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 transition 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.
In response to the
emergency, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) applied for and
received a discretionary Trade and Economic Transition National Dislocated
Worker Grant from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). This time-limited opioid
transition grant will be used to address long-term worker absences,
dislocations, and disruption in skill and labor availability in geographic
areas that have suffered the most severe negative impacts of the crisis by
providing innovative training and employment services to dislocated workers.
Increasing their
skill levels will enable the participants to compete for growing or high-demand
employment opportunities, including occupations that help to minimize the
effects of the opioid crisis, and move dislocated workers toward in-demand
careers. This will increase labor force participation and improve the long-term
economic health of the severely impacted geographic areas, thereby reducing
substance use disorder through gainful employment.
IV.Definitions
Authorized county: A county
located in a participating local area in which eligible dislocated workers may
receive opioid transition grant services, or an Ohio county suffering from the
most severe impacts of the opioid crisis (see Attachment A.)
Participating local area: A local
area in receipt of opioid transition grant funds.
V.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
participating local areas;
- Assign a project manager to serve as the
point-of-contact and coordinator of grant related resources and information;
- Review and approve operational plans submitted
by the participating local areas;
- Manage grant funds including the determination
of sub-award amounts and incremental funding to participating local areas and
potential revisions to such awards to address underspending and to ensure
maximum investment of the available resources;
- Form partnerships with other state agencies to
implement a comprehensive statewide response to the opioid crisis, such as
collaboration 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 participating
local areas and other stakeholders on the terms and conditions of the opioid
transition grant.
VI.Local
Workforce Development Area Requirements
The opioid transition grant is a national dislocated worker
grant issued to participating local areas under the authority of the WIOA
subgrant agreement between ODJFS and each local area. Therefore, participating
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
To receive its full allocation of opioid transition grant funds
(other than a nominal start-up grant), a participating local area must submit
an operational plan describing the priorities, organizational capability,
service design, outcomes, and other details for implementing the opioid
transition grant services. The services and activities identified in the
operational plan must align with the state combined plan, regional and local
WIOA plan, and any economic development strategies and priorities pertaining to
the local area. Following ODJFS approval of the operational plan, opioid
transition grant funding will be allocated to the local area in increments. After
spending or obligating at least 70 percent of the prior increment(s), the local
area may email the designated ODJFS project manager to request the next
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 operational plan explaining the changes as soon as possible,
but no later than 30 days after each change.
B.Eligible
Participants
Participating local areas shall ensure that individuals served
under the opioid transition grant have met all eligibility criteria, including
those in 20 C.F.R. § 687.170(a)(1)(i) – (iii), and the policy letter on adult
and dislocated worker eligibility. Also, eligible participants must reside in
or work in an authorized county or must have been dislocated from an employer
located in an authorized county.
The focus of outreach and services should be to:
- Dislocated workers who have a history of opioid
use, or have a friend or family member with a history of opioid use; and
- Dislocated workers seeking to enter or
transition into professions that could impact the causes and treatment of the
opioid crisis (e.g., addiction treatment, mental health, pain management.)
The eligible dislocated workers do not need to be directly
impacted by the opioid crisis nor suffering from substance use disorder to
qualify for opioid transition 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 substance
use disorder and to make appropriate referrals, local areas may ask applicants
or participants the following optional question:
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. The
confidential information must be:
- Used only for determining eligibility and
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 in accordance with 29 C.F. R. § 38.41(b)(3).
C.Allowable
Services and Activities
In planning and implementing services under the opioid
transition grant, local areas should consider that the grant is meant to
alleviate the devastating effects of the opioid crisis, either directly or
indirectly, through:
- Economic improvement of the community through
skill development, talent enhancement, and re-entry of workers into the labor
force;
- Barrier removal for job seekers, including
individuals impacted by the opioid crisis; and
- Business services that lead to greater
opportunities for job seekers with barriers.
Eligible opioid transition grant participants may receive the
full array of workforce development services available to WIOA dislocated
workers (i.e., career, training, and supportive services.) Because the intent
of the transition grant is to mitigate the impact of the opioid crisis by
strengthening the local economy and generating employment opportunities, any
participants who are eligible and in need of training may receive training
services to enable them to enter career fields that provide relief to the
opioid crisis (e.g., social worker, counselor, nurse, etc.) or to enter an
in-demand occupation.
Career and training services provided under this grant must
prepare eligible dislocated workers for employment in high-growth sectors
within the local economy. The industry sectors of focus into which investments
of grant funding should be prioritized include: advanced and additive
manufacturing; transportation; logistics and warehousing; healthcare
practitioners; technical and healthcare support (especially related to mental
health and addiction services); maintenance and repair including electricity,
HVAC, and plumbing; business and administrative professionals; information
technology; and other sectors targeted in each participating area’s regional
and local four-year WIOA plan.
Grant-funded supportive services such as transportation, child
care, and housing assistance; and referrals to mental health, addiction,
trauma, and drug-testing specialists may be provided to grant participants in
need of such services. Assessments completed by mental health service providers
and other partners should be used to customize supportive services to each
participant’s needs. Participating 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.
Participants may receive opioid transition 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 transition 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 establish work history, develop workplace skills,
and enter or re-enter the workforce; or
- Expanding the supportive services definition and
benefit limits to allow for 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 transition 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; 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.
D.Unallowable
Services and Activities
Opioid transition 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;
- Incentive payments to participants; or
- Strategic planning or related activities.
E.Community
Partnerships
To address the wide-ranging impacts of the opioid crisis on the
labor market, participating 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
who can offer education, credentialing, and licensure in career fields that
treat substance use disorder or provide related interventions;
- Drug courts and the criminal justice system 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.
F.Subrecipients
and Contractors
Participating 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.
VII.Reporting
Requirements
Participating local areas must enroll participants served under
the opioid transition grant in the special grant office established for this
project in the State’s designated workforce case management system. Participants
and services must be entered under the special grant office within 30 days. The
outcomes of participants in the opioid transition 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.
VIII. Monitoring
Participating 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 transition 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.
XI.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 transition grant. To
receive the project manager’s contact information, email WIOAQNA@JFS.OHIO.GOV.
X.References
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act §§ 134 and 170, Pub. L.
113-128.
USDOL, Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 2-18, Trade
and Economic Transition National Dislocated Worker Grants, (August 8, 2018).
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). Note: although
certain provisions from TEGL 4-18 were used in this WIOAPL, the dislocated
worker grants referenced in this policy are not disaster recovery grants.
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).
Attachment A: Opioid Transition Grant, Participating Local
Workforce Development Areas and Authorized Counties.