WIOA Title I-A & I-B Policy & Procedure Manual
Ch.2) The One-Stop (Job Center) Delivery System

2.2.3 What is a Job Center?

Effective date: August 1, 2020 - May 2, 2021

To be considered an American Job Center within Wisconsin's one-stop delivery system a location must:

Physically house at least one required partner, and may physically house additional required and/or optional partner(s); and
Provide basic and individualized career services;¹ and
Make available (on-site, via the use of technology, and/or via formalized referral processes) and/or provide training and support services as authorized under WIOA;² and
Make available (on-site, via the use of technology, and/or via formalized referral processes) and/or provide information about the full range of services available through the one-stop delivery system as authorized under WIOA;³ and
Include a service area, commonly known as a Resource Room, that is open to the general public or specialized/targeted population (i.e., incarcerated individuals in a correctional facility) during regularly scheduled hours and provides access to labor exchange services⁴ for job seekers and employers.

The local WDB should work with its one-stop delivery system partners to determine the number and placement of Job Center sites. In doing so, the local WDB should consider the resources available within the system, customer needs, and available methods of service delivery.⁵

The local WDB is responsible for assessing physical locations within the borders of its WDA to determine which sites meet the criteria to be considered Job Centers. Each location within the WDA that meets all five of these criteria must be designated as an American Job Center, be identified as an American Job Center in accordance with Section 2.5 of this chapter, be included in a one-stop delivery system MOU in accordance with Section 2.6 of this chapter, and be certified in accordance with Section 2.8 of this chapter. All certified Job Centers within the WDA must be reassessed on a regular basis, at minimum once every three years, to ensure ongoing compliance with these requirements.⁶

2.2.3.1 Types of Job Centers

Job Centers may be identified as comprehensive, affiliate, or specialized.

A comprehensive Job Center⁷ must meet all the criteria listed above, and must make available (on-site, via the use of technology, and/or via formalized referral processes) all the required partners/programs identified in Section 2.2.2. There must be at least one comprehensive Job Center in each WDA.⁸ At least one WIOA Title I funded staff person must be present when the one-stop center is open for operations.⁹ Title I funded partners include the WIOA Adult Program, Dislocated Worker Program, and Youth Program, Job Corps, YouthBuild, Native American Programs, and National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP).¹⁰

An affiliate Job Center meets the criteria listed above but does not include all required partners. If WIOA Title III Wagner-Peyser Act services are provided at an affiliate Job Center, at least one or more other one-stop partner programs must be located in the affiliate Job Center, and there must be a physical presence of combined staff from the other program(s) over 50 percent of the time that the site is open.¹¹

A specialized Job Center is a service location that may or may not meet the criteria listed above, but that is designed to serve as an access and/or outreach site for a specialized group of the population (i.e., youth, dislocated workers from a particular company, incarcerated individuals in a correctional facility, etc.). Specialized Job Centers may be overseen by the local WDB or by DWD-DET. Because a specialized center may be housed in an alternative location (i.e., on-site at an employer facility, in a correctional facility, etc.) hours and access may be determined by the facility, not by a One-Stop Operator or local WDB.

2.2.3.2 Job Center Hours of Operation

The local WDB and/or the One-Stop Operator (OSO) must work with one-stop delivery system partners to determine hours of operation for each Job Center site. DWD-DET encourages local areas to consider nontraditional hours of operation where driven by customer need and supported by local budgets and staffing patterns.¹² Hours of operation should be negotiated as part of the one-stop delivery system MOU development process, and should be documented in the MOU.

DWD-DET acknowledges that circumstances may arise which require a Job Center to close temporarily due to public health and/or safety concerns (e.g., inclement weather, facility malfunction, etc.). For Job Centers housed in State of Wisconsin owned facilities the State of Wisconsin Executive & Agency Building Closure Policy: Inclement Weather or Emergency Situations must be applied. For Job Centers housed in facilities not owned by the State of Wisconsin, the local WDB and/or One-Stop Operator must establish policies and procedures to address temporary Job Center closures. These policies and procedures must address circumstances that warrant temporary closures, the process by which partner agency staff and the general public will be notified of the closure, and identify which entity has final authority to make the determination of closure. Local policies should take into account that each partner agency must follow its own policies regarding hours and staffing.

¹ 20 CFR § 678.305(b)(1); 20 CFR § 678.400; 81 FR 55883
² 20 CFR § 678.305(d)
³ 20 CFR § 678.305(d); 81 FR 55875
⁴ 20 CFR § 652.3
⁵ 81 FR 55879
⁶ 20 CFR § 678.800(d)
⁷ 20 CFR § 678.305(a)
⁸ WIOA Sec. 121(e); 20 CFR § 678.300(c)
⁹ 81 FR 55877
¹⁰ 81 FR 55877
¹¹ 20 CFR § 678.315
¹² 20 CFR § 678.800(b);81 FR 55877-55878

WIOA Title I-A & I-B Policy & Procedure Manual Ch.2) The One-Stop (Job Center) Delivery System

2.2.3 What is a Job Center?

2.2.3.1 Types of Job Centers

2.2.3.2 Job Center Hours of Operation

WIOA Title I-A & I-B Policy & Procedure Manual
Ch.2) The One-Stop (Job Center) Delivery System