TAA Policy Manual
Ch. 7) Program Benefits

Table of Contents 

7.2.3 Assessments

Effective Date: September 13, 2024

The assessment process is the basis for determining which TAA benefits and services, including training, are most appropriate to allow trade affected workers to become re-employed. All participants must receive an initial assessment as soon as possible after they are determined eligible for the TAA program, and in time to request a training waiver if one is needed to protect their ability to receive TRA.

7.2.3.1 Initial Assessment

Who Must Be Assessed

Initial assessments must be provided to all trade-affected workers found eligible for TAA as part of the intake process. If an assessment has already been administered by a partner program, such as the Dislocated Worker Program, the TAA career planner must review it once the person is found eligible for TAA. Parts of a completed assessment that meet the requirements of a TAA assessment may be reviewed and used; anything missing that is required for the TAA assessment must be added.

Purpose

The initial assessment determines whether suitable employment is available to the participant within the 15 mile commuting area (or an area where the participant intends to relocate) or if there is a reasonable expectation that suitable employment will become available there in the near future. This means assessing if suitable employment is available without any intervention from TAA or with only employment and case management services.

If suitable employment is not available to the participant, even with employment and case management services, the career planner must discuss training options with the participant and advise them to apply for training.

Components

The initial assessment must include:

1. LMI about the current labor market for the participant's TAA layoff job, including the unemployment rate, local employer skill demands, and hiring prerequisites.
2. The participant's knowledge, skills and abilities from their previous education and employment.
3. The participant's transferrable skills that could be of interest to local employers.
4. Evaluation of the participants skill levels, including literacy, numeracy, and English language proficiency.
5. Evaluation of the participant's supportive service needs.
6. Any barriers to the participant's re-employment, including but not limited to:
   1. Skills that are in excess supply in the current labor market
   2. Skills not applicable to other occupations
   3. Whether the worker is a member of 1 or more of the following populations
      1. Displaced homemakers.
      2. Low-income individuals.
      3. Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians
      4. Individuals with disabilities.
      5. Older individuals.
      6. Ex-offenders.
      7. Homeless individuals, or homeless children and youths.
      8. Youth who are in or have aged out of the foster care system.
      9. Individuals who are English language learners, individuals who have low levels of literacy, and individuals facing substantial cultural barriers.
      10. Eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers.
      11. Individuals within 2 years of exhausting lifetime eligibility for TANF.
      12. Single parents, including single pregnant women
      13. Individuals who have been unemployed for 27 consecutive weeks or longer

Documentation

The results of the assessment must be documented in the case file, using the TAA Initial Assessment form.

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• ¹ 20 CFR § 618.330(a) and (b)
• ² 20 CFR § 618.335(a)
• ³ 20 CFR § 618.330(e)
• ⁴ 20 CFR 618.610(a)(1)
• ⁵ 20 CFR § 618.335(c)
• ⁶ 20 CFR § 618.335(b)(1)
• ⁷ 20 CFR § 618.335(c)(2)
• ⁸ 20 CFR § 618.335(c)(3)
• ⁹ 20 CFR § 618.335(c)(4)
• ¹⁰ 20 CFR § 618.335(c)(4)
• ¹¹ 20 CFR § 618.335((5)
• ¹² 20 CFR § 618.335((5)(iii) which references WIOA Sec. 3(24)
• ¹³ These terms are defined in WIOA Sec. 166(b). The term "Alaska Native" includes a Native and a descendant of a Native, as such terms are defined in subsections (b) and (r) of section 3 of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b), (r)). The terms "Indian", "Indian tribe", and "tribal organization" have the meanings given such terms in subsections (d), (e), and (l), respectively, of section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). The terms "Native Hawaiian" and "Native Hawaiian organization" have the meanings given such terms in section 7207 of the Native Hawaiian Education Act (20 U.S.C. 7517).
• ¹⁴ As defined in section 41403(6) of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14043e–2(6)))
• ¹⁵ As defined in section 725(2) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11434a(2))
• ¹⁶ These terms are defined in WIOA Sec. 167(i).
  The term 'eligible seasonal farmworker' means— (A) a low-income individual who—(i) for 12 consecutive months out of the 24 months prior to application for the program involved, has been primarily employed in agricultural or fish farming labor that is characterized by chronic unemployment or underemployment; and (ii) faces multiple barriers to economic self-sufficiency; and (B) a dependent of the person described in (A).
  The term 'eligible migrant farmworker' means— (A) an eligible seasonal farmworker whose agricultural labor requires travel to a job site such that the farmworker is unable to return to a permanent place of residence within the same day; and (B) a dependent of the farmworker described in (A).
• ¹⁷ TEGL 19-19, p. 9
• ¹⁸ 20 CFR § 618.330(d)