RESEA and UI participant reemployment performance measures

CLASSIFICATION
   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                UI
               ADVISORY SYSTEM                           CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
          U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                       OUI/DPM
             Washington, D.C. 20210                      DATE
                                                         December 17, 2020

ADVISORY:         TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 9-20

TO:               STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:             JOHN PALLASCH
                  Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:          Performance Measures for Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments
                  (RESEA) and Unemployment Insurance (UI) participants.

1. Purpose. To announce the RESEA reemployment core measure; and program performance
   measures for Median Earnings for RESEA program participants and Reemployment Rate for
   all UI Eligible participants.

2. Action Requested. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) requests that
   States distribute the information in this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL)
   to the appropriate state UI and workforce development system staff.

3. Summary and Background.

   a) Summary— The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) sets out
      expectations for the Wagner-Peyser Act-funded Employment Service (ES) program
      (hereinafter ES program) to support the reemployment of UI claimants. Section 306 of
      the Social Security Act (SSA) which authorizes the RESEA program similarly focuses on
      reemployment of UI claimants. Both statutes speak to integrated service delivery in the
      context of the broader workforce system and focus on performance outcomes. In this
      TEGL, ETA announces three new performance measures for the RESEA and UI
      programs:
           Reemployment Rate in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit Quarter for RESEA
             Program Participants (a Core Measure);
           Median Earnings in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit Quarter for RESEA
             Program Participants (a Program Performance Measure); and
           Reemployment Rate for all UI Eligible Participants in the 2nd Quarter after
             Program Exit Quarter (a Program Performance Measure).

       The first two new measures above are designed to focus on RESEA program
       performance, given that the RESEA program is now permanently authorized within the
       context of the broader workforce development system. The third measure will evaluate
       the reemployment rate for all UI eligible participants receiving reemployment services.
 RESCISSIONS                                             EXPIRATION DATE
 UIPL No. 17-08                                          Continuing
 UIPL No. 01-06

   All three measures align with the WIOA primary indicators of performance and will
   utilize data that states already report for the ES program, and will assist ETA and states in
   assessing state performance related to the employment outcomes of RESEA participants.

   This guidance also informs states of ETA’s discontinuance of the Facilitate the
   Reemployment of UI Claimants (a Core Measure) and the repeal of UIPL Nos. 17-08 and
   01-06.

   Core Measures are considered critical indicators of the overall performance of the
   program and have an established acceptable level of performance (ALP) or target,
   associated with the measure. If the ALP for Core Measures is not met by State
   Workforce Agencies (SWAs), it signals fundamental impairment in program operations
   that requires corrective action. SWAs are expected to submit corrective action plans
   (CAPs) to address these performance deficiencies as part of their annual State Quality
   Service Plan (SQSP). Program Performance Measures do not have an associated ALP or
   target established. However, these measures alert state and Federal managers of
   performance issues that could result in lower performance on Core Measures, and are
   useful for performance analysis and inform technical assistance needs.

b) Background—historically, it has been a goal of the UI and ES systems, and other
   workforce development programs, to support the rapid reemployment of UI claimants.
   Doing so helps the claimant quickly reestablish earning power and also saves state UI
   trust funds from paying more benefits than necessary. The enactments of WIOA (Public
   Law No. 113-128) and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (Public Law No. 115-123)
   reinforce this goal. Public Law No. 115-123 permanently authorized the RESEA
   Program as Section 306 of the SSA.

   One of the key goals of the RESEA program is to improve employment outcomes of
   individuals who receive UI compensation and to reduce the average duration of receipt of
   such compensation through reemployment. A second key goal is to promote alignment
   of the RESEA program with the broader vision of WIOA and to establish RESEA as an
   entry point into other ES programs. Beginning in Fiscal Year 2017, ETA requires that
   RESEA participants be co-enrolled in the ES program as part of the initial RESEA
   session. Using ES program data to assess a state’s RESEA and UI program performance
   will not result in additional reporting burden, since both the WIOA and UI programs will
   use the same data source and method of assessment to effectively promote both of these
   goals.

   States currently collect and report the data needed to calculate both reemployment rates
   and median earnings as part of the performance reporting requirements under WIOA.
   States submit their data via the Workforce Integrated Performance System (WIPS), which
   is ETA’s management information system for capturing WIOA performance data. States
   submit individual record data using the Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL)
   (ETA 9172 Report) through WIPS as part of the quarterly and annual performance
   reporting requirements. The PIRL provides a standardized set of data elements,
   definitions, and reporting instructions to describe the characteristics, activities, and

   outcomes of WIOA participants. Additional information on the PIRL elements are at the
   following link:
   https://www.doleta.gov/performance/pfdocs/ETA_9172_DOL_PIRL_1.18.18.pdf

   As stated in Section 7a of UIPL No. 15-19, the “Facilitate the Reemployment of UI
   Claimants” core measure was discontinued as of September 30, 2019, together with the
   requirement that states submit the quarterly ETA 9047 Report (Reemployment of UI
   Benefits Recipients) to ETA in anticipation of these new measures and to maintain
   alignment with WIOA standards.

   Additionally, ETA is repealing UIPL No. 17-08, which originally announced the
   Facilitate the Reemployment of UI Claimants core measure, as well as UIPL No. 01-06
   that announced the approval of the data collection vehicle (ETA 9047 Report) for this
   same core measure.

c) Summary of the Comments Received from the Notice Published in the Federal
   Register.

   In May 2019, ETA published a notice in the Federal Register, 84 Fed. Reg. 24,819,
   soliciting comments on three proposed reemployment measures for the UI system. These
   measures were designed to align with the WIOA primary indicators of performance and
   utilized WIOA data collected using the PIRL. The proposed measures were:
         Reemployment Rate for all UI Eligible Individuals in the 2nd Quarter after
            Program Exit (as a Core Measure replacing the existing Facilitate the
            Reemployment of UI Claimants Core Measure);
         Reemployment Rate in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit for RESEA Program
            Participants (a Program Performance Measure); and
         Median Wage in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit for RESEA Program
            Participants (a Program Performance Measure).

   Five states submitted comments to ETA in response to the notice in the Federal Register.

   The following is a summary of the comments received:

         A few comments noted the difference between RESEA and WIOA programs
          and how WIOA targets may not align with RESEA. Some comments also
          noted that the proposed WIOA standard of “2nd quarter after program exit”
          appeared inconsistent with RESEA’s goal of quickly returning UI claimants
          to employment.

          ETA Response—ETA considered this issue and explored alternatives to the “2nd
          quarter after program exit” timeframe. As a possible alternative option, ETA
          examined the “1st quarter after program exit” measure, which would be the
          earliest “reemployment after exit” measure that could be calculated using PIRL
          data. However, this measure did not address the inherent lag in using wage data.

    Additionally, minimal differences in reemployment outcomes were noted using
    the measures of 1st or 2nd quarters after program exit upon reviewing the WIOA
    data submitted by states during the past eight quarters. ETA also examined other
    benchmarks such as “Date of Program Entry,” but use of this benchmark was not
    feasible as WIOA outcomes are based on “Date of Program Exit.”
    Therefore, to promote alignment of these new performance measures with the
    WIOA primary indicators of performance, ETA remains committed to using the
    WIOA primary indicators of performance for the RESEA and UI programs.

   A few states commented that measures should focus on populations that are
    likely to exhaust benefits instead of the general UI population. States also
    pointed out that the RESEA and WIOA populations are different and
    measurement across programs may be challenging.

   ETA Response—ETA agrees that the focus of ETA’s reemployment
    performance measures should be on the RESEA population. The RESEA
    program is now permanently authorized, and it will serve a greater percentage of
    UI claimants as program participation grows. Therefore, ETA is implementing
    two measures solely focused on the RESEA program. Additionally, ETA is
    implementing the previously proposed Reemployment Rate for all UI Eligible
    Participants in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit as a program performance
    measure. As a program performance measure, states can use the data collected as
    a point of comparison to the RESEA program, as well as a tool to assist with the
    assessment of reemployment performance for the UI program.

    States have flexibility in targeting UI claimants for participation in the RESEA
    program. As an important customer base for the ES program, there are significant
    similarities in the two populations. This approach allows ETA to develop and
    maintain accountability for the reemployment of UI claimants as well as RESEA
    participants, and aligns with the goals of both WIOA and RESEA programs by
    focusing on integrated, seamless service delivery to participants. Therefore, ETA
    remains committed to the alignment of the reemployment performance measures
    with the WIOA primary indicators of performance.

   A few states also requested clarification of the reporting instructions and
    operational processes for the measures.

    ETA Response—as data for these measures are already collected and reported by
    states to ETA using the PIRL, there is no additional reporting burden to the states.
    Section 4(c) of this TEGL provide details on the source of data, including
    collection and reporting processes for these measures.

   States also questioned how performance year baseline data will inform future
    targets.

               ETA Response—state baseline data collected in the first performance period will
               inform performance targets for the core measure in subsequent performance
               periods based on the negotiated ES program targets. Section 4(b) of this TEGL
               provides details on how the ES program targets are generated. ETA will also
               continue to explore performance target alternatives using variables more tailored
               to the RESEA program as data quality and reporting improves. Moving forward,
               ETA intends to use baseline RESEA-specific data to develop a statistical
               adjustment model to enable negotiation of more refined targets of outcomes for
               RESEA participants only.

4. RESEA Core and Program Performance Measures. To support employment goals for UI
   claimants and the vision of WIOA for a set of primary indicators of performance to be used
   across workforce development programs, the following measures will assess state
   performance related to employment and earnings.

       a) Methodology

             i.   Reemployment Rate in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit Quarter for
                  RESEA Program Participants.

                  This Core Measure captures the percentage of RESEA participants who are in
                  unsubsidized employment during the 2nd quarter after exit from the ES
                  program.

                  This measure calculates the number of RESEA participants who exited during
                  the reporting quarter who are found to be employed, by using either direct UI
                  wage record match, Federal or military employment records, or supplemental
                  wage information, in the 2nd quarter after the exit quarter DIVIDED by the
                  total number of RESEA participants who exited during the reporting quarter,
                  and expressed as a percentage. The calculation of this measure is reflected in
                  the following equation:

            ii.   Median Earnings in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit Quarter for
                  RESEA Participants.

                  This Program Performance Measure is calculated by determining the wage
                  amount that is at the midpoint of all the wages between the highest and lowest
                  wage earned in the 2nd quarter after exit for all RESEA participants who
                  exited the program and were employed in the 2nd quarter after exit from the
                  ES program. Wages are currently reported as PIRL data element 1704. Note
                  that in this calculation “wages” refers to the total earnings of a participant
                  during a given quarter and does not refer to a wage rate. Although no target is
                  established for a program performance measure, ETA will use the
                  performance data to assess overall RESEA program performance and to

           inform technical assistance needs.

           To determine the mid-point, the 2nd quarter after exit wages recorded in PIRL
           element 1704 for all participants employed in the 2nd quarter after exit,
           collected by either direct wage record match or supplemental wage
           information, are sorted from lowest to highest. If an odd number of unique
           records have been reported, the mid-point value is defined as the value of the
           record located at (n+1)/2 on the array of records where “n” is the total unique
           records with 2nd quarter after exit wages. Thus, if 99 wage records are
           reported in the 2nd quarter after exit, the mid-point is the 50th record in the
           array [(99+1)/2=50]. If an even number of unique records has been reported,
           then the mid-point is the arithmetic mean of the two mid-most wage values.
           Therefore, if 100 wage records are in the 2nd quarter after exit, the midpoint is
           (100+1)/2 = 50.5 and the median is the mean of the two mid-most values—the
           value of the sum of the 50th and 51st record divided by 2. Note that for PIRL
           element 1704, only records that have non-zero amounts are included in the
           median earnings calculations.

    iii.   Reemployment Rate for all UI Eligible Participants in the 2nd Quarter
           After Program Exit Quarter.

           This Program Performance Measure captures the percentage of UI eligible
           participants who are in unsubsidized employment during the 2nd quarter after
           exit from the ES program.

           This Program Performance Measure calculates the number of UI eligible
           participants who exited during the reporting quarter who are found to be
           employed, either through direct UI wage record match, Federal or military
           employment records, or supplemental wage information, in the second quarter
           after the exit quarter DIVIDED by the total number of UI eligible participants
           who exited during the reporting period, and expressed as a percentage. The
           calculation of this measure is reflected in the following equation:

b) Establishing Targets.

   i. Reemployment Rate in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit Quarter for
         RESEA Participants

           ETA continues to work on developing a Statistical Adjustment Model that
           will produce RESEA-specific performance targets, which include variables
           more tailored to the RESEA program. The goal is to enable the negotiation of
           more refined targets of employment outcomes for RESEA participants as data
           quality and reporting improves.

              Until specific targets can be established for the RESEA program, ETA will
              establish performance targets for RESEA that are based on the negotiated
              levels of performance targets for the ES program. These negotiated
              performance targets are generated when ETA and states reach agreement on
              the negotiated levels of performance for the ES program, and includes
              outcomes estimated by the Statistical Adjustment Model as required by
              Section 116(b)(3)(viii) of WIOA. Further details on the negotiation process
              are outlined at the Department’s website:
              https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?docn=3430.

              The model uses actual economic conditions and the characteristics of
              participants served at the end of the performance period. The model is then
              updated and refined with ongoing use and application as WIOA outcome data
              become available. More detailed information is available for the Statistical
              Adjustment Model at the Department’s website:
              https://www.doleta.gov/performance/guidance/negotiating.cfm.

   ii.        Median Earnings in the 2nd Quarter after Program Exit Quarter for
              RESEA Participants

              This measure will be implemented as a Program Performance Measure
              intended to provide states and ETA with key metrics related to RESEA
              performance but no performance targets will be established.

   iii.       Reemployment Rate for all UI Eligible participants in the 2nd Quarter
              After Program Exit Quarter

              This measure will be implemented as a Program Performance Measure
              intended to provide states and ETA with key metrics related to RESEA
              performance but no performance targets will be established.

c) Data Source. As noted above, the data to support the performance measures will be
   derived from the PIRL (ETA 9172 Report). The PIRL framework allows states to
   organize data in a standardized format within WIPS using the various elements or
   data points. The following PIRL elements are used in the calculation of the measures
   described in Section 4 above:

             Wagner-Peyser Employment Service—the participant received services under
              the Wagner-Peyser Act (Data Element 918 = 1);
             Date of Program Exit—the quarter in which 90 days has passed and a
              participant has not received staff-assisted services and is exited from the ES
              program (Data Element 901);
             UI Eligible Participant—an ES participant who meets Unemployment
              Compensation (UC) Eligible Status Criteria by receiving or exhausting UI
              benefits (also called a UI claimant) at the point of entry into the ES program

                  (Data Element 401);
                 RESEA Participants—UI claimant who is referred to ES services based on
                  participation in the RESEA program (Data Element 401=1, RESEA);
                 Employed in 2nd Quarter after Exit Quarter (Data Element 1602);
                 Other Reasons for Exit (Data Element 923); and
                 Wages in 2nd Quarter After Exit Quarter (Data Element 1704)

          Additional information on the above PIRL elements are at this link:
          https://www.doleta.gov/performance/pfdocs/ETA_9172_DOL_PIRL_1.18.18.pdf

          There is no additional reporting burden to states as a result of implementing these
          measures since ETA will use data that are currently collected and reported by states
          for performance accountability purposes via the PIRL (ETA 9172 Report).

          Performance Period. The performance period for these measures will be the four-
          quarter period ending September 30. Although the RESEA program performance
          year is January through December, due to a four-quarter lag (3 quarters for
          reemployment outcomes to be available and 1 quarter for state reporting), ETA
          modified the performance period as stated above in order to allow time for necessary
          data collection and analysis. Attachment I outlines the reporting timeline for the
          RESEA data.

          As indicated in UIPL No. 29-20, the first performance period for this measure will be
          FY 2021 (October 1, 2020 – September 30, 2021). Based on the reporting timeline,
          the performance outcomes for FY 2021 will be available in FY 2022. Given the
          significant impact that Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic is likely to
          have on employment outcomes in FY 2021, states that do not meet performance
          criteria for the Core Measure (reemployment rate in the 2nd quarter after program
          exit quarter for RESEA program participants) for the FY 2021 will not be required to
          submit a corrective action plan as part of the FY 2022 SQSP submission. ETA will
          use the performance data from FYs 2020 and 2021 to review state performance trends
          and baseline state RESEA performance. However, FY 2022 performance outcomes
          for this Core Measure will be used by ETA for evaluation, and states that do not meet
          performance criteria will be required to submit a corrective action plan as part of the
          FY 2024 SQSP submission.

5. Inquiries. Inquiries should be directed to the appropriate ETA Regional Office.

6. References.
       Section 306, Social Security Act (SSA);
       Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-123;
       Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Pub. L. No. 113–128, 29 U.S.C.
         3101 et seq.;
       Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended, Pub.L. No. 73–30, 29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.;

                 Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 29-20, Additional Planning
                  Guidance for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 Unemployment Insurance (UI) State
                  Quality Service Plan (SQSP);
         Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 01-06, Collection of Data on the
          Facilitation of Reemployment of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefit Recipients;
         Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 17-08, The Unemployment Insurance
          (UI) Reemployment Rate Core Measure; and
         Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 11-19, Negotiations and Sanctions
          Guidance for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Core Programs.

7. Attachment(s).

   Attachment I— Reporting Timeline for RESEA Data

                                                             Attachment I to TEGL No. 9-20

Reporting Timeline for Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) Data

Performance Period: Fiscal year (FY) 2021—October 1, 2020 through September 30, 2021.
Data Availability:
Data is derived from the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA’s) Workforce
Integrated Performance System (WIPS), and is available based on the following schedule:
           o Participant reemployment outcome is identified at the end of the second quarter
             after the exiting quarter.
           o Employer wage data reporting occurs in the third quarter after the exiting quarter.
           o Reemployment cross-matches are applied in fourth quarter after the exiting
             quarter.
           o Agency reporting and ETA certification of the reporting occurs in fifth quarter
             after the exiting quarter.
Example: For the FY 2021 performance period, the latest exit date occurs in the quarter ending
September 30, 2021. Therefore two quarters after exit is quarter ending March, 2022. All
employer reporting and wage data cross matches are completed by quarter ending September,
2022. State agencies submit their data to ETA for analysis and it is available within the quarter
ending December, 2022. This data will then be available for evaluation in FY 2022. States that
do not meet performance criteria for the measure will be required to provide a corrective action
plan as part of the FY 2023 State Quality Service Plan submission.

QE              QE              QE              QE              QE               QE
09/30/2021      12/31/2021      03/31/2022      06/30/2022      09/30/2022       12/31/2022
Latest exit     First quarter   Second          State agencies collect           State
date for FY     after exit      quarter after   employer reports for QE          agencies
2021 occurs                     exit            03/31/22 and cross match         submit data
                                                wage data                        to ETA for
                                                                                 analysis
QE = Quarter Ending