10.2.1 Case Management
Effective date: January 1, 2019
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) defines "case management" as "the act of connecting youth to appropriate services."1
Local WDBs are required to provide case management to all Youth Program applicants and participants.2 Case management begins during the enrollment process, before a youth is a participant, and continues throughout program participation and follow-up.3 Since case management is not one of the 14 WIOA Youth Program elements, it does not trigger or extend participation in the WIOA Youth Program.4 While case management is a required activity, it is not tracked in the Automated System Support for Employment and Training (ASSET) because it is not included on DOL's Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL), which is used for federal performance reporting.5
10.2.2 Information and Referral
Effective date: January 1, 2019
The local WDB must provide each participant information about appropriate services available through the one-stop system that support the participant's individual service strategy (ISS).1 The local WDB must also refer participants to appropriate training or educational programs that have the capacity to serve the participant.2
10.2.3 Objective Assessment
Effective date: January 1, 2019
Overview
All Youth Program participants must receive an objective assessment of their:
- academic levels;
- basic skills levels;
- occupational skills;
- prior work experience;
- employability;
- interests and aptitudes;
- areas of strength;
- developmental needs; and
- service needs, including supportive services.1
The career planner does not need to complete the entire objective assessment if it is appropriate to use a recent objective assessment developed under another education or training program.2 In this context, DWD-DET defines "recent" as having been completed within the previous six months.3
Note: There may be instances where, during the previous six months, a youth completed one or more components of the objective assessment that was administered by another education or training program or a licensed medical provider but does not have a comprehensive objective assessment that satisfies WIOA's requirements. In this case, DWD-DET encourages the career planner to use those components that have been completed and focus WIOA resources on the components that still need to be completed.
Basic Skills Assessments for Youth
The local WDB must use formalized assessment instruments that are valid, reliable, and appropriate for the target population when assessing basic English reading, writing, and math skills.4 The test administrator must be qualified to administer the assessment.5 The formalized test should also be cost effective and easy to administer with results that are easy to interpret.6 The local WDB may, but is not required to, use assessments approved for use in the Department of Education's National Reporting System (NRS).7 Likewise, the local WDB is not required to determine an individual's grade level equivalent or educational functioning level (EFL), though these assessments may be used.8 The local WDB must also provide individuals with disabilities reasonable accommodations in the assessment process if needed.9
WIOA Youth Program funds may be used towards costs associated with assessing an individual's basic skill level for an eligibility determination, even though the individual is not yet a program participant.10 The local WDB may also use results from a previous basic skills assessment if the assessment was performed within the past six months.11
Career-Related Assessments for Youth
Career-related assessments help youth understand how their interests, values, preferences, motivations, aptitudes, and skills affect their potential success and satisfaction with different career options and work environments.12 Multiple assessment tools may be necessary to meet the needs of an individual and address the required components of the objective assessment.13 Youth with disabilities may benefit from less formalized assessments14 and may need information on benefits planning, workplace supports, and accommodations.15 Career-related assessments may be provided by WIOA Youth Program staff or through referrals to national and community-based partners and resources.16
- 120 CFR § 681.420(a)(1); TEGL 21-16, p. 7
- 220 CFR § 681.420(h)
- 3DOL defines "recent" as having occurred within the past six months for purposes of determining if a previous basic skills assessment is recent enough to use. TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 420 CFR § 681.290(c); TEGL 21-16, pp. 7-8
- 5TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 6TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 7TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 8TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 9TEGL 21-16, p. 7-8
- 10TEGL 21-16, p. 7
- 11TEGL 21-16, p .8
- 12TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 13TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 14TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 15TEGL 21-16, p. 8
- 16TEGL 21-16, p. 8
10.2.4 Individual Service Strategy
Effective date: January 1, 2019
Career planners must work with each participant to develop an individual service strategy (ISS) that identifies:
- the participant's education and employment goals;
- appropriate achievement objectives that will help lead to goal attainment;
AND
- the program elements that will help lead to goal attainment.1
The participant's education and employment goals must identify an appropriate career pathway for the participant,2 and the overall ISS must be a plan for successful achievement of one or more of the WIOA performance indicators.3 All program elements provided to a youth participant must align with the goals identified in the youth's ISS.4
Development of the ISS is a required component of the youth enrollment process.5 It is developed after the objective assessment and is based on the results of the objective assessment.6
Note: The career planner does not need to create an ISS with a new participant if it is appropriate to use a recent ISS developed under another education or training program.7 In this context, DWD-DET defines "recent" as having been completed within the previous six months.8
Career planners must update the youth's ISS on an ongoing basis by documenting the program elements provided, the participant's progress, activities completed, benchmarks reached and any other accomplishments, regardless of who provides the program element.9 Additionally, the ISS must be updated to reflect new and/or removed program elements. Updates are captured in the "Manage Customer Notes" page in the Automated System Support for Employment and Training (ASSET).
10.2.5 WIOA Youth Program Expenditure Requirements
Effective date: January 1, 2019
The WIOA Youth Program has two unique expenditure requirements.
For more information, see:
10.2.6 Economic Self-Sufficiency
Effective date: TBD
Background
One of WIOA's main purposes is to increase economic self-sufficiency (ESS) through workforce development activities.1
While the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) does not require local workforce development areas (WDAs) to determine ESS for Youth Program participants, Wisconsin's Governor's Council on Workforce Investment (CWI) recognizes the value of developing a strong youth workforce and has established a goal that WIOA Title I participants, including Youth program participants, will achieve ESS through their participation in the program.2
DWD-DET's standard takes into account the minimum amount of income required for a household to meet its basic expenses at a minimally adequate level, without public or private assistance. Under WIOA, this amount must always be equal to or greater than 100 percent of the most current Lower Living Standard Income Level (LLSIL), by household size.3
To evaluate progress toward this goal, DWD-DET requires that career planners complete an economic self-sufficiency calculation at program entry and program exit for youth program participants entering participation on or after January 1, 2025 due to attaining unsubsidized employment.
DWD-DET's ESS Standard for the Youth Program
For the Youth Program, participants' economic self-sufficiency will be evaluated using the Youth Program ESS standard, and assuming that the participant is independent of their parent(s)/guardian(s). This means that, based on the participant's income, or the income of their independent household, they are considered economically self-sufficient if they meet the following criteria:
- have individual income that meets or exceeds 125 percent of the ESS level for a single adult household in the applicable county of residence;4
- have household income that meets or exceeds 125 percent of the ESS level for a house of the same composition in the applicable county of residence;
and
- have household income that meets or exceeds the LLSIL for their household size.
Career planners must use the "Title I Youth Program" standard and select "Ages 18+ or minor living alone" for household composition, when completing the Economic Self-Sufficiency Calculation in CEPT.
Requirements for Applying the ESS Standard
PROGRAM ENTRY
DWD-DET requires career planners to perform an ESS calculation in the CEPT "Self-sufficiency" tool after an individual has been found eligible for the Youth Program. The calculation must be completed within 30 days of the Actual Close Date of the Eligibility Determination service.
Participants co-enrolled in multiple WIOA Title I programs only need one ESS Calculation; however, if an individual is co-enrolled in the Dislocated Worker program, then the ESS calculation must be completed using the Dislocated Worker program criteria.
PROGRAM EXIT
DWD-DET requires that Career Planners complete an ESS calculation when a participant obtains unsubsidized employment and will be exited from the Title I program. The ESS calculation must be completed with the current wage from the unsubsidized employment.
Career planners must not prevent the participant from exiting if the ESS calculation shows that the new unsubsidized employment does not lead to economic self-sufficiency. However, this may be an indicator that achievement of the participant's program-related goals, as identified in their individual service strategy (ISS), have not yet been fully achieved, and the career planner and participant should consult to determine if additional services are appropriate.
Alternatively, if a participant obtains unsubsidized employment that does lead to economic self-sufficiency, but they have not achieved the educational/occupational training goals, or other employment-related goals identified in their ISS, they must be allowed to continue in the program, if they so choose.
DWD-DET will analyze economic self-sufficiency status at program entry vs. program exit as a measure to evaluate the success of the WIOA Title I programs.5
ESS Standard Uses
Career planners may wish to use ESS calculations in a variety of other ways to increase the quality of services provided under the Adult Program and Dislocated Worker Program. Examples include:
- identifying occupations that would likely result in economic self-sufficiency using county-level occupational wage data;
- measuring progress for participants embarking on a career pathway;
- determining whether a participant has met the program goal of securing employment resulting in economic self-sufficiency;
and
- using the breakdown of typical basic monthly expenses from the ESS calculator results to assist an individual with budgeting.
- 1 WIOA Sec. 2(6)
- 2 Governor's Council on Workforce Investment 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, Objective 3B
- 3 LLSIL uses the term "family," however, for purposes of ESS determinations only, career planners are to use household size instead of the potentially stricter definition of "family." The foundation for DWD-DET's ESS standard is household composition, therefore, use of "family" may not allow for equal comparison between the various criteria used in its definition of economic self-sufficiency.
- 4 In 2016, DWD-DET contracted with the University of Washington to create an initial statewide data set and report to determine the income needed to cover an ordinary household's basic needs (aka its ESS level), taking into account household composition and county of residence. The data comes from federal and state sources. DWD-DET plans to update the data set approximately every three years to reflect changes in costs of basic needs. More information about the University of Washington's work on this topic can be accessed at http://www.selfsufficiencystandard.org/node/3.
- 5 This aligns with Objective 3B of the Governor's Council on Workforce Investment (CWI) 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.
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