspending, ensure maximum
investment of the available resources, and take action designed to ensure ODJFS
qualifies for the second and third funding increment from DOL;
- Form and/or enhance partnerships with other
state agencies and initiatives to implement a comprehensive statewide response
to the opioid crisis, such as collaboration with RecoveryOhio to leverage work
with other state departments, boards, and commissions and partnership with the
Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation (BWC) to educate employers about substance
use and recovery and to encourage establishment of Second Chance policies; and
- Provide technical assistance to local areas and
other stakeholders on the terms and conditions of the Opioid Emergency Recovery
grant.
V.Local
Workforce Development Area Requirements
The Opioid Emergency Recovery grant is
a national Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker grant issued to local areas
under the authority of the WIOA subgrant agreement between ODJFS and each local
area. Therefore, local areas must implement the grant-funded services and activities
in accordance with the terms and conditions of the WIOA subgrant agreement,
along with the requirements found in this policy letter.
A. Local Area Planning
Local areas must submit a budget and implementation plan
describing the partnerships, service design, planned number of participants,
and other details for implementing the Opioid Emergency Recovery. Local area plans and budgets must be
submitted by September 30, 2019. Local areas that have not submitted a plan and
received OWD approval will not be eligible to receive the second increment of
funding when DOL releases the state’s second increment.
As changes to the local plan occur, such as the provision of new
services not identified in the plan or significant changes in the number of
planned participants, local areas must submit to the designated ODJFS project
manager a revised implementation plan explaining the changes as soon as
possible, but no later than 30 days after each change.
B. Eligible Participants
Local areas shall ensure that individuals served under the
Opioid Emergency Recovery grant have met all eligibility criteria, including
those in 20 C.F.R. § 687.170 and the policy letter on adult and dislocated
worker eligibility.
Individuals eligible to receive Opioid Emergency grant services
must be one of the following:
- A
dislocated worker;
- An individual temporarily or permanently laid
off as a consequence of the opioid emergency;
- A long-term unemployed individual; or
- A
self-employed individual who became unemployed or significantly underemployed
as a result of the opioid crisis.
The eligible individuals are not required to have a history of
opioid use disorder to qualify for Opioid Emergency Recovery grant services and
cannot be required to disclose whether they have been impacted by the opioid
crisis as a condition of participation. However, to
target services
to individuals impacted by opioid use disorder and to make appropriate referrals, the only
permissible question that local areas may ask applicants or participants
regarding opioid use disorder is:
Your
answer to this question is voluntary. Do you, a friend, or any member of your
family have a history of opioid use?
Please answer “Yes,” or “No.”
Local areas must
treat applicant and participant responses to the above question as confidential
information, along with any other medical information obtained from applicants
or participants or shared by partners, mental health providers, addiction
recovery centers, or other organizations pertaining to the individual’s health,
disability, or medical conditions. If
the above question is presented on a form, it must be separate from the WIOA
intake or assessment forms. In accordance with 29 C.F. R. § 38.41(b)(3), the
confidential information must be:
- Used only for determining appropriateness for services;
- Maintained in a separate file apart from the
WIOA case file;
- Locked up or otherwise secured (such as through
password protection if maintained in an electronic system); and
- Restricted from access by unauthorized
individuals.
C.Opioid
Disaster Grant Communities
Extensive research has shown that the opioid crisis in Ohio is
so pervasive in multiple impact categories that disaster recovery requires a
comprehensive approach.
Data for each county in the state was reviewed for four key
categories of impact:
A. overdose mortality rates,
B. costs per capita of opioid abuse (costs
for health care and treatment, criminal justice, lost productivity among
current opioid users, and lost productivity due to overdose deaths),
C. limited or no access to
medication-assisted treatment, and
D. the percentage of children entering
County Children Services custody due to parental opioid use.
Ohio then organized the counties into nine Opioid Emergency
Recovery grant communities according to the combination of common impacts they
are experiencing. These categories and corresponding communities can be found
in Attachment B to this policy.
Local areas shall ensure that each county provides allowable
activities in the assigned community.
After determining the impacts experienced by each community,
Ohio further identified the humanitarian and clean up needs as well as the
healthcare, treatment, and training needs specific to those communities.
D. Allowable Services and Activities
In planning and implementing services under the Opioid Emergency
Recovery grant, local areas should consider that the grant is meant to
alleviate the devastating effects of the opioid crisis through:
- Disaster-relief employment aimed at alleviating
the issues caused by the opioid crisis in affected communities;
- Career, Training, and Supportive services for
eligible participants aimed at increasing the number of qualified professionals
in fields that can have an impact on the opioid crisis;
- Providing a full array of workforce services to
eligible participants who disclose that they have been impacted by the opioid
crisis, in an effort to reintegrate them into the workforce; and
- Increasing engagement with and support for,
employers to modify their hiring practices and drug-free workplace policies to
ensure job opportunity growth and greater job retention.
Participants enrolled in disaster-relief employment may be
co-enrolled in employment and training activities and receive supportive
services. Individual enrollment in temporary employment is limited to 12 months
or 2,040 hours.
In addition to disaster-relief employment, participants (both
those who are and those who are not enrolled in disaster-relief employment) may
receive employment and training activities.
Participants may only be enrolled in:
- Disaster-relief employment only;
- Employment and training activities only; or
- Both disaster-relief employment and employment
and training activities. These may occur concurrently, or one may occur prior
to the other.
Career Services
Local areas will provide basic and individualized career
services such as job search assistance, initial and specialized assessments of
skill levels, career planning, and prevocational services as outlined in
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter (WIOAPL) No. 15-08.1, Career Services
for Adults and Dislocated Workers. Additional services for individuals may
include job coaching and peer support to address barriers to employment, such
as criminal history, drug relapses, probation and treatment requirements, and
gaps in employment.
Training
Training services provided under this grant must prepare
eligible individuals for employment in high-growth sectors within the local
economy.
Individuals who
disclose that they, a family member, or friend have been impacted by the opioid
crisis may be trained in any in-demand occupation. The
link below provides access to in-demand occupation data: http://omj.ohio.gov/OMJResources/In-DemandOccupations.stm
Individuals who
state that they are not impacted by the opioid crisis or do not respond, may only be approved for training in addiction treatment
services, mental health treatment, pain management services and practices, and professions
that are approved by DOL specific to each community that will mitigate the
underlying circumstances of the opioid crisis.
The limitations on
training apply to all training services funded by this grant, which include
On-the-Job Training and Occupational Skill Training.
Long-term training
may be supplemented with WIOA formula funds if the training extends beyond the
grant period.
Temporary Disaster-Relief Employment
Ohio analyzed data related to the opioid
crisis for each county using four types of impacts, labeled A, B, C, and D.
Counties were grouped into nine communities that have the same types of impacts
and needs. A map of the developed communities can be found in Attachment C of
this policy.
Disaster-relief employment must quickly
address immediate, specific needs of the community. DOL approved specific types
of disaster-relief jobs based on each community’s needs. Disaster-relief jobs
funded by the Opioid Emergency Recovery grant are allowable only for jobs that
alleviate the unique impacts caused by the opioid crisis, as well as jobs that
provide humanitarian assistance to those impacted by the crisis, which include:
actions to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity.
Humanitarian assistance jobs must directly relate to the effects of widespread
opioid abuse.
A table that details the types of
disaster-relief jobs that are allowable based on community assignment grouping
can be found in Attachment B to this policy.
Local Areas will use assessments (including
those conducted by partners) to determine each individual’s needs, interests,
skills, work experience, and readiness for work as they relate to the
requirements for the types of disaster-relief employment available, to
determine whether an individual will be placed in such jobs and if employment
and training activities are needed prior to or during disaster-relief
employment.
Temporary disaster-relief employment jobs
are time-limited to 12 months (or 2,040 hours). Disaster-relief employment
provides income maintenance to participants and services to the community while
moving participants into permanent, unsubsidized jobs.
Supportive Services
Grant-funded supportive
services such as transportation, child care, and housing assistance, and
referrals to mental health, addiction, and trauma specialists may be provided
to grant participants in need of such services. Individuals with substance use
disorder may be offered additional partner services such as addiction and other
outpatient treatment, support during training and employment, and
referrals to health and mental health care.
Assessments completed
by mental health service providers and other partners should be used to
customize supportive services to each participant’s needs. Local areas should review their policies to
ensure that the types of supportive services needed by the population targeted
for services under this grant are authorized.
Local areas must not
spend more than 20% of their Opioid Emergency Recovery grant funding on
supportive services for participants. Grantees may submit a modification
request to spend more than 20% of their award on supportive services if the
request demonstrates the criteria outlined in TEGL 4-18.
Other Allowable Services and Activities
Participants may
receive Opioid Emergency Recovery grant services before,
during, or after receiving treatment for substance use disorder.
The services and
activities may be delivered under the local area’s existing policies applicable
to dislocated workers, or the local workforce development board (local WDB) may
opt to implement new or revised policies specific to the Opioid Emergency
Recovery grant.
Examples of such policy
revisions may include:
- Extending the length of training or increasing
the maximum training funds available to participants who plan to enter
occupations that impact the opioid crisis;
- Permitting funding for transitional jobs to
help participants with barriers to establish a work history, develop workplace
skills, and enter or re-enter the workforce; or
- Expanding the supportive services definition
and benefit limits to allow for outpatient mental health and addiction
treatment and related barrier removal if not covered by Medicaid, private
health insurance, or other sources.
In addition to the allowable services for eligible participants,
local areas may use Opioid Emergency Recovery grant
funds for activities meant to impact the crisis on a wider scale, including,
but not limited to:
- Piloting innovative approaches to combating the
opioid problem – for example, by supporting employers that develop
second-chance policies or hire individuals in recovery;
- Using peer recovery specialists in the
community to support individuals in recovery during treatment, training, and
employment;
- Building the addiction and substance-abuse
treatment, mental health, and pain management workforce through education and
training, such as by enabling participant enrollment in the new addiction
services apprenticeship being established at Ohio’s two-year colleges;
- Funding full- or part-time program positions to
provide on-site basic and/or individualized career services to eligible
individuals who are involved with children services agencies, jails, courts, or
recovery housing due to opioid use; and
- Facilitating peer learning and sharing of best
practices through cross-discipline learning collaboratives across partner
agencies.
Up to ten percent of the funds awarded to the local area may be
used for administrative costs as defined in 20 C.F.R. § 683.215 that are
associated with operating the grant.
E.
Unallowable Services and Activities
Opioid Emergency Recovery Grant funds may not be used to pay
for:
- Testing of participants for the use of
controlled substances;
- In-patient treatment for substance use
disorder; or
- Incentive payments to participants.
F.
Community Partnerships
To address the wide-ranging impacts of the opioid crisis on the
labor market, local areas must implement an integrated, comprehensive service
delivery model by establishing partnerships with other organizations in the
community that have expertise in treatment and recovery or that serve
individuals who require assistance with employment and training to enter or
re-enter the workforce.
Examples of such partnerships include, but are not limited to:
- Alcohol,
Drug, and Mental Health (ADAMH) boards to coordinate treatment for individuals
with substance use disorder;
- Rehabilitation
facilities and other providers of evidence-based drug and alcohol addiction
treatment;
- Training
providers including community colleges that can offer education, credentialing,
and licensure in career fields that treat substance use disorder or provide
related interventions;
- Courts
and the criminal justice system (e.g., county jails, state prisons, probation
departments) to assist restored citizens with employment solutions to aid their
transition back into society;
- Local
libraries that can provide outreach and referral of potentially-eligible
individuals; and
- BWC
staff participating in the Safety Grant pilot program which educates employers
on managing employees in recovery and adopting recovery-friendly human resource
policies.
- Public
children services agencies that can coordinate referrals
for participants in need of such services and serve as employers of record for
temporary disaster relief employment.
- Providers
of recovery housing that can coordinate referrals for participants in need of
such services and serve as employers of record for temporary disaster relief
employment.
G. Subrecipients and Contractors
Local areas may enter into subrecipient agreements or contracts
with public entities, not-for-profit organizations, and private-for-profit
entities, including organizations that assist individuals in recovery from
substance use disorder. The determination
of subrecipient or contractor status must be based on the considerations in 2
C. F. R. § 200.330.
Competitive procurement of a provider that meets the definition
of a subrecipient is not required but is recommended when feasible to increase
the likelihood of obtaining the highest quality of services at the lowest cost.
Contractors must
be competitively selected in accordance with federal, state, and local
procurement rules. For-profit
contractors and subrecipients may keep the profits earned from performance of
grant activities. The amount of profit must be negotiated as a separate element
of the overall price of the services with consideration given to the
complexity, risk, past performance, and industry profit rates in the
surrounding geographical area for similar work. Profits that are excessive or
that are not justified using the aforementioned criteria will be disallowed and
cannot be paid from grant funds.
VI.Reporting
Requirements
Local areas must report grant participants served under the
Opioid Emergency Recovery grant in the state’s designated case management
reporting system under the special grant office created for the grant. Within
30 days of participant enrollment and provision of each service, all services
and activities must be entered into the case management reporting system
special grant office section.
The outcomes of participants in the Opioid Emergency Recovery
grant will not affect the local area’s WIOA performance measures, unless the
local area opts to co-enroll participants in local WIOA formula-funded programs.
Local areas must request cash draws and report expenditures and
other financial information using the State’s designated financial reporting
system, including the client tracking detail for participant-level direct
service costs.
In addition, local areas must submit quarterly narrative reports
on a template provided by the designated ODJFS project manager. Reports must be
mailed to OpioidRelief@jfs.ohio.gov
no later than the last day of the month that follows after the end of each
calendar quarter.
VII.Monitoring
Local areas that issue subawards must assess the risk of
non-compliance of each subrecipient and develop monitoring policies outlining
the procedures, frequency, and methods for assuring that grant-funded services
carried out by the subrecipient are compliant and for resolving any findings of
non-compliance.
Through the state’s monitoring system, ODJFS program and fiscal
monitors will review the local area’s implementation of Opioid Emergency Recovery
grants, including participant file review and verification of actual
expenditures, during the onsite monitoring review of the local area for
compliance with all applicable federal and state laws, regulations, and
guidance letters including this guidance letter. Any findings will be addressed through the
state’s monitoring resolution process.
VIII. Technical Assistance
For additional information or to request technical assistance,
contact the project manager designated by the ODJFS Office of Workforce Development
to oversee implementation of the Opioid Emergency Recovery grant. To receive the project manager’s contact
information, email opioidrelief@jfs.ohio.gov.
IX.References
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act §§ 134 and 170, Pub. L.
113-128.
USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 4-18,
National Health Emergency Phase Two: Disaster Recovery National Dislocated
Worker Grants to Address the Opioid Crisis (September 14, 2018).
2 C. F. R. § 200.330.
20 C.F.R. §§ 683.215 and 687.
29 C.F. R. § 38.41.
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter
No. 15-02, Adult and Dislocated Worker Eligibility, (July 15, 2015).
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter No.
15-08.1, Career Services for Adults and Dislocated Workers, (June 6, 2017).
ODJFS, Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Policy Letter
No.15-11.1, Use of Individual Training Accounts, (January 8, 2018).
Strategies for Helping Individuals Impacted by Opioid Use
Disorder, A Toolkit for Ohio's Public Workforce System.
Attachment A: Glossary of Opioid Emergency Recovery grant terms
Attachment B: Community I – IX Descriptions
Attachment C: Opioid Emergency Recovery Communities Targeted map
Attachment D: Allowable Source Documentation