Program year 2000 One-Stop labor market information grants

U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration Classification: ONE-STOP/LMI Correspondence symbol: OWS Date: July 10, 2000 Rescissions: None Expiration date: June 30, 2001

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 2-00

TO: ALL STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
ALL STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES
ALL STATE WORKER ADJUSTMENT LIAISONS
ALL ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER SYSTEM LEADS

FROM: LENITA JACOBS-SIMMONS
Deputy Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT: Allocations and Information for Program Year 2000 Cost Reimbursable Grants:
One-Stop Labor Market Information Funds

1. Purpose. To provide planning estimates and guidance for
   Program Year (PY) 2000 State One-Stop/Labor Market Information
   (OS/LMI) core products and services grant funds.

2. References. The Wagner-Peyser Act, Section 7(d); 29 CFR
   Parts 93, 96, 97 and 98; and OMB Circular A-87.

3. Background. Authorization for the cost reimbursable grant
   is provided in the Wagner-Peyser Act, Section 7(d). One-Stop LMI (PY 2000 Wagner-Peyser) funds are being used to provide State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) with cost reimbursable grants to support OS/LMI. For PY 2000, $27.0 million will be allocated to the fifty States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands for One-Stop LMI core products and services.

Core Product and Service Grants will account for $27 million,
minus a postage reserve of 2.4 percent ($648,000), which is
being withheld from distribution to pay postage costs
associated with the conduct of this activity.

4. Grant Officer Authority. Pursuant to Training and
   Employment Information Notice No. 24-99, grant officer
   authority for the ES Base Formula allotments to States and the
   ES Cost Reimbursable Grants is being transferred from the
   Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Regional Offices to the National Office. Specific procedures for funding and implementing these grants are being developed by the Office of Grants and Contract Management and will be provided separately.

5. Allocations. The allocation figures for the distribution
   of the $27.0 million in One-Stop LMI funds for each State for
   PY 2000 are listed by Region in Attachment II.

6. Reporting. States are to plan for total expenditures
   (exclusive of “carry in” funds) by calendar quarter. A
   separate Financial Status Report (SF-269 -- long form) must be
   submitted quarterly by each State for each funding code for
   each year of funds provided, until such time as all funds have
   been expended or the period of availability for the One Stop/LMI plan has expired, whichever occurs first. Expenditure reports (one original and two copies) are to be submitted to the appropriate ETA Regional Office. Previous year fund balances will remain in the existing grant and should be expended under the current ETA (Regional Office) and State Master Agreement. PY 2000 funds will be allocated and expended pursuant to the new Wagner-Peyser Act Annual Funding Agreement between the State and ETA (National Office).

With respect to core products and services produced under
these grants, States must submit a brief progress report every
6 months to the ETA National and Regional Offices (due each
January 31 and July 31) indicating the progress of
accomplishment against the One Stop/LMI plan narrative. For
example, with the first priority - “populate and maintain the
ALMIS database” - States should indicate how frequently they
update files and the level of costs associated with such
tasks. What ETA is looking for are quantifying measures with
which to evaluate the return on ETA’s investment.

States must also submit hard copies of products when they
become available to the ETA National Office, Division of
USES/ALMIS, Room C-4514, Attention: Steve Aaronson, and to the
ETA Regional Office.

7. Grant and Plan Effective Date. Plans should cover a
   minimum of 12 months from the date of submission, but may, if
   needed, cover the maximum grant expenditure period, up to June
   30, 2003.

If a State does not have sufficient carryover to provide for
basic operational needs prior to the date of plan submission,
the State may immediately request a funding advance from its
PY 2000 allotment. This can be done by faxing an SF-424 and a
transmittal letter from the appropriate signatory official to
the Regional Office and to Fred Tello, Grant Officer at 202-219-8739 (fax). States should also include a brief narrative which identifies the amount requested, the time period covered by the fund request (any time during the first quarter of PY 2000), effective date requested and the following assurance:

“In the absence of an approved One Stop/LMI Plan for Program Year 2000, the State assures that it will expend the PY 2000 advance funds in general compliance with the PY 2000 priority areas described in the PY 2000 plan guidance.”

Approved advances will be deducted from the State’s PY 2000
allotment. Advance requests should be submitted to the
Regional Offices as soon as possible. Once received and
reviewed, Regional Office LMI contact persons will send their
recommendations on such requests to the Grant Officer.
Requests will be processed by the Office of Grants and
Contract Management, Division of Federal Assistance to meet
the State’s need in a timely manner. ETA will assume that the
States who are not requesting advances will be able to operate
during the pre-plan submission period using existing funds
under the Master Agreement. States should arrange for PY 1999
plan/grant extensions with the Regional Office, where
necessary.

8. Action Required. SESA Administrators are requested to:

   a. Immediately transmit this planning issuance to the
   appropriate State staff.

   b. Submit two copies of the PY 2000, One Stop/LMI
   Annual Plan to the appropriate Regional Office and
   one copy to the ETA National Office, Attention:
   Steve Aaronson. Plans should be prepared in
   accordance with Attachments I, II, and III (Grant
   Procedures, Allocation List, and Plan Narrative
   Instructions) and be submitted to the appropriate
   Regional Office, Attention: One Stop/LMI contact.

   The Plan must include:

   a. Transmittal Letter;
   b. Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424);
   c. Budget (SF 424A - Section D only);
   d. Plan Narrative: these plans should include what
   activities and products will be delivered with PY
   2000 funds (only).

9. Inquiries. Questions may be directed to Steve Aaronson
   (Office of Workforce Security, Division of USES/ALMIS) at 202-219-9092 x151. All questions regarding grant and financial issues should be directed to Gwendolyn Baron-Simms or Fred Tello at (202) 219-7092, extension 138 or 129, respectively.

10. Attachments.

    I. Grant Procedures
    II. Allocations for PY 2000
    III. One-Stop/LMI Plan Narrative Instructions

Attachment I: Grant Procedures

Official attachment: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2000/TEGL2-00Attach1.pdf

Attachment I

                                       Grant Procedures

A. Grant Agreements. The current Master Agreement (pre-Program Year 2000) established an ongoing grant relationship between the Department of Labor (DOL) and individual States to carry out responsibilities, on behalf of the Department, authorized under Section 7 (d) of the Wagner-Peyser Act. This agreement will remain in effect (administered by the Regional Offices) for purposes of expending prior year funds only. With the transfer of grant officer authority, the ETA National Office has executed new Wagner-Peyser Act, Annual Funding Agreements with each State, to include both the base grant and cost reimbursable grant funds for PY 2000 and FY 2001. The Agreement includes an Assurances and Certifications package to encompass all PY 2000/FY 2001 requirements. Notice of Obligation authority documents will be issued by the National Office Grant Officer based on Regional Office approval of required annual plans.

B. Annual Plan. The One Stop/Labor Market Information (OS/LMI) Annual Plan must include an Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424), Budget (SF 424A, Section D only), transmittal letter, and plan narrative. Negotiations between the Grantee and the Regional Office will determine the annual level of funding for each priority area in the Annual Plan.

    1)      Plans should cover a minimum of twelve months from the date of submission but may, if
            needed, cover the maximum grant expenditure period, up to June 30, 2003.

    2)      States must submit two copies of the PY 2000, OS/LMI Annual Plan to the
            appropriate Regional Office One Stop/LMI contact person and one copy to:

                                    U.S. Department of Labor
                                    Employment and Training Administration
                                    Office of Workforce Security
                                    Division of USES/ALMIS
                                    Room C-4514
                                    Washington, D.C. 20210
                                    Attn: Steve Aaronson

            Plans should be prepared in accordance with Attachments I, II, and III (Grant
            Procedures, Allocations, and Plan Narrative Instructions) and be submitted to the
            appropriate Regional Office.

    3) Regional Offices will coordinate the review of and negotiate OS/LMI work plans with the
    States including the level of funding for each priority product or service. Each State is to
    prepare a plan which includes a description of the activities to be achieved and products to be
    developed in accordance with the information contained in Attachment III.

C. PY 2000 Modifications. The Regional Office and the State may jointly modify the Annual Plan and negotiate changes in funding levels during the program year subject to the approval of the National Office Grant Officer. The plan modification must include a transmittal letter, a revised plan narrative, and a quarterly spending plan. Regional Offices are responsible for coordinating both funding adjustments and Annual Plan modifications. The Regional Office will have the authority to recommend fund adjustments where a State is not spending at agreed upon levels. When an adjustment is necessary, a bilateral modification may be issued by the ETA Grant Officer.

In the event that the Secretary of Labor may be required by future legislation to carry out other responsibilities not anticipated in the Annual Plan, the States will be requested to submit a modification to the Annual Plan in order to carry out these additional duties.

D. Financial Reconciliation. After the end of the Program Year, a financial reconciliation procedure will be conducted by the Regional Office to reconcile accounting records maintained by the State with the Department's original accounts.

Attachment II: Regional totals, PY 2000 allocations

Official attachment: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2000/TEGL2-00Attach2.pdf

Attachment II
                    Regional Totals PY 2000 Allocation
                       OS/LMI Formula Grants

                                              Region IV        $4,548,799
Region I North      $2,009,519
                                              Arkansas          $340,638
   Connecticut        $390,016                Louisiana         $428,749
        Maine         $277,998              New Mexico          $294,076
 Massachusetts        $567,059                Oklahoma          $385,725
New Hampshire         $276,933                    Texas        $1,347,429
  Rhode Island        $258,060                 Colorado         $457,002
      Vermont         $239,453                 Montana          $254,767
                                           North Dakota         $239,453
                                           South Dakota         $246,406
Region I South      $2,286,080                     Utah         $323,606
                                               Wyoming          $230,948
    New Jersey       $671,593
       New York     $1,192,020                Region V         $5,685,914
    Puerto Rico      $345,561
   Virgin Islands      $76,906                    Illinois       $912,595
                                                 Indiana         $546,079
       Region II    $2,752,132                 Michigan          $766,501
                                              Minnesota          $505,550
        Delaware      $245,818                      Ohio         $851,086
Dist of Columbia      $233,365                Wisconsin          $533,072
        Maryland      $514,288                       Iowa        $377,641
   Pennsylvania       $863,727                  Kansas           $362,438
         Virginia     $603,308                 Missouri          $525,177
   West Virginia      $291,626                Nebraska           $305,775

                                              Region VI        $4,594,571
      Region III    $4,474,985
                                                Arizona         $467,571
      Alabama        $443,841                 California       $2,056,533
        Florida     $1,034,394                    Guam            $37,330
       Georgia       $658,552                    Hawaii         $268,306
      Kentucky       $420,554                   Nevada          $308,702
    Mississippi      $345,983                   Alaska          $237,047
 North Carolina      $634,856                     Idaho         $275,325
 South Carolina      $422,473                   Oregon          $401,504
    Tennessee        $514,332                Washington         $542,253

                                                TOTAL         $26,352,000

Attachment III: One-Stop/Labor Market Information plan narrative instructions

Official attachment: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2000/TEGL2-00Attach3.pdf

Attachment III

                    One-Stop/Labor Market Information Priorities for
                    Developing Plan Narrative Instructions to States

Basic Objectives

Funds are being provided to the States under Wagner-Peyser authority for the development of core LMI products and services to support the America's Labor Market Information System (ALMIS) and One-Stop Career Services System initiatives. The Workforce Information Council (WIC), a product of Section 309 of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, chose seven high priority objectives for this year, as follows:

    * populate and maintain the ALMIS Database;

    * produce long and short-term State industry/occupational projections;

    * develop occupational analysis products;

    * provide an employer name and address list that can be accessed by the public;

    * provide information and support to Workforce Investment Boards and produce other State
      information products and services;

    * support State-based workforce information delivery systems and maintain Common
      Systems/Web-based System support such as SARAS, and LMI Access; and

    * fund State workforce information training initiatives.

States will be addressing these seven areas as funding priorities.

Current Status of State and Local LMI

Most States have made substantial improvements toward closing the gaps in LMI products and services that were identified in 1994; however, the state of the country’s LMI infrastructure needs continual investment to maintain the high quality of State-level information. Additionally, the requirements of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 demand more and better localized data.

Available Funds

Funds to award these grants have been appropriated as part of the $100 million One-Stop Career Centers

line item within the Employment Service budget.

Formula for Funding the Seven Basic Core Products and Services.

The formula for distribution of the $27.0 million to the States will be the following:

    1.      Subtract 2.4 percent ($648,000) to cover U.S. Department of Labor postage costs
            associated with this initiative.

    2.      Allocate .0024 percent of the available resources to the Territories of Guam and the Virgin
            Islands based on relative share of civilian labor force.

    3.      Allocate $25,000 each to Guam and the Virgin Islands.

    4.      Allocate 40 percent of the remainder in equal shares to each of the States, including the
            District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

    5.      Allocate 60 percent of the remainder based on the relative share of the civilian labor force
            in all of these jurisdictions (50 States plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico).

Work Plan and Schedule

As a condition for receipt of PY 2000 funds, the State must submit a plan narrative describing the specifics of each planned priority, including significant milestones, a listing of estimated costs, and principal customers. Any anticipated equipment or property purchases or capital expenditures over $25,000 must be identified in the plan. At a minimum, the plan narrative should describe the delivery of the products/services/activities in the seven priority areas listed below. To the extent that significant portions of any of the seven priority areas of products and services are completed or funded by other sources, remaining One-Stop LMI funds may be used to support the activities listed later under Secondary Activities and Products, which include expansion of some activities from the priority list.

Funds provided by this grant may not be used to supplant funds which currently exist from other sources for core products and services.

If sufficient funds are not available from all sources to produce the priority elements, the prioritization of items within the priority list is at the discretion of each State. Approval of a work plan which does not include all the priority elements will be at the discretion of the Regional Office. Priority Products and Services

The priority products and services for PY 2000 are based on discussions with the State LMI Directors represented on the WIC. This year’s priorities reflect and support goals of the WIC Five Year Plan as submitted to OMB in September of 1999. The following is the list of priority areas of LMI products and

services which describe how the $27.0 million in One-Stop LMI funds should be used. For each item in this section, include a description of the planned products and services, significant milestones, estimated costs, and principal customers:

(1) Continue to populate the ALMIS Database with State data.

The ALMIS Database is a standardized database structure that has been developed for the maintenance of labor market and occupational information. The primary purpose of this database structure is to provide States with a common mechanism for the storage and exchange of State and local labor market information and related supporting data. When paired with appropriate software, the ALMIS Database provides the ability to analyze State, sub-State, and cross-area data for research purposes and to disseminate the results of such analysis to a wide variety of customers. Funds expended under the ALMIS Database project may be used for equipment, programming, database development, staff, or other required costs to implement and maintain the system. In an innovative fashion, this initiative truly brings valuable LMI data sources together “under one roof.”

This year, in addition to populating the ALMIS database tables mentioned in prior DOL/ETA directives, States shall populate the URL table on the database. This is a table which identifies State web linkages having resources which may be of interest to our customers. States shall also update and populate crosswalks to associated databases and an Occupational Employment Statistics Wage table which is under development.

Last year the States were instructed to plan for the collection of data on occupational licensing to populate the following ALMIS database files: license.dbf, licauth.dbf and lichist.dbf. In this program year States are instructed to continue to populate these tables and submit the data for placement on the DOL-ETA sponsored America’s Career Information Network (ACINet) site. The collection and display of occupational licensing data will be transferred from the NOICC sponsored Licensed Occupational Information System (LOIS) site to ACINet in the Fall, 2000. These data will be made available to State ALMIS database managers for the purpose of populating the licensing tables. The maintenance and update of the licensing data will now be the responsibility of the ALMIS database manager in each State. The National Crosswalk Service Center (NCSC) will serve as the vehicle to collect State data for display in ACINet. ALMIS database managers should contact Steve Rosenow at NCSC at 515-242-5034 to obtain existing licensing data if it is not currently available in the State’s database.

(2) Produce long-term State-level industry and occupational employment projections and short-term
State-level industry projections.

The Long-Term Projections Consortium and the Short-Term Forecasts Consortium have developed employment projection systems for implementation by States. Moreover, with delivery of the expanded OES data collection since December 1997, States have a rich source of occupational data. Each State will produce Statewide long-term projections (1998-2008) with 1998 as the base year in coordination with the BLS National Projections for the same time period. Each State will also produce short-term industry

and occupational forecasts using 4th quarter of the calendar year 2000 baseline data to project 4th quarter calendar year 2002 forecasts. States will submit these forecasts to designees of the consortia for placement on the ALMIS State Projections Internet site and the ACINet site. States will submit their projections in accordance with instructions to be issued by both consortia. In addition, States will develop subState short-term employment projections as requested by their local workforce boards.

(3) Develop occupational analysis products.

Each State can choose the mix of media (i.e., Internet, CD, etc.) for the development of these tools. While most States have a variety of useful tools already, these funds are for the continued development of occupational analysis products encompassing career information, employment trends, educational attainment levels, wages, job openings, job market conditions, major employing industries, geographic distribution of jobs, training and education needed, skills, licensed occupations and other pertinent occupation-related information. The constant improvement and implementation of these tools are strongly encouraged. States are also strongly encouraged to link, in context, to their State’s ETA-created State career site on ACINet, which can be accessed on: www.acinet.org. States may easily link to ACINet by following the instructions under the “link to ACINet” button on the bottom of the front page of the site. States are encouraged to present information using the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) and ONET structure to the extent possible. This will provide greater standardization between State and national products, such as ACINet. For more information on ONET, visit www.onetcenter.org.

(4) Provide an employer name and address list that can be accessed by the public.

Continue State efforts to develop search engines or applications to provide access to the ALMIS Employer Database. The database is intended for use by Job Service Offices, LMI research units, One Stop Career Centers and other partner agencies involved in career exploration, job search and job development efforts. The general public will access the data through ACINet or applications provided by the above entities, or the search engine included on the CD. A licensed copy of the ALMIS Employer Database has been provided to States that signed the license agreement with infoUSA (formerly ABI, Inc.).

(5) Provide information and support to State and local Workforce Investment Boards and produce
other State information products and services.

States should aggressively seek new ways to introduce labor market information products to our customers. With the passage of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), more local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) will be demanding more and better localized data. States are strongly encouraged to work with local WIBs or subcommittees to determine the types of local market analysis that will be needed. States should expand analysis of current data through use of Geographical Information Systems (GIS), use of administrative records, and ad hoc research.

(6) Support State-based workforce information delivery systems and maintain Common
Systems/Web-Based Systems support.

This broad priority includes development and support for electronic delivery of labor market information like LMI Access/SARAS, Internet, and other electronic delivery systems. This category provides States with resources to provide wide electronic dissemination of employment statistics information in a user friendly manner while contributing to the nationwide employment statistics system and meeting the technical standards of the system.

(7) Fund State workforce information training initiatives.

Expand the training of LMI professionals and para-professionals and conduct training sessions for users of LMI. A valuable component of the LMI training experience will be the opportunity to interact with other LMI professionals from around the nation. This cross-training is a vital part of the capacity building for ALMIS. Building analytical skills of LMI professionals is important for meeting the goals of the WIA.

Training for LMI users conducted by the State can be through formal class training, seminars, workshops, on-site technical assistance, cross-training or other innovative methods of capacity building. Allowable expenditures include: the costs of instructors, instructional materials, space rental and other expenses needed to encourage the participation of users. Each State is free to target the group or groups of users for this training. Funds may be used to cover the cost of tuition at the LMI Institute as well as for necessary travel and per diem expenses during the time of the training.

Secondary Activities and Products

For each item funded in this section, include a description of the planned products and services, significant milestones, estimated costs, and principal customers.

(1) Coordinate and expand access to web-based systems through community organizations, libraries,
and schools. In order for universal access to labor market information to become a reality, it needs
to be available through a variety of organizations. This includes working with local organizations
to understand and use local labor market information.

(2) Continue the development of occupational supply information. Information on the available
occupational skills mix is an important aspect of the job flow process. In order to make sound
decisions on jobs, careers, and workforce development, it is important to understand the dynamics
of the occupation and whether or not training is needed.

(3) Determine local needs for fringe benefit information and the methodology for providing it. A
growing aspect of finding and retraining workers is in the area of benefits. Businesses, workers,
and job seekers view benefits being as almost as important as wages. This is an area that can help
businesses understand their place in the labor market and can help job seekers in finding the right
job match.

(4) Conduct research to address and develop options for meeting customer needs for job vacancy
information. In the fast paced economy that we live in today, it is imperative that we continuously
seek ways to obtain better information and disseminate it. Work in this area can be shared with
other States in order to maximize findings from State research.

Performance Standards

Performance will be evaluated based on (1) the quality of the products; (2) fulfillment of the statement of work in a timely manner; and (3) utilization of obligated funds. Fund utilization will be reviewed by the Regional Office against the quarterly spending plan. When expenditures are substantially below plan, ETA may deobligate funds for redistribution to other States.

Reporting

A separate Financial Status Report (SF-269-Long-Form) must be submitted quarterly for each fund account for each year of funds provided, until such time as all funds have been expended or the period of availability for the plan has expired, whichever comes first. Quarterly reports (one original and two copies) are due 30 days after the end of the quarter to the appropriate Regional Office..

With respect to core products and services produced under these grants, States must submit a brief progress report every 6 months to the ETA National and Regional Offices (due each July 31 and January 31) indicating the progress of accomplishment against the One Stop/Labor Market Information plan narrative. For example, with the first priority - “populate and maintain the ALMIS database” - States should indicate how frequently they update files and the level of costs associated with such tasks. What ETA is looking for are quantifiable measures to evaluate the returns on ETA’s investment.

Finally, States will also submit hard copies of products when they become available to the ETA National Office, Division of USES/ALMIS, Attention: Steve Aaronson. States may choose to send electronic copies of the State progress reports; in the event a State chooses to do so, these reports should be e-mailed ([email protected]) in either Word Perfect or PDF format.