PY 2003 workforce information grant planning and allocations

Official letter (https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2003/TEGL9-03.html):

Employment and Training Administration Advisory System
U.S. Department of Labor
Washington, D.C. 20210
CLASSIFICATION: ONE-STOP/LMI
CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL: OWS/USES/ALMIS
DATE: October 15, 2003

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 9-03

TO: ALL STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
ALL STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS

FROM: EMILY STOVER DeROCCO
Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT: Planning Guidance and Application Instructions for Program Year (PY) 2003 Workforce Information Core Products and Services: Workforce Information Formula Allocations to States

1. Purpose. To transmit guidance for the development and management of PY 2003 Workforce Information Core Products and Services grant plans.

2. References. Wagner-Peyser Act, Sections 7(a)(3)(D), 7(d) and 15; Section 309 of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA); Section IV(C)(3) of the WIA/Wagner-Peyser Planning Guidance (64 Federal Register 9401 (February 25, 1999)); 29 CFR Parts 93, 96, 97 and 98; and OMB Circular A-87.

3. OMB Approval. Consistent with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), OMB has reviewed and approved the Information Collection Request for this planning guidance (OMB Control Number 1205-0417). This approval expires December 31, 2003. Under 5 CFR 1320.f(b), an Agency cannot conduct, sponsor, or require a response to a collection of information unless the collection displays a valid OMB Control Number.

4. Allocations. Funding is provided through the One-Stop Career Center/America’s Labor Market Information System (ALMIS) appropriation for Fiscal Year 2003. Application instructions are contained in Item 12 of this guidance.

Funds are being provided to states to produce, at a minimum, the core information products and services defined in this guidance and the development of other workforce information products and services which, at the state's discretion, might be required to support the state and local workforce investment system. States must submit a plan meeting the requirements of Item 6 of this guidance as a condition for receiving funds.

A total of $38 million is available for PY 2003. Funds are distributed by administrative formula, with a reserve of $1,064,000 for postage and $188,646 allocated in total to Guam and the Virgin Islands. The remaining funds are distributed to the states; 40% distributed equally to all states and 60% distributed based on each state’s share of the civilian labor force for the 12 month period ending December 2002.

See Attachment I for the table of state allocations and the allocation formula.

5. Period of Performance. The maximum expenditure period for these funds is three years, pursuant to the Wagner-Peyser Annual Funding Agreement. The grant plan will cover, at a minimum, the 12 month period of July 1, 2003 to June 30, 2004 but may, if negotiated between the state and regional office, cover a longer period of time up to the maximum expenditure period ending June 30, 2006.

6. Annual Plan Format and Content. The annual plan narrative shall be organized into three sections: (a) a description of the statewide workforce information system; (b) a description of the products and services to be provided with these funds; and (c) a description of the strategy to be employed by the state for consulting with customers and for assessing customer satisfaction with state produced workforce information.

(a) Statewide Workforce Information System. It is the intent of the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) that ALMIS formula-funded grants to states for core products be an integral part of the statewide workforce information system and support the state's overall plan for workforce investment. Section 111(d)(8) of WIA requires the State Workforce Investment Board to assist the governor in developing the statewide workforce information system. Section 309 of WIA amends the Wagner-Peyser Act to require that the state agency, designated by the Governor as being responsible for the management of the statewide workforce information system, consult with state and local boards, businesses, individuals and state and local education agencies about the usefulness of the information provided by the system.

In order to better understand how the activities funded by these grants support the state and local workforce investment system, the plan narrative must provide a concise description of the statewide workforce information system, including descriptions of:

· How the statewide workforce information system supports the goals of the state’s WIA/Wagner-Peyser Five-Year Strategic Plan for state and local workforce development;

· How the state agency’s activities are consistent with the strategic vision of the Governor and the State Workforce Investment Board;

· The state agency's strategy for consulting with state and local workforce investment boards, businesses, individuals and the workforce investment system to determine customer demand for workforce information;

· The broad strategic approach for workforce information delivery to principal customers; and

· How workforce information and services are delivered as core services to customers through the state's One-Stop service delivery system.

In addition, states are requested, but not required, to provide information on funding sources other than these grant funds which are budgeted for workforce information, and the activities being carried out with those funds that are part of the state's workforce information system.

(b) Products and Services. In order to receive funding, states must submit a grant plan for providing, at a minimum, the core products and services specified in Attachment III.

The core products and services and any additional planned activities supported by these grant funds must reflect the direction of the State Workforce Investment Board and consultation with other principal customers, with major activities and planned system outcomes defined in the context of the goals of the state’s WIA/Wagner-Peyser Five-Year Strategic Plan.

The plan narrative must provide a description of each core product, service or other major activity to be funded by the grant and include the following information for each:

· A description of the core product, service or other demand activity;

· How the deliverable supports the goals of the state's WIA/Wagner-Peyser Five-Year Strategic Plan;

· The principal customers of the deliverable;

· The outcome(s) and system impact projected for each deliverable;

· Planned milestones for completion of the deliverable; and

· The total estimated cost of each deliverable, including identification of planned equipment purchases of $5,000 or more per unit cost.

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(c) Consultation and Customer Satisfaction Assessment. Section 15 of the Wagner-Peyser Act (WIA Section 309) requires state agencies to consult with customers about the usefulness of the information disseminated through the statewide workforce information system. Consultation with the workforce investment system, combined with customers’ feedback on their satisfaction with workforce information, provide the basis for formulating continuous improvement strategies for the system. To carry out this requirement and to ensure accountability for the expenditure of grant funds, a condition for receiving the grant will be a state assessment of customer satisfaction with selected grant deliverables and with the larger statewide workforce information system.

ETA is not prescribing an approach or methodology for assessing customer satisfaction, but is defining customer satisfaction information broadly, to allow states to use a variety of methods for consulting with customers to determine customer demand. Methods might employ solely or in combination focus groups; various types of surveys; consultation through meetings or other methods of consultation the state considers appropriate. States are encouraged to consult the handbook, Customer Satisfaction Made Easy, which was produced and distributed by the Workforce Information Council in 2003.

States might find usage indicators to be a starting point for assessing satisfaction. Examples of possible indicators are: Web metrics; demand information for a product or service, such as number of publication or listserv subscriptions; number of requests for assistance by customer organizations; or number of individuals served by an activity, such as individuals trained by course offering or counseled using an O*NET-based occupational analysis product.

The grant plan must include a description of the customer consultation and satisfaction assessment strategy to be employed and the method(s) to be used to collect and interpret customer satisfaction information. Satisfaction must be assessed in some manner for each of the system's principal customers, e.g., businesses, individuals, and the workforce investment system.

It is ETA’s expectation that the assessment methods used ensure sufficient rigor, including quantitative measurement when possible, for a documented assessment of return on investment of these grant funds.

7. Plan Modifications. The grantee and regional office may jointly modify planned activities and associated expenditures, within the state allocation, during the plan period of performance. The regional office has authority to recommend funding adjustments to the grant officer when overall grant expenditures are substantially below quarterly budgeted forecasts.

In the event that the Secretary of Labor may be required to carry out other responsibilities not anticipated in the plan, grantees may be requested to submit a plan modification to carry out the additional responsibilities.

8. Special Plan Requirements. Funds provided by this award may not be used to supplant funds obligated from other funding sources for workforce information or other activities.

All costs incurred under the grant must support the cost objective specified in Item 4 of this guidance and must conform to the principles for "reasonable" and "allocable" costs as specified in OMB Circular A-87.

All planned data collection activities must conform to technical standards and methodologies established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics or provide, in the plan, a sound business rationale for the use of an alternative methodology.

Any information technology systems or applications developed with these funds must adhere to industry-standard, open architecture principles with documentation and software code made available for use by other state or local entities.

9. Publications and Other Information Products. Grantees are requested to continue to submit copies of publications produced with these grant funds to the appropriate regional office. States are also requested to submit .pdf copies of publications and other material considered to be of special interest to the system and which might be replicated by other states, to [email protected] for posting on an ETA-supported Web site.

Examples of material of special interest might be workforce information targeted to the needs of specific customer groups, sub-state economic snapshots or industry-specific research and analysis. Other material of interest might include: state brochures describing the availability and functionality of electronic, self-service tools; documentation of innovative applications developed for database access; or innovative workforce information services available through the One-Stop system.

Submission of hard copy publications to the ETA national office is not required.

10. Annual Performance Reports. Grantees are required to submit an annual performance report that tracks performance for each planned activity, per 29 CFR 97.40(b)(2) and as specified in Attachment IV, Section A.

The annual performance report must also include a summary of findings of the grantee’s assessment of customer satisfaction with state workforce information products and services and a summary of activities to be undertaken to add customer value where needs for improvement are indicated. A description of the methods used to collect and interpret customer satisfaction information must be included. The report may also include recommendations for consideration by ETA for improvements to the suite of core products and services.

Grantees must electronically submit the annual performance report in .pdf format to the appropriate regional office. Per 29 CFR 97.40 (b)(1), annual reports are due 90 days following the end of the program year.

ETA will post the annual performance reports on an ETA-supported Web site, for the purpose of informing the system of overall grant performance and of customer satisfaction with the products and services delivered.

11. Financial Management and Reporting. States are to forecast actual cash needs by program year quarter on SF-424A, Section D, for all quarters covered by the plan. State Workforce Agencies will report quarterly expenditures by direct data entry of Standard Form 269, Federal Cost Report, into the Web-based Enterprise Information Management System (EIMS). Per 29 CFR 97.41 (b)(4), quarterly financial reports are due 30 days following the end of each quarter. A financial reconciliation will be conducted by the regional office at the end of the program year.

Questions regarding financial management and reporting for PY 2003 or for any existing prior year fund balances should be addressed to the appropriate regional office.

12. Action Required. Grant plans are due within 45 days of the date of this guidance. State Workforce Agency Administrators are requested to:

a. Immediately transmit this planning guidance to the appropriate State Workforce Agency office.

b. Submit two signed copies of the PY 2003 grant application package and e-mail one copy, in .pdf format of the approved annual plan narrative to the appropriate regional office.

c. Include in the grant application package:

1. A Transmittal Letter

2. Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424)

3. Budget Plan(SF-424A, Section D only)

4. Annual Plan Narrative

13. Inquiries. Questions on plan requirements may be directed to the appropriate regional office or to Olaf Bjorklund at 202-693-2870. Grant and financial management questions may be directed to the regional office or to Gwendolyn Baron-Simms at 202-693-3309 or to Fred Tello, Grant Officer, at 202-693-3333.

14. Attachments.
I. Allocations for PY 2003
II. Grant Procedures
III. Statement of Work Guidelines
IV. Annual Performance Report Instructions

RESCISSIONS: [none listed]
EXPIRATION DATE: Continuing

Official Attachment I (https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2003/TEGL9-03_AttachI.html), Workforce Information Formula Allocations, Program Year 2003:

Workforce Information Allocation Formula for PY 2003:

1. Subtract 2.8 percent ($1,064,000) for postage costs from the total funds available ($38,000,000) for U.S. Department of Labor grants administration.

2. Allocate .0024 percent of the balance ($36,936,000) to the Territories of Guam and the Virgin Islands based on each Territory’s relative share of the civilian labor force.

3. Allocate an additional $50,000 each to Guam and the Virgin Islands.

4. Allocate 40 percent of the remainder ($36,747,354) in equal shares to each of the States, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

5. Allocate 60 percent of the remaining balance ($22,048,410) based on the relative share of the civilian labor force for each State, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Official Attachment II (https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2003/TEGL9-03_AttachII.html):

Attachment II

Grant Procedures

A. Grant Agreement. The Wagner-Peyser Annual Funding Agreement encompasses the Wagner-Peyser Base Grant and the One-Stop/Workforce Information grant for PY 2003/ FY 2004. The Annual Funding Agreement includes Assurances and Certifications which apply to all grants covered by the Agreement. Therefore, Assurances and Certifications need not be submitted with the One-Stop/Workforce Information grant application.

B. Grant Application. Grant Applications are to be developed in accordance with Attachments I, II and III. The Grant Application must include a signed transmittal letter, a signed Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424), Budget (SF- 424A, Section D only) and plan narrative. States are requested to submit two signed copies of the complete grant package and a .pdf copy of the final negotiated plan narrative to the appropriate ETA regional office.

C. Plan Approval. Regional Administrators are responsible for final approval of the plan and will issue an approval letter, with a copy of the approved grant package, to the state and a copy of the approval letter and approved grant package to the grant officer. A Notice of Obligation will be issued by the grant officer subsequent to the receipt of the regional office’s approval package.

D. Plan Modifications. The grantee and regional office may jointly modify planned activities and associated expenditures, within the state allocation, during the plan period of performance. The regional office has authority to recommend funding adjustments to the grant officer when overall grant expenditures are substantially below quarterly budgeted forecasts in the approved SF- 424A. In the event the Secretary of Labor is required to carry out other responsibilities not anticipated in the plan, grantees may be requested to modify the plan to carry out the additional responsibilities.

Official Attachment III (https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2003/TEGL9-03_AttachIII.html):

Attachment III

Statement of Work Guidelines

Grantees are required to produce seven deliverables with PY 2003 funding. Except for those core products which are expected to be standard and comparable across states (the core ALMIS Database, industry and occupational projections, and the ALMIS Employer Database), all other required deliverables allow states flexibility to address the priority while determining the form and content that best meets the state's needs.

The plan statement of work will be posted on an ETA supported Web site to allow review by the workforce investment system. For consistency and ease of review, the format of the statement of work must discretely and concisely address each of the planned products and services and include the following information for each:

· A description of the core product, service or other demand activity;

· How the deliverable supports the goals of the state's WIA/Wagner-Peyser Five Year Strategic Plan;

· The principal customers of the deliverable;

· The outcome(s) and system impact projected for each deliverable;

· Planned milestones for completion of the deliverable; and

· The total estimated cost of each deliverable, including identification of planned equipment purchases of $5,000 or more per unit cost.

Core Products and Services

1) Continue to populate the ALMIS Database with state data.

The ALMIS Database provides states with a common structure for storing information in a single database in each state. The database is intended to serve as the cornerstone for information delivery, labor market research and product development. Using the same version of the database in all states is important for providing interstate access to workforce information. Therefore, states are required to implement and maintain the most current version of the ALMIS Database and populate all tables designated as core tables in accordance with guidelines issued by the ALMIS Database Consortium. Database content must be updated timely in order to be as current as the state’s most recent publications and data releases. Information and technical support will be provided on the Consortium's new Web site at: http://www.almisdb.org. The new site will be available to the system in August, 2003.

States are required to populate the database with the following licensing files: license.dbf and licauth.dbf. Licensing data must be updated every two years. States are required to submit licensing data through the National Crosswalk Service Center (NCSC) for inclusion on the America’s Career InfoNet (ACINet) site. The licensed occupations information on Career InfoNet has been recoded from OES to the O*NET/SOC taxonomy. The NCSC will assist states in recoding their files to O*NET/SOC for submittal to ACINet, if necessary. States may access information and support through the NCSC Web site at http://www.xwalkcenter.org or by calling 515-242-5034.

Now that the basic building and population of the ALMIS Database has been accomplished in all states, a major emphasis in states should be the full utilization of this resource in meeting national, state, and local customer information needs. At the national and consortium level, the focus will be on providing tools to states to help them realize the full potential of the ALMIS Database and related resources. These tools will be developed and disseminated as part of new concept known as the ALMIS Resource Center. More information on these tools will be forthcoming from the ALMIS Database Consortium.

New and more effective methods are being developed for providing staff training and information updates. Many materials will be provided electronically, and on-site training requiring staff travel will be kept to a minimum. It is important that all states take advantage of the resources and training opportunities provided and in PY 2003, it is anticipated that one national training event will be held. Funds may be used for any costs required to implement and maintain the database, including staff training.

2) Produce and disseminate industry and occupational employment projections.

States must continue to produce and disseminate state-level, long and short-term industry and occupational employment projections, using the methodology, software tools and guidelines developed by the Projections Consortium and the Projections Managing Partnership. States should continue focusing on refining their historical NAICS industry database to be used in the projections process. Long-term projections are to be developed for the 2002 to 2012 period, and short-term projections developed for the 2003 to 2005 period. The primary activity for PY 2003 will be the production of statewide projections. However, area and local projections should be initiated and produced when possible. Inability to produce area and local projections should be noted in the annual plan.

States are required to populate the ALMIS Database with the 2003-2005 short-term and 2002-2012 long-term projections data and submit the data for public dissemination following the procedures established by the Projections Consortium and the Projections Managing Partnership.

States are encouraged to participate in the various training opportunities provided by the Projections Consortium and the Projections Managing Partnership.

3) Provide occupational and career information products for public use.

States must continue to produce and disseminate customer focused occupational and career information products, incorporating related information such as occupational projections, demand occupations and supply indicators by geographic area, wages and benefits by occupation, trends, skills and education requirements and career ladder information.

The OES, industry and occupational projections, benefits surveys and the Job Vacancy Survey (JVS) system, developed by the WIC sponsored JVS Workgroup, are all useful data sources for occupational information. Grant funds for occupational information products may be used to conduct job vacancy surveys, using the standard methodology developed by the JVS Workgroup.

All products must be SOC-based and developed in consultation with intended customers. States will determine the appropriate media for dissemination of occupational and career information.

4) Provide public electronic access to the ALMIS Employer Database.

States are required to integrate the ALMIS Employer Database with the ALMIS Database in accordance with ALMIS Database Consortium guidelines. States have options of how to provide public electronic access to the database: develop or purchase electronic applications, use the application provided on the Employer Database CD, or establish links from an electronic application to the Employer Database in Career InfoNet. Describe how and where customers can access the information for the purposes of job search and job development.

5) Provide information and support to state and local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) and provide other special demand information products and services.

Describe how activities are consistent with the strategic vision of the State WIB and the information products and services to be provided, as a result of consultation, to support state and local WIB planning, analysis, policy development and program operations. Also describe any special information products and services to be provided at the request of principal customers or other stakeholders.

6) Improve and deploy electronic state workforce information delivery systems.

Funds are provided to support continued improvement and deployment of publicly accessible state workforce information delivery systems. Grantees are required to provide electronic public access to the information in the state's ALMIS Database through Internet or Intranet based applications. States are encouraged to develop systems that facilitate customer access to information across multiple states and for labor market areas that cross state boundaries.

Describe what system activities will be undertaken with these funds to improve customer access to workforce information. Examples include, but are not limited to: upgrading system content and technology; improving formats and usability, providing Web-based or other electronic applications for self-service: developing systems which are compatible with other states’ workforce information systems for interstate functionality; and integrating workforce information systems with other workforce operating systems.

Funds may be used for system development, procurement, implementation or other necessary costs.

7) Support state workforce information training activities.

Describe the training activities to be undertaken to increase staff and external customer understanding of workforce information. The plan must describe the type of training to be provided and its purpose, the intended recipients of the training, the number of training classes planned or alternative methods of training delivery to be used. Funds may be used to support the costs of course development, training materials, training delivery, facility rental, tuition, training related travel expenses and other associated costs necessary to provide workforce information training.

Official Attachment IV (https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2003/TEGL9-03_AttachV.html):

Attachment IV

Annual Performance Report

States are required to submit an annual performance report that concisely summarizes accomplishments, the results of an assessment of customer satisfaction with the state's workforce information products and services and recommendations for improvements to workforce information and services. The report is intended to serve as an accountability, management and analysis tool for states, ETA and the Workforce Information Council.

A. Accomplishments. For each planned product and service, provide a concise summary of:

· The outcomes achieved compared to planned outcomes and an analysis that explains the cause of any significant variance from plan. Describe any actions required to improve outcomes.

· The extent to which the activity has conformed to the planned milestones, including an explanation for the cause of any significant variance from schedule.

· Actual aggregate expenditures and an explanation for any significant variance from planned aggregate expenditures.

B. Customer Satisfaction Assessment. For selected products and services, provide a concise summary of:

· The method(s) used for collecting customer satisfaction information and for interpreting the collected information.

· An assessment of the principal customers' satisfaction with the product or service.

· Activities to be undertaken to add customer value to the product or service, where needs for improvement are identified.

C. Recommendations for Improvements or Changes to the Suite of Core Products. These may be based on one or more of the following:

· Recommendations based on accomplishments.

· Recommendations based on customer satisfaction assessment findings.

· Recommendations based on consultation with customers.