13.1.1 Required Co-Enrollment with the Dislocated Worker Program
Effective date: April 19, 2021
Revised Date: January 1, 2024
Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program participants who are eligible for the Dislocated Worker Program must be co-enrolled in the Dislocated Worker Program, unless the TAA participant declines co-enrollment.1 WDAs provide Rapid Response services when a TAA petition is filed.2 Therefore, individuals experiencing a trade-related layoff will often be enrolled in the Dislocated Worker Program before a TAA petition is certified.
In cases where an individual becomes a TAA participant first, TAA career planners are primarily responsible for informing participants of the option to co-enroll in the Dislocated Worker Program and connecting them to the appropriate local program staff.3 Upon receiving a referral from the TAA program, Dislocated Worker Program staff must, at minimum, conduct an eligibility determination and an initial assessment and enter both services into ASSET with WIOADW as the fund source.
DWD-DET created a TAA WIOA Joint Application Form, for program eligibility in both programs, so the participant only needs to provide the information once. Most TAA Program participants will meet the Dislocated Worker Program eligibility criteria.4 However, some may be ineligible for the Dislocated Worker Program, including those who do not meet the Selective Service registration requirement, and will therefore be exempt from the co-enrollment requirement.5
DWD-DET requires program applications, eligibility documentation, assessment results, and other paperwork to be uploaded into ASSET or shared between program staff to minimize the administrative burden on the participant.
DWD-DET cannot deny any TAA Program benefits or services to participants who decline co-enrollment with the Dislocated Worker Program.6 In cases where a participant declines co-enrollment, the TAA Program career planner is responsible for documenting this in an ASSET case note. Dislocated Worker Program staff must also document, in an ASSET case note, any conversation they have with a TAA participant that does not lead to co-enrollment.7
13.1.2 Funding and File Coordination for Co-Enrolled Participants
Effective date: April 19, 2021
Revised Date: January 1, 2024
When a participant in the Adult Program, Dislocated Worker Program, and/or Youth Program is co-enrolled in the TAA Program, TAA Program funds must be the primary source of funds used to serve them.1 The co-enrollment requirement with the Dislocated Worker Program does not change this; Title I funding may only be used to provide services that are not allowable or are denied under the TAA Program.2 For example, TAA Program participants who are co-enrolled in the Dislocated Worker Program benefit from access to supportive services and post-employment follow-up services offered by the Dislocated Worker Program that TAA Program funds do not support.3 Dislocated Worker funds can also be useful to fund portions of training beyond the 130 weeks of training allowed in the TAA Program. For example, a participant in a 130-week program who needs to re-take classes they have failed could be funded by the Dislocated Worker Program until they were on track again to complete their program within 130 weeks.
If a participant is already engaged in training through the Adult Program, Dislocated Worker Program, or Youth Program at the time they become eligible for the TAA Program and their training is approved under the TAA Program, the costs for their training must shift to the TAA Program at the next logical break in training, such as the end of a semester.4 Training plans approved under a Title I program may be amended by the TAA Program to provide a participant with additional training services.5
Either the Dislocated Worker Program or the TAA Program must ensure any credential or measurable skill gain that the participant attains is recorded in ASSET. To see how co-enrollment impacts the credential attainment rate and the measurable skill gain performance indicators, see 11.5.7 Credential Attainment Rate and 11.5.8 Measurable Skill Gain.
13.1.3 Benefits of Partnership & Co-Enrollment
Effective date: January 1, 2024
As a core partner of the one-stop delivery system, the Dislocated Worker provides early interventions to individuals experiencing a trade-related layoff and also supplements the benefits and services available to TAA-eligible dislocated workers. Co-enrollment is especially important in cases:
- where a TAA petition has been filed, but not yet certified, and participants can access workforce system services earlier by engaging with the Dislocated Worker Program;
- where program participants could benefit from additional Dislocated Worker Program services the TAA Program is not authorized to provide;1
- when serving highly barriered participants who may benefit from a multi-tiered approach to workforce services;2
and/or
- where a program participant's needs change during their participation, and co-enrollment can ensure seamless access to services and supports.
DWD-DET strongly recommends completing co-enrollment as early as possible in the participant's period of performance. This eases the enrollment process, as career planners between programs can share information collected for eligibility determination and initial assessment(s).3 This practice also ensures that eligibility has been determined, and services are available, in case of unforeseen changes in service needs. For example, if a participant engaged in TAA-funded training experiences the need for a vehicle repair, they may seamlessly access supportive services available through the Dislocated Worker Program to enable their continued engagement in the training program.
There are many benefits of co-enrollment for program participants, including:
- early intervention through Rapid Response activities;
- substantial access to career services prior to TAA certification and/or eligibility determination through enrollment in the Dislocated Worker Program;
- access to a robust menu of workforce development services, including supportive services and other economic supports and post-employment follow-up services, the TAA Program may not offer;4
- access to multiple workforce development experts to help guide their career pathway to success;
- individuals who are co-enrolled consistently do better in credential attainment, and in gaining and retaining employment after exit;5
and
- access to staff with specialized training for specific populations, including justice-involved individuals, individuals with disabilities, Veterans, etc.
When discussing potential co-enrollment in the Dislocated Worker Program with TAA participants, career planners should highlight these benefits and any other ways that co-enrollment would benefit the individual. Under no circumstances should Dislocated Worker Program staff discourage TAA participants from pursuing co-enrollment.
Co-enrollment also affords benefits to both programs, including:
- the ability to better leverage both funding and staffing resources;
- improved performance outcomes.6 In Wisconsin, TAA participants score well on performance measures, on average, and are likely to boost Dislocated Worker Program outcomes;
and
- Access to the institutional knowledge and expertise of staff across programs, leading to continuous improvement of the one-stop delivery system as a whole.
NOTE: For participants engaged in both TAA and the Dislocated Worker Program, Automated System Support for Employment and Training (ASSET) is the management information system and electronic system of record, and participants will have a common exits date based on the last date of service in either program. This date will determine when post-exit primary indicators of performance are calculated and when follow-up services must be made available.
- 1 Allowable services may vary depending on which iteration of TAA Law applies to a participant's TAA petition but generally includes certain career services, certain supportive services, and follow-up services. Under TAA Reversion 2021, effective July 1, 2021, this includes all TAA case management services (WIOA career services) other than conducting an initial assessment.
- 2 TEGL 14-18; TAA and DW Co-Enrollment Fact Sheet #2: Perceived Barriers of Differing Eligibility & Benefit/Service Provision, page 1
- 3 DWD-DET allows the use of recent assessment results completed by other programs and defines recent as "completed within the previous six months."
- 4 Allowable services may vary depending on which iteration of TAA Law applies to a participant's TAA petition, but generally includes certain career services, certain supportive services, and follow-up services. Under TAA Reversion 2021, effective July 1, 2021, this includes all TAA case management services (WIOA career services) other than conducting an initial assessment.
- 5 TAA and DW Co-Enrollment Fact Sheet #1: Perceived Barriers of Cost & Performance, page 2
- 6 TEGL 14-18 p.13; TAA and DW Co-Enrollment Fact Sheet #2: Perceived Barriers of Differing Eligibility & Benefit/Service Provision, page 1
