WIA state plan deadline and waiver instructions, Change 1

Accessible letter PDF: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2007/TEGL13-06_Ch01_Acc.pdf

CLASSIFICATION
    EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING
  ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY SYSTEM                        CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
     U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                           OWI
          Washington, D.C. 20210
                                                        DATE
                                                        April 5, 2007

ADVISORY:          TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 13-06, Change 1

TO:                ALL STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
                   ALL STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS
                   ALL STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS

FROM:              EMILY STOVER DeROCCO /s/
                   Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:           Instructions for Workforce Investment Act and Wagner-Peyser Act
                   State Planning and Waiver Requests for Years Three and Four of the
                   Strategic Five-Year State Plan (Program Years 2007 and 2008)


1. Purpose. TEGL No. 13-06, Change 1, has four purposes:

      •   To inform states that May 1, 2007, is the revised deadline for submission of
          modifications of their State Strategic Plans for Title I of the Workforce
          Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) and the Wagner-Peyser Act (“the State Plan”) for
          years three and four of the current five-year planning cycle;

      •   To announce an option for states with newly-elected governors to request an
          additional sixty days to submit their State Plan modifications;

      •   To announce an electronic mail address for states to submit inquiries regarding
          the planning process to the Employment and Training Administration; and

      •   To provide additional instructions to states for modifying their State Plans using
          the unified planning guidance issued on April 12, 2005.

2. References. Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended (29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.); Workforce
   Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), as amended (29 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.); WIA Final Rule,
   20 C.F.R. parts 660-671; Planning Guidance and Instructions for Submission of Two
   Years of the Strategic Five-Year State Plan for Title I of the Workforce Investment

 RESCISSIONS                                          EXPIRATION DATE
                                                      June 30, 2010


   Act of 1998 and the Wagner-Peyser Act (70 FR 19206 (April 12, 2005)); Workforce
   Investment Act: Revisions to the Workforce Investment Act Title I, Wagner Peyser
   Act and the Senior Community Service Employment Program Unified Planning
   Guidance (70 FR 19222 (April 12, 2005)); and Training and Employment Guidance
   Letter, No. 13-06 (Jan. 24, 2007).

3. Background. Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 13-06, issued
   January 24, 2007, provides instructions to states for modifying their State Strategic
   Plans for Title I of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) and the Wagner-
   Peyser Act (“the State Plan”) for years three and four of the current five-year
   planning cycle. When preparing the modifications, states are required to follow the
   state planning instructions included in Part II of the stand-alone planning guidance
   or Part III of the unified planning guidance, published in the April 12, 2005, issue of
   the Federal Register and available through the Internet at www.doleta.gov.

4. Change in Deadline for Submitting State Plan Modifications. TEGL 13-06 stated
   that the deadline for submitting modifications to State Plans is April 1, 2007. The
   deadline has been changed to May 1, 2007. The Employment and Training
   Administration (ETA) will complete its review of the modifications by June 30,
   2007.

5. Extension Option for States with New Governors. For states with new governors,
   ETA is offering to extend the time frame for submitting a modification to June 30,
   2007, in recognition that many new governors may still be appointing cabinet
   positions for their state workforce agencies and making new appointments to their
   state workforce investment boards. State boards play a major role in the
   governance of the state workforce system, and this includes, among other functions,
   assisting the governor in the development of the State Plan. This extension allows
   new boards to effectively carry out their statutory function.

   States with newly-elected governors are:

             Alaska               Arkansas
             Colorado             District of Columbia (Mayor)
             Florida              Idaho
             Iowa                 Maryland
             Massachusetts        Nevada
             New York             Ohio
             Virgin Islands

   The eligible states interested in pursuing this option must inform the Federal
   coordinator for plan review and approval and the appropriate Regional
   Administrator of the state’s request: 1) to extend the deadline to June 30, 2007, for
   submission of a modification to the State Plan, and 2) to extend the end date of the
   current State Plan through September 28, 2007. Requests must be submitted prior


   to May 1, 2007. Approval of the extension of the current State Plan through
   September 28, 2007, is conditional upon the submission of the modification to the
   State Plan by June 30, 2007. ETA will complete its review of the modification
   within 90 days. A suggested template is provided for governors to use when
   making this request (see Attachment).

6. Electronic Mail Address for Submitting Inquiries. TEGL 13-06 announced that
   states submitting their plans by electronic mail should send it to
   [email protected]. States may also use this address to submit questions to
   the ETA regarding the planning process. In addition to responding to specific
   questions directly, ETA will post the answers to questions for the benefit of all
   states on its Web site at www.doleta.gov/usworkforce/wia-planning.

7. Unified Planning. In TEGL 13-06, Section 7, ETA committed to issuing additional
   instructions for those states interested in submitting a modification request using
   the Unified Planning Guidance issued on April 12, 2005. This change provides the
   additional instructions. It is ETA’s position that a demand-driven, integrated
   service delivery system can best be achieved through comprehensive strategic
   planning involving a wide range of partners, including business, education, and
   economic development, to address the present and projected economic conditions
   of a state. However, there is a distinction between collaborative planning and the
   submission of a unified plan. ETA expects that collaboration and strategic
   partnerships will undergird the planning process regardless of the plan format a
   state chooses to document its efforts.

   States are authorized to submit a Unified State Plan under Title V, Section 501 of the
   Workforce Investment Act. The Unified State Plan Planning Guidance facilitates
   the development and submission of such a plan, and addresses two or more of the
   programs or activities specified at WIA Section 501(b)(2). These include: secondary
   vocational education programs and post-secondary vocational education programs
   authorized under the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology
   Education Act; activities authorized under WIA Title I; activities authorized under
   WIA Title II; programs authorized under Section 6(d) of the Food Stamp Act of
   1977; work programs authorized under Section 6(o) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977;
   activities authorized under Chapter 2, Title II, of the Trade Act of 1974; programs
   authorized under the Wagner-Peyser Act; programs authorized under Title I of the
   Rehabilitation Act of 1973, other than Section 112; activities authorized under
   chapter 41 of Title 38, United States Code; programs authorized under state
   unemployment compensation laws; programs authorized under Part A of Title IV
   of the Social Security Act; programs authorized under Title V of the Older
   Americans Act of 1965; training activities carried out by the Department of Housing
   and Urban Development; and programs authorized under the Community Services
   Block Grant Act.


   New legislation for two of the Federal partner programs precludes states from
   using the program-specific guidance provided in the unified planning guidance as
   the basis to submit a plan covering the activities of those programs. Secondary and
   post-secondary vocational education programs authorized under the Carl D.
   Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act and programs
   authorized under Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965 (Senior Community
   Service Employment Program) have been impacted by changes in law. For these
   programs (discussed further below), responding to the questions in the April 12,
   2005, unified planning guidance will not meet the requirements of the new
   legislation and forthcoming regulations governing each program.

8. Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV). It is
   important to note that, on August 12, 2006, President George W. Bush signed into
   law the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV).
   The Perkins IV envisions that all students will achieve challenging academic and
   technical standards and be prepared for high-skill, high-wage, or high-demand
   occupations in current or emerging professions. It provides an increased focus on
   the academic achievement of career and technical education students, improves
   state and local accountability, and strengthens the connections between secondary
   and post-secondary education. Each state must now prepare a new state plan in
   accordance with the requirements of Perkins IV.

   Under Section 122(d)(2) of Perkins IV, a state may choose to submit the post-
   secondary portion of their new Perkins IV state plan as part of the plan submitted
   under Section 501 of Public Law 105-220. A state also may include the secondary
   portion of their new Perkins IV state plan only with the prior approval of its state
   legislature (see Section 501(b)(1) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998). Any
   state that chooses to submit the post-secondary and/or secondary portions of their
   new Perkins IV state plan as part of a unified plan must address every item in the
   “Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006: Guide for the
   Submission of State Plans,” which was issued by the Department of Education on
   March 12, 2007.

9. Senior Community Service Employment Program. On October 17, 2006, President
   George W. Bush signed into law the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006,
   Public Law 109-365, which authorizes the Senior Community Service Employment
   Program (SCSEP). SCSEP’s purpose is to foster individual economic self-
   sufficiency and promote useful opportunities in community service activities for
   unemployed low-income persons who are age 55 or older (particularly persons who
   have poor employment prospects), and to increase the number of persons who may
   enjoy the benefits of unsubsidized employment in both the public and private
   sectors. The 2006 Amendments instituted a number of program changes. The
   amendments increased the emphasis on placement in unsubsidized employment;
   imposed a time limit on enrollees’ program participation; restricted fringe benefits
   for participants; enabled grantees to spend additional funds on training; and


   mandated the adoption of core indicators of performance, aligned with ETA’s
   Common Measures. The new law becomes effective July 1, 2007.

   Each state SCSEP grantee must prepare an application for funding each year. This
   application is a thorough explanation of how the project will operate. The 2007
   application requirements will incorporate the changes brought about by the
   amendments to the Older Americans Act. Once ETA has established procedures
   for submitting plans/applications in accordance with the new requirements, each
   state grantee will have the option of submitting their application as part of the
   unified plan, but this is not likely to occur by the established deadline for
   submitting the WIA and Wagner-Peyser portion of the plan to ETA. Thus, it does
   not appear to be feasible to include SCSEP in a unified plan at this point in the 2007
   modification cycle.

10. Other Section 501 Programs and Activities. States that choose to modify their
    State Plans using the unified planning guidance for programs, other than the
    secondary and post-secondary vocational education programs and SCSEP,
    authorized under Perkins IV and the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006,
    respectively, will continue to use the guidance and instructions in Part III of the
    unified planning guidance, published in the April 12, 2005, issue of the Federal
    Register.

11. Inquiries. Questions regarding this guidance should be directed to Janet Sten, the
    Federal coordinator for plan review and approval, at [email protected], or Robin
    Fernkas at [email protected]. Both can be reached by calling (202) 693-3045.


Attachment

Official attachment PDF (TEGL13-06_Ch01_Att1.pdf): https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/advisories/TEGL/2007/TEGL13-06_Ch01_Att1.pdf

Attachment

               Suggested Template for Requesting Additional Time to
                         Submit State Plan Modifications


The Honorable Elaine L. Chao
Secretary
United States Department of Labor
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20210-0002

Dear Secretary Chao:

I would like to take advantage of the option available to new governors as outlined in
the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration’s Training
and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 13-06, Change 1, to request an additional
sixty days to submit a modification to the State’s Strategic Plan for Title I of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) and the Wagner-Peyser Act (“the State Plan”)
for years three and four of the current five-year planning cycle. I understand that this
option extends the deadline for submission from May 1, 2007, to June 30, 2007.

As a condition of exercising this option, I am requesting an extension of our current
State Plan from June 30, 2007, to September 28, 2007. I understand that the approval of
the extension of the current plan is conditional upon the submission of a modification to
the State Plan by June 30, 2007.

Sincerely,


Governor

cc: ETA Regional Administrator