Employment and Training Programs Questions and Answers
The Employment and Training Program Division (ETP) has created a listing of Questions and Answers (Q & A) in relation to the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Q & A’s are intended to guide and assist partners and providers through the crisis. The Q & A’s are broken out by program area and will be updated regularly. If partners and providers require additional information, they are encouraged to directly contact their program coordinators.
1. How will ACP grants be impacted if providers' close or limit services during this period?
SFY20 grants may be extended through 12/31/2020. SFY21 grants may be extended through 9/30/2021 at the time of issuance. Extension modifications for SFY20 grants and planning documents for SFY21 documents were due to ACP in early April. If you have not provided these documents or if you did not request an extension, but would like to extend, contact your program coordinator as soon as possible.
2. Will extension of the SFY18-19 P2P grants funded, in part, by MJSP, be allowed?
SFY18-19 P2P grants cannot be extended. This includes any unspent MJSP funds. Please contact your Program Coordinator with any questions.
3. What does DEED recommend regarding continuing services during the COVID-19 emergency?
We encourage our partners to continue to safeguard the health and safety of employees and participants during this emergency. Try to do as much as possible using technology to interface with participants. This may include switching to on-line learning modules, providing case management via Skype, Zoom, telephone, or other electronic means, and modifying services to adapt them to remote learning. We encourage you to be innovative. If you have ideas about how you can transition to providing services remotely, please contact your Program Coordinator to discuss them.
4. What is DEED doing to facilitate changes to our work that will allow us to continue to serve clients during the crisis even though those changes were not contemplated in our budget or work plan?
We encourage providers to suggest ways to shift from provision of services in person to provision of remote services. Changes that do not impact money can be documented and implemented without going through the formal modification process. Please contact your Program Coordinator to discuss suggestions on how you may deliver traditional in-person activities through an on-line service model. Your Program Coordinator will work with you to document the changes and this will be incorporated into your work plan.
For SFY18-19 P2P grants only, E&T has implemented a shortened process that will expedite modifications moving funds between cost categories. This is intended to allow providers greater flexibility in responding to the emergency and applying remaining funds in the most effective way possible. Providers must still submit a request to amend and updated budget / budget detail spreadsheets showing the shift of funds between cost categories. Please contact your Program Coordinator for information. Note these two very important points: (1) MJSP funds may not be spent on any services except MJSP approved Direct Training. (2) Administrative costs cannot exceed ten percent of all funds spent.
ETP will continue to conduct monitoring during this time. ETP monitors will conduct monitoring visits via Skype, Zoom or other electronic or telephonic mechanisms. If you have a grant or grants due for monitoring, a monitor will contact you to schedule a date and time for a virtual meeting and to request that documents be completed and/or collected and sent electronically. The monitor will review materials requested and provided. The monitor will review the guide with you and will be available to answer questions regarding the monitoring processes.
During this time, Requests for Reimbursement (RPRs) need not have an actual signature. If a provider's authorized signer is not able to physically sign the RPR/FSR/CAPR, the authorized signer may approve via email with the following statement included:
By submitting this form, I certify that the request is in accordance with DEED cash management requirements and appropriate contract terms; the data reported is correct and the amount of the request is not in excess of immediate disbursement needs.
By signing this report, I certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that the report is true, complete and accurate and the expenditures, disbursements and cash receipts are for the purposes and objectives set forth in the terms and conditions of this award. I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent information or the omission of any material fact, may subject me to criminal civil or administrative penalties for fraud, false statements, false claims, or otherwise.
Please also be aware that if a provider shifts from in-person to online training, costs for computers and other electronic equipment may be paid from grant funds
If the provider says that the equipment is required, costs are allocated to Direct Training. If the provider does not require the equipment, costs are allocated to Support Services. Providers accessing Support Services must include the need for the equipment both in the participant's Individual Employment Plan and in WorkForce One case notes, and must include a provision of the equipment in WorkForce One under the support tab. Remember any purchases using grant funds must be necessary, reasonable, and allocable. This means the purchase must align with the objectives/goals of the program; the costs must not exceed what a prudent person under prevailing circumstances would spend; the goods or services involved are chargeable or assignable to the program with relative benefits received.
5. Can a provider continue to pay employees if the provider reduces or stops services?
DEED expects providers to do as much as they can to modify services in order to deliver virtual services. Please contact your program coordinator to discuss whether this work can be charged to Direct Services.
Wherever possible, DEED encourages providers to have employees continue to work, to the extent the work is grant-related. Work may be done remotely and can include:
Updating and working on individual employment plans (IEP)
Updating participant information in WorkForce One
Inputting support services to WorkForce One
Doing case management - telephone calls, Skype, one-one email exchanges, etc.
Providing training
Participating in ACP monitoring as requested
Please contact your Program Coordinator with questions around allowable activities, if staff are working remotely. If you do have to lay-off employees, please be sure to inform your Program Coordinator.
6. If an employee becomes ill with COVID-19 or must take time off to care for someone who is ill, may a provider pay them out of grant funds?
Please contact your Program Coordinator to discuss the situation.
7. How will it reflect on us if we are not able to meet the goals set in our work plan as a result of the emergency?
It is important for providers and DEED to continue to serve Minnesota's unemployed and under-employed populations during this time. If your program is facing challenges in delivering services, please contact your Program Coordinator as soon as possible.
8. May providers enroll participants electronically, foregoing face-to-face enrollment?
Participants may be enrolled electronically for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please see the procedure below.
ACP Temporary Procedures
Electronic On-Boarding
In order to increase providers' ability to continue providing services safely during the COVID-19 pandemic, providers may conduct electronic onboarding as follows:
Required enrollment/eligibility documentation from the applicant may be:
photocopied and sent through the mail,
photocopied, scanned, and sent via email, or
photographed using a cell phone and emailed.
Conduct an objective assessment of the applicant by phone, identifying elements for the individual employment plan (IEP).
Draft an IEP and mail (2 copies) or email the IEP to the applicant.
Confirm the applicant's agreement to the IEP. The applicant may confirm agreement with the IEP by:
(i) signing a hard copy of the individualized employment plan (IEP) and (ii) returning the signed IEP by mail or email, or photographing the IEP with a cell phone and emailing the photograph;
signing the IEP electronically and returning by email;
sending an email confirming agreement and attaching the IEP;
speaking directly with the provider by phone and confirming agreement with the IEP.
Document that the applicant has agreed to the IEP.
Note on the IEP that the participant has verbally agreed to the IEP, include the date the participant agreed, and the initials of the staff writing the note.
"Activate" the IEP in Workforce One, by entering the date it was signed.
Enter a detailed case note of the onboarding process in WF1.
Copy/paste any email interaction into notes.
Upload any pictures, or scanned emails (e.g., for the SS card or DL) to WF1 Electronic Document (EDS) as "attachments" to the client record. Contact your grant coordinator if you need technical assistance with this.
Open the "local flag" activity to indicate documents may be pending and/or collected in an alternative manner.
We understand that on-line academic assessments may soon be available. If a provider wants to use one of these, they should identify the assessment and submit this to program coordinator in lieu of the plan. As these assessments become available, we would expect to develop a list of approved on-line assessments.
9. How do providers document participant's consent on the credentialed training consent for release of information form if enrollment is electronic?
A participant's consent to the credentialed training consent for release of information form (hereafter referred to as the "release form") must be documented in writing. Please note that this form is only required for participants who are undertaking credentialed training. Participants may provide the following documentation to show their consent on a release form:
a signed hard copy of the release form, returning by mail, email, or fax, or by photographing the signed release form with a cell phone and emailing the photograph;
signing the release form electronically and returning by email; or
sending an email confirming the participant's agreement and attaching the release form.
Any statement from a participant accepted to satisfy the requirement of written documentation must (1) clearly identify that the release form is the subject of the communication; (2) must state that the participant has read the release form; and (3) must state that the participant agrees to the content in the release form, (e.g., I agree to release of my information as described in [name of form].). This process may be facilitated if the provider composes a suggested statement and provides it to the participant for their use.
Upload any pictures or scanned emails (to WF1 Electronic Document (EDS) as "attachments" to the client record. Contact your grant coordinator if you need technical assistance with this. Be sure to retain the documentation in the participant's file, and case note it in WorkForce One (WF1).
If you have questions about whether other forms of written documentation are acceptable, contact your program coordinator. If you absolutely cannot get written documentation from a participant for a release form, contact your program coordinator.
10. Credentialing exams required at the end of trainings are not currently being offered due to the state of emergency. How can providers support participants who have done all the work required and now cannot get their credential? If participants can't complete the permit or certificate exam, how can providers report their work? How can providers manage the impact on their reports/outcomes?
We recommend that providers retain CDL and CNA participants in the program to provide support services as long as is allowed, or until participants can take the permit/certification exam, whichever comes earlier. As long as participants are enrolled, the provider can pay for the permit/certification exam if/when it becomes available. In the interim, providers can offer participants with other supports, as needed. If a participant is continuing to be enrolled in order to receive support services, be sure to contact them once a month and write a case note.
If funding is ending and participants must be exited before they can take the permit/certification exam, use the reason "completed program objective." It does not constitute earning a credential, but it does indicate progress rather than an unsuccessful exit.
For participants who no longer need services and credentialing is delayed due to the peacetime emergency, as an exception to Adult Career Pathways standard practices, if credentialing is obtained after June 30, 2020, grantees may submit a Workforce One ticket to add the credential to the original credentialing funding stream AFTER June 30, 2020. For example: The grant ends June 30, 2020. The participant finished all requirements EXCEPT for the state credentialing prior to June 30, 2020. July 20, 2020 the participant was able to take the exam and successfully obtain their credential. The provider may put in a Workforce One ticket to enter credential effective the last day of grant (June 30, 2020) along with a corresponding case note, "Due to peacetime emergency, credential was not obtained until July 20, but entered effective date June 30, 2020 for administrative purposes." This will be allowed for up to 90 days following the end of the peacetime emergency. This should only be used in cases where the participant has NOT been enrolled in a consecutive funding stream, as the credentials should only be recorded once. Providers who choose this route may support a participants' exam taking by buying test vouchers from the college for the CNA exam, or by purchasing a visa gift card for participants in the amount of the CDL exam prior to exiting them.
11. If a provider's training partners are not able to continue to provide the course content as outlined in the work plan, may the provider still offer the class, or is the provider required to halt training until the partner is able to provide that content?
Following standard Adult Career Pathways practice, if the partner tasked with training is unable to continue, a provider may could substitute another qualified trainer. This will require, at minimum, a modification of the Partnership Chart (and possibly a work plan modification if the training differs from that specified in the work plan). Whatever qualifications/credentials are required for the partner listed in the work plan (for example compliance with Minnesota Office of Higher Education requirement, i.e. MOHE compliance) will also be required for the new partner.
Be sure to review your contract with the current partner so that you are aware of any contractual rights and responsibilities regarding the partner's inability to continue training.
12. As providers adapt their training for on-line platforms, some changes to class content must occur. Could DEED provide insight on the types of adaptation allowed?
The work plan establishes the boundaries of what a provider has contracted to provide. Depending on how narrowly or broadly the work plan is written, a provider may be able to make certain changes without a work plan modification. Changes, whether a modification is required or not, must be true to the intent of the original plan.
Because of limitations imposed by the COVID-19 emergency, DEED understands that methods of outreach and training delivery must adapt, and that needs for support services have increased. ACP is committed to being as flexible as possible to allow providers to adjust to the new environment. Please call your program coordinator to discuss innovative ideas to continue operations, to increase services to participants, or to position your organization to respond to the increased need for training when the emergency ends.
13. Adult Career Pathways (ACP) requires that participants entering credentialed training have an academic assessment. Academic assessments have always been administered in person and there are currently no standardized on-line assessments. How can providers that offer credentialed training through ACP grants continue to offer training and serve participants?
During Minnesota's Peacetime Emergency engendered by COVID-19, DEED is waiving the standardized academic assessment for participants entering credentialed training through ACP) grants. Procedures that must be followed in lieu of a standardized academic assessment are as follows.
Providers must inquire about a participant's level of educational attainment. If a participant indicates that they have a GED, high school diploma, or higher, the provider must request and collect documentation to verify the highest level claimed. Documentation may be provided by a cell-phone snapshot of the last transcript received. The participant's name must clearly visible. If a participant claims high school enrollment, but is unable to produce documentation, collect the name of the school and location of the school, and the year and month of graduation. For GED, collect the date, the provider, and the location. College work must be verified with a transcript. The case manager will consider this information in determining whether to enroll the participant.
In addition, each provider must submit a plan to assure that participants allowed to enroll in the credentialed training have the necessary skills and abilities to be successful. The plan must include:
a summary of the knowledge and abilities required to pass the intended course,
the questions or methods they would use to assess whether a candidate has that knowledge and abilities,
their plan to monitor progress and provide supports to participants who appear to be struggling, and
their plan for participants who can't complete.
Once the coordinator has approved the provider's plan, the provider may proceed with the alternative procedure.
The process and/or findings of the assessment must be case noted in Work Force One.
Please recall that if a provider is doing non-credentialed training (for example, work readiness or an OSHA 10 certificate), the academic assessment is not required. Note that this waiver applies only to the state-funded grants overseen by ACP. Providers offering ABE must continue to follow requirements determined by the Department of Education.
This waiver lasts only until the peacetime emergency is declared to have ended, or until further notice by DEED.
14. Participants who have completed training to become certified nursing assistants (CNA) are not able to take required tests due to the COVID-19 emergency, which limits the period of their employment to four months. How can providers assist in continued employment for participants who have completed CNA training?
Retroactive to March 1, 2020, and through the end of the COVID -19 Emergency, the federal government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is waving certain requirements related to individuals who work as nurse aids. The waiver allows individuals who have not completed a training and competency evaluation, or a competency evaluation program approved by the state to work full-time in a nursing or skilled nursing facility for more than four months. The waiver also allows individuals to work without receiving registry verification. Note: An individual working as a nurse aide must still be competent to provide nursing and nursing related services and the facility must ensure that individuals working as nurses' aides are able to demonstrate competency necessary to care for residents' needs.
More information is posted on the Minnesota Department of Health web.
15. What expectations does DEED have for documenting signatures for receiving support services? Is a verbal/text/voicemail/email statement by a client to a counselor acceptable, indicating they approve a mailing and understand lost cards will not be replaced?
Written documentation from the client acknowledging receipt of support services is preferred; however, during the emergency, verbal confirmation, including voicemail or text, is acceptable. Acceptable written documentation includes an email from the participant or any other reasonable means of written communication.
Remember that support services provided must be documented:
Note what services were provided to the client and why the particular support is necessary (note the barrier to staying in training/obtaining employment), in the Individual Employment Plan
Case note acknowledgement of receipt of the support and the means of acknowledgement; and provision of the support in WorkForce One;
Document the support services provided under the support tab in WorkForce One
16. Can providers get extensions and modifications for helping clients get internet access, computers, and online trainings?
Once the Stay Home order was issued, ACP began allowing extension of SFY20 grants to December 31, 2020 and extension of SFY21 grants to September 30, 2021. A grantee must complete a request to extend but need not provide an explanation for why the extension is needed. Grantees may request extensions beyond the specified dates but must explain the additional extension is necessary.
If a grantee does not request an extension for their SFY21 grant now, but later determines that they will need an extension, they may request an extension at any time between July 1, 2020 and a month before their grant is scheduled to expire.
If assisting clients to obtain internet access and/or and computers and to access online trainings is within the scope of a provider's work plan, the provider may provide these services without a work plan modification. ACP encourages providers to be flexible within the limits of what their current contracts (work plan and budget) allow and will construe the terms of the contract as liberally as possible to facilitate this. If a contract cannot be reasonably construed to allow assistance with internet access and computers, on-line training, or other activities and assistance deemed appropriate/helpful at this time, the provider should contact their program coordinator for assistance in crafting a modification responsive to the needs of their participants in the current situation.
17. Should we continue to intake people as usual, omitting components that are inaccessible virtually (e.g., TABE testing, certifications, copies of degrees)?
See the response to the eighth question, above, relating to electronic enrollment. If you have additional questions, please contact your coordinator. Be as specific as possible when crafting your questions. ACP will attempt to craft a response to your question. If the situation you describe is likely to apply to other providers, we will post your question and our response on-line.
DEED wants you to continue serving participants during and after the Stay Home order and will strive to be as flexible as possible, while being mindful of the need to provide training that prepares participants to be successful in an employment situation.
18. How will audits for physical files differ as we are spending a lot of time case noting virtually and will have months of backlog on physical files when we go back to the office?
Currently, Monitors are doing desk reviews. Desk reviews consist of a review of response to questions posed in the core monitoring guide; a review of financial records and a financial reconciliation; and a review of data in WorkForce One (WF1). There is no file review. Monitors have been involved in changes made to ACP procedures in response to COVID-19 and will take that into consideration when monitoring records created beginning March 15, 2020, and throughout the duration of the Stay Home order.
Additionally, not all WF1 records must be in the physical file. Generally, a monitor reviews the physical file to determine whether the participant:
Is a member of the grant's target population as defined by either legislation, the workplan, or both?
Is a Citizen (Self-attestation – signed and dated) or has proof of Right to Work (See I-9 requirements)
Is over 18?
Has proof of a birth date in the file that matches the birth date in WF1?
Is a MN Resident
Has proof of a Social Security Number? (Nine digits, not the last 4) matched to the number in WF1?
Has proof of Veteran status (DD214 or other proof), if claimed
And whether Equal Opportunity is the Law/How we Use Your Personal Info - Updated 10/2017 is signed, dated and in file.
19. Is there flexibility with income eligibility requirements? What about hazard pay? If people receive a temporary pay increase does that count against program eligibility requirements? Will poverty/wage requirements be adjusted, specifically if we must gather wages for the past year? Many may report full-time wages and work but be out of work now due to COVID-19.
Requests for Proposals posted for the SFY20-21 Pathways to Prosperity (P2P) and Women in High-Wage, High-Demand, Nontraditional Jobs (WESA) grants require that participants be within one or more of several target populations. One such target population for both grants is individuals at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guideline (FPG). The Minnesota statute codifying WESA, Minn. Stat. 116L.99 also includes individuals who are at or below 200% pf the FPG. The P2P grant is not codified in Minn. Stat. and appropriation bills do not restrict P2P to low-income individuals. Income does not figure into eligibility for the Southeast Asian grants and adult Support Services grants.
While P2P and WESA grants are tied – one by the RFP only and one by both RFP and statute – to the federal poverty guidelines, neither statute, law, or RFP provides any direction as to how income is computed for the purpose of meeting this restriction. Therefore, ACP may allow flexibility in how income is computed.
In light of the economic hardship visited upon vast segments of the population by COVID-19 and of the uncertainty about whether an affected individual will return to their pre-COVID-19 employment status, it is appropriate to consider an individual's present circumstances when determining whether that individual qualifies for a program as "low income." This may mean looking at a period shorter than one year (e.g., three months) when determining income, or to disregard a temporary jump in income due to hazard pay.
When qualifying an individual for P2P or WESA, or any other grant program overseen by ACP based on limited income, if that person would not have qualified based on procedures used by prior to COVID-19, the provider should document factors considered when determining their eligibility at the time evaluated.
Alternatively, a provider may draft a policy describing how they propose to evaluate income eligibility considering changes to the job market wrought by COVID-19 and submit to the draft to their program coordinator for review and approval. Case-by-case documentation would not be required once such a policy is in place and approved. For example, a provider might consider only the most recent three months when determining income.
20. Can we add specific details of goals such as "Part time/Temporary" as both types of employment have a high increase nationally due to the pandemic and should be counted as outcomes – benefits or not, with the open enrollment of MNsure as well?
This information can already be included in a participant's Individual Employment Plan. WorkForce One already collects information about part-time and/or temporary employment, along with information full-time and permanent employment. All types of employment count toward a successful exit to employment.
21. Some providers have not heard back from program officers regarding e-verifications. We need an automatic way to address the ID's for enrollment. Federal agencies and most employers allow this, can DEED for WFD?
ACP investigated E-verify shortly after the governor issued the Stay Home order. E-verify allows verification of information collected but is not designed to prove any of the eligibility elements.
However, ACP has implemented procedures for electronic enrollment. These are detailed in the procedure following Question 8, above.
22. Permission for e-signatures for documents and all DEED forms could be given and hopefully could continue following the pandemic. Organizations would prefer the option to process forms as efficiently and effectively as possible
DEED is addressing this issue at the agency level. ACP will follow any directives or guidance regarding e-signatures adopted by the Commissioner's Office.
1. What recommendations or guidance does DEED have for Job Service Representatives to onboard participants into programs?
Providers may conduct electronic onboarding as follows:
Collect an applicant's social security number verbally, over the phone
Required identification from the application may be:
Photocopied and sent through the mail (mark "confidential" to the counselor's attention)
Photocopied, scanned, and sent via email
Photographed with a cell phone and sent via email
Conduct an objective assessment of the applicant by phone, identifying elements for the individual employment plan (IEP)
Draft an IEP and mail (2 copies) or email the IEP to the applicant
Confirm the applicant's agreement to the IEP. The applicant may confirm agreement with the IEP by:
Signing a hard copy of the IEP and returning the signed IEP by mail or email, or photographing the IEP and emailing the photograph
Signing the IEP electronically and returning by email
Sending an email confirming agreement and attaching the IEP
Speaking directly with the provider by phone and confirming agreement with the IEP
Document that the applicant has agreed to the IEP
Note on the IEP that the participant has verbally agreed to the IEP, include the date the participant agreed, and the initials of the staff writing the note
"Activate" the IEP in WorkForce One, by entering the date it was signed
Enter a detailed case note of the onboarding process in WF1
Copy/paste any email interaction into notes
Upload any pictures, or scanned emails (e.g. for the SS card or DL) to WorkForce One Electronic Documents as "attachments" to the client record. Contact your grant coordinator if you need technical assistance with this
Open the "local flag" activity to indicate documents may be pending and/or collected in an alternative manner
** Please ensure that any communication via email which includes a participant's personally identifiable information (PII) is sent securely (encrypted). Per federal law: To ensure that such PII is not transmitted to unauthorized users, all PII and other sensitive data transmitted via e-mail or stored on CDs, DVDs, thumb drives, etc., must be encrypted using a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 compliant and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) validated 3 cryptographic module. Grantees must not e-mail unencrypted sensitive PII to any entity, including ETA or contractors.**
2. Program participants are changing to online training at this time, can we purchase laptops for the client using state and/or federal funds?
The Financial Assistance for Computer Hardware and Similar Technology policy provides guidance on this issue.
WIOA and State DW and WIOA Adult Programs allow the purchase of computer hardware and/or similar technology to assist in successful completion of training intended to secure employment. Costs for the purchase should be either from the support services budget and/or training budget. Local areas are also required to have local policies that guide the acquisition and sometimes reacquisition of the equipment. See the WIOA Financial Assistance for Computer Hardware and Similar Technology policy for additional information.
3. What guidance does DEED have for counselors working remotely who have taken client files home to work with?
Providers must ensure that participants files are kept in a safe, secure location. See federal requirement for electronic transmission of PII data.
4. We are going to do phone intake sessions for a while during the COVID-19 outbreak. We normally do the reading and math tests during group intake sessions. Can this be waived for the time being?
Please contact your Program Coordinator
5. Does DEED have guidance or recommendations for participants to mail in their applications and other materials? Should we register a new P.O. Box for this?
As far as we know, COVID 19, executive orders are temporary so incorporating new addresses for participants would only add to the confusion. DEED does not recommend sharing staff personal/home addresses with participants. Continue to use your office address.
DEED suggest program staff work with their internal administrative team to determine how mail will be collected and distributed to the teams.
6. Who are my DEED program contacts?
Your Program Coordinators were assigned at the beginning of your grant. DEED staff are available via email and they are regularly checking email. Please reach-out directly to your Program Coordinator.
7. Can we do an assessment/test at a later date, only if the client will be getting training throughout program, and waive the others?
Math and reading assessments are required prior to entering credentialed training, however there is some flexibility during COVID-19. It is recommended to give everyone an assessment regardless of attending training, so customer know how to best counsel them (knowing their abilities to read postings, etc.). It is not required until the counselor is approving them to attend training (to ensure they have the ability to successfully complete the training).
In light of Assessment Flexibility Guidance from ABE's Federal Office, some options include:
Accuplacer whenever possible
Previous college transcript showing a GPA
High School diploma or transcript
Online remote assessment such as Wonderlic (for now) and TABE when it becomes available (possibly a couple of months)
Where necessary, waive the math/reading assessment temporarily – case note rationale
** IMPORTANT: During the COVID-19 State of Emergency, assessment flexibility is allowed for the math and reading assessment requirements. DEED is allowing providers to waive the math and reading assessments in cases where it is difficult or impossible to test a participant virtually. This waiver is effective March 16, 2020 until the COVID-19 emergency is declared over. The rationale for waiving the assessments must be case noted.**
8. Are there any suggested practices of how service providers can get creative in paying vendors for services during social distancing practices. Specifically, support services for transportation, childcare, mortgage/rental assistance? Is setting up purchase agreements with vendors, such as gas stations allowable with these grants?
Please contact your Program Coordinator.
9. If it comes to a point where staff must take leaves of absence due to quarantine needs, would these staff costs be allowable? If so, what type of documentation should be maintained by providers to ensure program expense compliance?
Please contact your Program Coordinator to discuss the situation.
10. Can grantees have an extension on submitting RPRs?
Please contact your Program Coordinator to discuss the situation.
11. Can we start spending more in support services (in excess of current budget plans) even if a budget modification has not been pre-approved?
If you temporarily plan to spend more in support services than planned per your approved contract, but know the cost category percentages will balance out to what was initially planned/approved within a couple of months, it's okay to – temporarily - go outside the cost category percentages. However, if you know you'll spend more than planned/approved for several months or even the remainder of the grant period, we recommend you submit a modification request.
Example scenario 1: You were approved to spend 10% (of total expended) in WIOA support services with your current contract, but your percent expended for support services for February and March was 18%. You project it will drop back to 10% or lower by April.
You do not have to submit a modification request.
Example scenario 2: You have an approved waiver to spend 20% (of total expended) in State DW support services but project you will spend closer to 25% for the remainder of the grant period.
Contact your grants specialist to discuss and submit a modification request to amend your current contract.
12. Will there be opportunities to extend grant funds in the case that training vendors slow down, cancel, or postpone trainings?
ETA will consider period of performance extensions for competitive discretionary grants. DEED has requested a possible extension for the Legacy Demonstration Grant. Awaiting to hear back on other federal funds. Providers are also welcome to email their Program Coordinator.
13. What is the protocol for the Dislocated Worker providers regarding face to face communication with our participants?
We encourage our partners to limit face to face interaction during this emergency as much as possible. Case management can be provided over the phone, email, text, Skype, WebEx, etc. The use of communication technology to dislocated worker services such as workshops and appointments are appropriate.
14. Is maintaining regular contact through email acceptable?
Yes, maintaining regular contact through email is acceptable. Providers need to demonstrate that contact was made with each participant at least once every 30 days. This is typically noted through case note in WF1.
The following are acceptable examples of "live contact":
In-person conversation (limit this during this emergency)
Telephone conversation (or voicemail from participant)
Electronic message including email (may not include mass emails, unless participant responds directly to a mass email update) text message (SMS), instant message (IM), message sent via social media (e.g., Facebook, X, etc.), and Fax
Postal mail update from participant
15. What are the protocols for obtaining signatures or verifications given our state of emergency?
Options to consider include mailing forms for signatures, having participants send a photo of the required document (ensure it is legible), emailing (secured email platform) or faxing to their case managers. Ensure that you are case noting in WorkForce One.
16. Will there be additional funds available should we see an uptick in the number of participants needing services?
Providers have the option to submit a supplemental funding request to the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Board (MJSP) for state DW funding. View the process.
If additional funds become available from the U.S Department of Labor, we will update our providers and work quickly to process the additional funds.
17. What is the plan for temporary or permanent laid off employees due to the Coronavirus pandemic?
Eligibility is on a case by case basis. However, we may see an uptick in the number of people who are laid off during this emergency. Many are losing their jobs through "no fault of their own" and may meet several eligibility criteria for dislocated worker program. Assess each person's eligibility appropriately and enroll them in the appropriate program.
18. What is the guidance for completing IEPs if the providers cannot do them in person?
IEP's can be developed via phone. Case managers should try to get a signature by other means:
Send the completed IEP via postal service with a self-addressed, stamped envelope, they sign and mail it back. Any other file documentation can also be mailed back to the case manager. 2. Case managers can email the completed document to the participant so they can print, sign and take a picture or scan and email back the signed document to the case manager.
NOTE: If the participant doesn't have a computer, smart phone or if they are homeless, the case manager should case note these situations and have the document signed at the earliest opportunity (most likely after this emergency is over).
NOTE: please reference your local policy regarding electronic communication as well.
19. Are you still holding in-person Rapid Response meetings/events?
The Rapid Response Team will conduct Group Information Sessions as needed via Skype, WebEx, etc.
For additional information, please see DEED's website.
20. If our organization decides to close its physical office, who at DEED should we notify and what information do they need to know?
21. If the grantee's authorized signer is not able to physically sign the RPR/FSR/CAPR, can the authorized signer approve via email?
Yes, the authorized signer can approve via email with the following statement included:
The 1st statement is for cash advances, the 2nd statement is for FSRs/RPRs.
By submitting this form, I certify that the request is in accordance with DEED cash management requirements and appropriate contract terms; the data reported is correct and the amount of the request is not in excess of immediate disbursement needs.
By signing this report, I certify to the best of my knowledge and belief that the report is true, complete and accurate and the expenditures, disbursements and cash receipts are for the purposes and objectives set forth in the terms and conditions of this award. I am aware that any false, fictitious, or fraudulent information or the omission of any material fact, may subject me to criminal civil or administrative penalties for fraud, false statements, false claims, or otherwise.
22. Can we continue to enroll clients in CLIMB activity?
Yes, the process is still the same:
Client applies for regular UI and account is established.
Workforce Center staff enrolls client in DW/CLIMB.
DW staff notifies UI of the enrollment.
UI staff contacts that client (usually same week but because of the influx of applications due to the coronavirus pandemic, as quickly as they can) if the client has a UI account.
23. Are independent contractors, such as hair stylists and salon owners, who may very well not have a job or shop to go back to after COVID-19 are eligible for DW?
Eligibility is on a case by case basis. However, those considered self-employed may qualify for DW services.
"Self-Employed - The individual: Was self-employed (including employment as a farmer, a rancher, or a fisherman) but is unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in the community in which the individual resides or because of natural disasters. This includes individuals working as independent contractors or consultants and as such are not technically employees of a firm. Local providers may develop policies for determining the eligibility of self-employed individuals, including family members and farm workers or ranch hands, using DEED's acceptable documentation list and/or other reasonable documentation."
24. If someone was laid off from a job that was "in demand", do we have a way to know if it is still in demand after the pandemic has concluded?
The office of Labor Market Information (LMI) will be working on the data.
25. How can I ensure my email is encrypted for the security of our participant's confidential information?
Many partners already have the ability to encrypt their outgoing email. If you don't, please speak with your IT staff to implement encryption for your email system.
26. Are furloughed workers eligible for DW services?
Workers on "furlough" without pay or in other words on a mandatory leave without pay, are considered to be on temporary-to-permanent layoff and therefore eligible for DW program services.
Workers whose hours are significantly reduced may potentially be eligible if they are "under-employed" (as defined by the local areas) and could be served with WIOA Adult or DW funds.
A furlough is considered to be an alternative to layoff. When an employer furloughs its employees, it requires them to work fewer hours or to take a certain amount of unpaid time off. For example, an employer may furlough its nonexempt employees one day a week for the remainder of the year and pay them for only 32 hours instead of their normal 40 hours each week. Another method of furlough is to require all employees to take a week or two of unpaid leave sometime during the year. Employers must be careful when furloughing exempt employees so that they continue to pay them on a salary basis and do not jeopardize their exempt status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). A furlough that encompasses a full workweek is one way to accomplish this, since the FLSA states that exempt employees do not have to be paid for any week in which they perform no work.
An employer may require all employees to go on furlough, or it may exclude some employees who provide essential services. Generally, the theory is to have the majority of employees share some hardship as opposed to a few employees losing their jobs completely.
Laid Off
A layoff is a temporary separation from payroll. An employee is laid off because there is not enough work for him or her to perform. The employer, however, believes that this condition will change and intends to recall the person when work again becomes available. Employees are typically able to collect unemployment benefits while on an unpaid layoff, and frequently an employer will allow employees to maintain benefit coverage for a defined period of time as an incentive to remain available for recall.
2. What if I permanently close my business because of COVID-19?
The Department of Employment and Economic Development, Employment and Training, provides Rapid Response services to businesses in transition, downsizing, laying off workers and/or closing a facility. This includes coordination with key state and regional partners to explore alternative layoff aversion strategies if possible.
4. If a decision has been made to permanently close a business due to COVID-19, what information do I need to provide the state?
Minnesota law, similar to the federal Worker's Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act encourages Minnesota businesses "considering a decision to effect a plant closing, substantial layoff, or relocation of operations . . . to give notice of that decision as early as possible to" the following:
The Minnesota Commissioner of Employment and Economic Development;
The employees of the affected establishment;
Any employee organization representing the employees; and
The local government unit in which the affected establishment is located.
See Minn. Stat. 116L.976. This notice is in addition to any notice required under the federal WARN Act.
The Worker Adjustment Re-Training Notification Act, or WARN, is federal legislation offering protection to workers, their families and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days before a covered-business closing and covered-business mass layoff. Enforcement of the WARN Act falls under U.S. Department of Labor jurisdiction.
Minnesota's State Rapid Response Team (SRRT) initiates Rapid Response services as soon as information is received that a mass dislocation or plant closure will take place.
Exceptions to the 60-Day Notice
There are three exceptions to the full 60-day notice requirement. However, notice must be provided as soon as is practicable even when these exceptions apply, and the employer must provide a statement of the reason for reducing the notice requirement in addition to fulfilling other notice information requirements. These situations include the following:
Faltering Company: If, at the time that the 60-day notice would have been required, the employer was actively seeking capital or business which, if obtained, would have enable the employer to avoid or postpone the shutdown and the employer reasonably and in good faith believed that giving the 60-day notice would have precluded the employer from obtaining the needed capital or business;
Unforeseeable business circumstances: If the closing or mass layoff is caused by business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable as of the time that the 60-day notice would have been required; or
Natural Disaster: If the plant closing or mass layoff is due to any form of natural disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, or a severe drought.
See29 USC 2102(b). If any of these exceptions apply, the employer must give "as much notice as is practicable," and the employer must include in the notice "a brief statement of the basis for reducing the notification period."
For more information or to submit a WARN notice
* Please submit all WARN letters via email to eliminate delays in the State Rapid Response Team providing services.
Jason Wadell 651-259-7552
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
State Rapid Response
180 E 5th St Suite 1200
St. Paul, MN 55101
5. If a decision has been made to temporarily close a business due to COVID-19, what information I need to provide to the state?
Businesses that are temporarily closing or laying off their employees are not required to provide a WARN to the state if:
Their layoff is 6 months or less in duration or
If work hours are not reduced more than 50% in each month of any 6-month period.
However, the SRRT would like to request that you provide a TEMPORARY WARN so they can reach out to you and provide you with answers to questions you may have as well as provide information for your employees on services they may be eligible for.
6. I have been laid off due to COVID-19, am I eligible to receive Dislocated Worker Program Services?
Unfortunately, the State Rapid Response Team is unable to determine your eligibility. Please contact a CareerForce location and inquire about enrolling in the Dislocated Worker Program. The CareerForce location will help you to determine if you are eligible for program benefits.
1. Can participants receive EPSL (Emergency Paid Sick Leave) if they weren't officially enrolled by March 16, 2020?
Unfortunately, no. EPSL can only be used for participants who were active/enrolled as of March 16, 2020.
2. Can participants receive EPSL if they're terminated from their CSA during the pandemic crisis?
Yes. All active/enrolled participants can receive EPSL.
3. Can participants receive EPSL for more hours than they were working prior to the crisis?
Unfortunately, no. Providers should continue to pay active/enrolled participants for the average number of weekly hours they were working prior to March 16, 2020. The only exception to this is if they were approved to begin working more hours during the pay period when the crisis was declared, they should be paid what they were approved for. Otherwise, participants should be paid their average weekly hours at the time EPSL was authorized by DEED – March 16, 2020.
Example 1
Participant was authorized to work 20 hours per week. They have worked an average of 18 hours per week for the past six weeks. Do we pay them 18 hours per week EPSL or 20 hours?
Response: If there weren't plans to increase their weekly average hours before the crisis was declared, they should be paid equal to what they were being paid prior to the crisis. In this case, 18 hours/week.
Example 2
Participant was authorized to work 18 hours per week. They've worked an average of 14 hours per week for the past six weeks. Do we pay them 14 hours per week EPSL or 18 hours?
Response: They should be paid what they were being paid prior to the crisis. In this case, 14 hours/week.
Example 3
Participant was authorized to work 20 hours per week. They have worked an average of 24 hours per week for the past six weeks. Do we pay them 24 hours per week EPSL or 20 hours? He was repeatedly instructed to work only 20 hours.
Response: They should be paid what they were being paid prior to the crisis. In this case, 24 hours/week.
4. Can we get confirmation from DEED that we're to provide same services to participants as requested by SSAI during the EPSL?
Yes - please update IEPs when you call the participant to update the spreadsheet (each payroll) and indicate they're receiving EPSL.
5. It's understood that participants can't be employed elsewhere and remain eligible for SCSEP, but would a temporary position with the 2020 Census count as employment since the income received doesn't count toward county benefits or rent in subsidized housing?
If the state grantee agrees, a participant can go on an approved break in participation to accept a temporary position with the Census and their eligibility will be preserved.
6. We have one DEED participant who was going to start at a host site and can't and another DEED participant who was transitioning to a new host site. SSAI told us that we could assign those participants to the Job Training Center, so they qualify for EPSL. Is this the case with DEED?
Yes - if they were officially enrolled, it's okay to assign them to the Job Training Center. These cases fall under the sentence in the revised policy: "If an active participant was approved to increase their hours beginning this pay period, the SCSEP subgrantee (hereafter known as "provider") will pay them EPSL for the approved number of weekly hours."
7. Is there a spreadsheet to track payroll for the EPSL for the DEED participants?
We aren't providing a spreadsheet, but we ask that you ensure the information listed in the policy is collected: 1) participant's name, 2) number of hours to be paid each pay period, 3) date the participant was contacted, and 4) participant's response.
8. Should we be doing wellness checks?
Yes. SCSEP participants are a high-risk, vulnerable population for COVID-19. Per EPSL policy, please contact them at the end of every payroll period to update IEPs, the spreadsheet, and inquire about their general wellbeing. We encourage providers to contact participants more frequently than every two weeks.
9. How should we handle recertifications while participants are receiving EPSL?
Please hold off on recertifications until participants are active again. Be sure to case note delays, interruptions, etc. in the participants' files.
10. Will DEED be extending durational limits?
Yes. Per the CARES Act, SCSEP providers can extend participants' durational limits. The SCSEP National Office is working with SPARQ developers to add an extension option. More information will be available soon.
11. Key points of the Emergency Paid Sick Leave Policy
Per the EPSL Policy, you are authorized to enact DEED's SCSEP Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) Policy. All DEED SCSEP providers must adhere to and implement this new policy.
Even if a host agency is open, SCSEP participants are not permitted to report because, per the CDC, the age of SCSEP participants puts them at extreme high risk for COVID-19.
Only participants who were enrolled as of March 16, 2020 are eligible for EPSL.
Participants will continue to be paid for their average weekly hours at the time DEED authorized EPSL.
SCSEP Project Directors/Coordinators must be in regular phone or email contact with their participants. They're IEPs should be updated every 2 weeks when time sheets are updated. We also encourage providers to check in more frequently than once every 2 weeks with participants.
Participants will remain on EPSL until the crisis is declared over in their region and until further notice from DEED.
A participant nearing their 4-year durational limit exit date may elect to go on an unpaid break in service to stop their SCSEP durational limit clock. UPDATE: Per the CARES Act, providers will be allowed to extend durational limits.
Reminder: At this time, SCSEP participants are not eligible to telework as it violates DOL supervision regulatory requirements for program participants.
TAA staff are working remotely until further notice. Please use email and, if possible, have customers avoid using USPS or fax to send TAA documents to eliminate delays in services. General questions or urgent requests can be emailed to deed.taa@state.mn.us as this email is monitored Monday-Friday from 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
2. Are there exceptions to the Training Progress Report?
Training Progress Reports (TPR) are still required every 60 days. TAA updated the Training Progress Report to be more e-signature friendly.
Most school officials and online instructors complete the actual TPR form and return it to the customer.
When that is not possible, in place of the top portion of the form, obtain an email from an advisor or school official answering the following:
Is the student making satisfactory progress?
Is the student currently enrolled full-time?
Has the student dropped any classes this term?
Is it possible for the student to complete the training by [approved TAA end date]?
In place of instructor signatures, obtain an email from each instructor answering the following:
Is the student making satisfactory progress?
Is the student participating regularly/engaged in training?
3. Can TAA purchase a laptop for a student who now has online courses?
4. What happens with transportation assistance if students are taking online classes?
Students can only claim mileage for days they travel to campus for scheduled class. If classes are online, it is not appropriate for students to claim mileage.
5. Is an assessment still required with a training application?
If your customer is interested in TAA-funded training, TAA will need a copy of a standardized assessment with the TAA training application. TAA offers the COPS, CAPS, COPES free of charge to customers and it is online. If you'd like to request electronic access to the assessment for a customer, email the customer's email address to deed.taa@state.mn.us.
6. What about TAA petitions/certifications and TAA Informational Sessions?
TAA staff continue to partner with Rapid Response to research layoffs or reduced hours that are due to foreign competition. Please email TAA if you hear of trade impacted layoffs.
For people who become eligible for TAA during the stay at home order, TAA will email the link to workers for whom we receive email addresses. Once TAA staff return to the office, we'll mail letters following our usual process and schedule in-person informational sessions.
7. Are electronic signatures accepted?
Yes, electronic signatures are acceptable for TAA paperwork. For an explanation of how to use an electronic signature, email TAA at deed.taa@state.mn.us
8. What if a person is laid off from a TAA approved On-the-Job Training (OJT)?
If it's a temporary layoff, TAA would "pause" the OJT and "restart" it when the company recalls the person. The person wouldn't lose out on any training weeks. If it's a permanent layoff, TAA will seek DOL's guidance with specific scenarios.
9. If any programs delay clinicals, externships and/or internships, the students will have more than a 30-day break in classes, will they lose TRA?
TAA cannot answer for TRA; each person's situation is different, especially depending on what type of TRA a person is collecting at the time. DOL says they are reviewing the situation given the extenuating circumstances, but as of 3/20/20, no TRA 'rules' were waived. For any UI/TRA questions, please email deed.tra@state.mn.us.
10. What if a Dislocated Worker (DW) Counselor does not have access to the signed employment plan (IEP/ISS) to send with a Waiver or TAA Training Application?
If an unsigned employment plan is available, please send it with the Waiver or Training Application. If none is available because it's in the office, please ensure case notes clearly show the customer's intent to pursue training. One the DW Counselor has access to the employment plan, please email it to the assigned TAA Specialist.
11. Is a person still eligible to apply for TAA benefits if they were previously laid off from a TAA-Eligible layoff, and is now laid off from a different employer?
Yes, the customer may be eligible for training and perhaps additional TAA benefits. The customer or DW Counselor should contact TAA (deed.taa@state.mn.us) to review TAA eligibility.
1. If services are disrupted for a period of time due to COVID-19, can modifications be made to the grant contract?
If your services are disrupted due to COVID-19, we may be able to modify the contract in one or more of the following ways:
Extension of the end date to allow more time for completion of planned grant activities;
Modification of the work plan to reflect different strategies and activities for carrying out the project;
Modification of the budget to move funds around within budget categories to reflect new or different strategies for delivering project activities.
Please contact your grant manager regarding your specific circumstances to determine which of the options above may be appropriate for your grant.
2. Does DEED's Youth Team have a list of virtual tools and resources currently used by local partners to continue services to youth during the healthcare crisis?
3. Can WIOA formula and federal competitive grants continue to pay wages or stipends if program participants were actively being served prior to the pandemic or if they were in a work experience placement (e.g. subsidized employment, OJT, paid internship) which has been recently cancelled due to COVID-19?
(Provided by U.S. Department of Labor) If the program participant's time commitment, stipend structure, and/or other academic or work terms were established prior to the national health emergency declaration (March 1, 2020), grantees should continue to pay the participant for the remainder of the established term.
4. Has the ETP Youth Team posted sample WDA-level policies addressing the following topics: Youth Incentive Policy, Individual Training Account (ITA) policy, and Stipend Policy?
Yes, sample Youth Incentive Policies, Individual Training Account (ITA) Policies and Stipend Policies are posted on DEED's website,
5. Can State-funded Youth Programs administered by DEED continue to pay wages (or stipends) if program participants were actively served prior to the pandemic or if they were in a work experience placement (subsidized employment, paid internship, or OJT) which has been cancelled due to COVID-19?
(For all State-funded Youth Programs administered by DEED, including Minnesota Youth Program, Youthbuild, Youth at Work, Youth Support Services, Youth Opportunity Grants/Direct Appropriations and HECAP): If the youth program participant's time commitment, payment structure and/or other academic or work experience terms were established prior to the national health emergency declared on March 1, 2020, state-funded youth grantees should continue to pay the youth participant for the remainder of the established term.
6. Should WIOA Youth service providers who are paying participants for work experience calculate the remaining hours and pay the remaining wages as a single emergency assistance payment, or should the amounts be paid on what normally is a bi-weekly basis?
WDAs can make this decision.
7. If the WIOA youth service provider is continuing to pay work experience wages, what type of documentation is going to be required in this situation? Normally, the participant and the supervisor at the work experience site sign the participant's timesheet and submit it to payroll.
The case file should include documents that articulate the initial Work Experience Agreement for the participant, including duties of participant, timesheets, and notes indicating interruption due to COVID-19, and related wages paid.
8. Can WIOA Youth programs purchase food for participants seeking assistance?
Generally, grant funds from the Employment and Training Administration cannot be used to provide food assistance to individuals in the grantee's community. On a limited basis and in certain situations, food at a reasonable cost may be provided to youth-serving program participants as supportive service.
Food may be provided to eligible youth when it will assist or enable the participant to participate in allowable youth program activities funded through one or more of our programs and to reach his/her employment and training goals, thereby achieving the program's overall performance goals. The focus of the program is to train youth, and the use of grant funds for food should be limited to reasonable and necessary purchases that are coordinated with other community, state, or federal services that provide food for low-income individuals.
9. Can providers use verbal statements from participants in place of signatures on enrollment documents for federal and state youth programs during the COVID-19 emergency?
Yes, during the COVID-19 health emergency, service providers are not required to obtain a signature from the participant and parent/guardian on the application for enrollment for any state or federal youth program administered by DEED, including the TANF Youth project. Document in the case notes that the participant/parent/guardian verbally acknowledged that the information is true and that no signature was obtained due to COVID-19 restrictions.
10. Are there any precautions that we need to take when working with participants in the WIOA Youth Program?
From DOL: ETA recognizes that the COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges for youth program grantees and participants. We encourage youth-serving programs to review local, state, and federal health and safety guidance regarding COVID-19, and temporarily adjust program operations and services as needed.
11. Our state's WIOA Youth program requires participants to complete an academic assessment, such as CASAS. While there is an option for participants to take this assessment on a computer, it has to be proctored by a qualified staff person. This is difficult when schools, adult education sites, and American Job Centers are only providing virtual services. Can the program enroll the participant and complete required assessments after COVID-19-related emergency measures are lifted?
From DOL: ETA acknowledges the challenges that COVID-19 has created for states and local areas' abilities to implement the WIOA Youth program. In order to receive services in the program, participants must receive an objective assessment, which often includes a basic skills assessment and an Individual Service Strategy (ISS) that informs the plan for services. For programs that are unable to execute their assessment process during this time, i.e., unable to provide assessments in-person and/or on-site with a proctor, they should do their best to obtain information virtually from schools or directly from the participant pertaining to assessment and develop an ISS based on the available information. The inability to meet with potential participants in person should not impede enrollment or service provision. When regular in-person assessment practices begin again, programs should formally assess participants, record results in the file, and update the ISS and service plan, if needed. Also, states and local areas may find it useful to visit the National Reporting System for Adult Education to learn about any changes or updates to assessment practices.
12. Can service providers purchase computers for participants with WIOA funds so that participants can have the technology to do distance learning?
Computers for participants are an allowable purchase under WIOA Youth (see Equipment in the WIOA Youth Cost matrix). The WIOA Youth cost matrix is included in Chapter 18 of the Youth Administrative Manual, located under the "Documents and Forms" tab. Costs for the purchase of participant computers should be budgeted in the "Other Services" category - they are not considered support services.
Local service providers also have the latitude to establish local policy and make specific decisions on what type of computer they will purchase. Chromebooks are a sound choice for most participants because they are relatively inexpensive (around $200) and are commonly used. In some cases, a laptop with more power and features may be needed, based on the career pathway or course of study the person is choosing. Again, this is a local decision and should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The local area's policy for purchasing computers is to be included in the local youth plan.
13. Can providers use verbal statements from participants in place of signatures on enrollment documents for federal and state youth programs during the COVID-19 emergency?
Yes, during the COVID-19 health emergency, service providers are not required to obtain a signature from the participant and parent/guardian on the application for enrollment for any state or federal youth program administered by DEED, including the TANF Youth project. Document in the case notes that the participant/parent/guardian verbally acknowledged that the information is true and that no signature was obtained due to COVID-19 restrictions.
14. Can ETA provide relief on out-of-school youth (OSY) 20% Work Experience expenditure requirement under WIOA Youth Program?
Yes, ETA acknowledges work experiences for youth during this time period may be harder to provide. Program expenditures on this program element may include more than just wages paid to youth. Allowable expenditures may include items such as:
Wages or stipends paid for participation in a work experience; Orientation sessions
Staff time working to identify and develop a work experience opportunity, including staff time spent working with employers to identify and develop the work experience;
Staff time working with employers to ensure a successful work experience, including staff time spent managing and evaluating the work experience;
Employer work experience orientation sessions;
Classroom training or the required academic education component directly related to the work experience;
Incentive payments directly tied to the completion of work experience; and
Employability skills or job readiness training to prepare youth for a work experience.
When determining the types of expenditures that are allowable to help meet this requirement, additional information can be found in TEGL 08-15 and TEGL 21-16, p.15. If state and local areas do not meet this requirement at the end of their period of performance, the Department will follow standard monitoring procedures for this program element.
15. Can supportive services be used to support those whose jobs may be impacted by COVID-19 (e.g., transit costs, childcare supports for participants, temporarily unemployed individuals)?
Yes, supportive services can be provided to youth served under WIOA title I during program participation and follow-up services and may be provided based on the needs of the participant as identified in the youth’s Individual Service Strategy (ISS). States and local areas have flexibility in developing policies for supportive services and existing policies can be updated to respond to the COVID-19 emergency.