ACTION BULLETINS (PY 2000)

AB 11 YOUTH ELIGIBILTY DEFINITIONS

AB – #11
Effective Date: 3/8/01

ACTION BULLETIN

TO: YOUTH COLLABORATIVES
ONE STOP CAREER CENTER SITE MANAGERS
WIA MANDATED PARTNERS

DATE: April 9, 2001

SUBJ: WIA Youth Eligibility Definitions
Alameda County Workforce Investment Area

Purpose of Bulletin

To provide the local definitions for the following terms:
1. Deficient in Basic Literacy Skills
2. Requires Additional Assistance to Complete an Educational Program
3. Requires Additional Assistance to Secure and Hold Employment
4. Serious Barriers to Employment
5. Underemployed

On March 8, 2001, the Alameda County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) approved the eligibility definitions for the WIA Youth programs.

The purpose of this bulletin is to relay the definitions to the Youth Collaboratives and the One Stop Career Centers responsible for implementing the WIA Youth Programs. The definitions were developed through the approved development process. Staff facilitated a focus group on February 8, 2001, of WIB members, Youth Policy Council members, partner agencies, One Stop Career Center site managers, and community representatives. The information to preface the discussion was presented in three (3) parts:

1. The official wording of the eligibility criteria from the Workforce Investment Act.
2. Items for discussion outlined the pertinent issues for defining a term related to eligibility.
3. Example definitions were provided as a springboard for the focus group discussion.

The focus group recommendations were presented to the Youth Policy Council on February 26, 2001. The Council initiated some changes and forwarded the recommendations to the WIB on March 8, 2001 for final approval and implementation.

Citation

Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Sections 129 (a)(1-8); 129(c)(50); 203(12)
Congressional Federal Register 20 CFR Part 664.205; 210
Preamble, Subpart B - Eligibility for Youth Services, p. 49349

Policy

The eligibility definitions for the WIA Youth Programs will apply in the determination of eligibility for registrants requesting services under Title IB of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

Approved Definitions

1. Deficient in basic literacy skills shall be defined as:
(a) computes or solves problems, reads, writes, or speaks English at or below the 8th grade level on a generally accepted standardized test or a comparable score on a criterion referenced test, or
(b) unable to compute or solve problems, read, write, or speak English at a level necessary to function on the job, in the individual's family or in society as demonstrated by the individuals' performance of basic tasks at or below a benchmark level on a generally accepted standardized functional skills competency test, or
(c) educational attainment is two or more grade levels below the grade level appropriate for the age of the individual as demonstrated by the individuals' performance on a generally accepted standardized test or a comparable score on a criterion referenced test.

2. Requires additional assistance to complete an educational program shall be defined as an individual who:
(a) is at risk of dropping out of school, as identified by a referral from a school staff person, probation officer, or other responsible person documenting chronic attendance or discipline problems, or educational underachievement, and/or other indications which have been adopted by the Local Education Agencies (LEAs); or
(b) is attending an alternative school / education program; or
(c) is credit deficient; or
(d) whose educational achievement is below expected levels; or
(e) who has unstable living conditions; or
(f) lacks familial support to complete an educational program.

3. Requires additional assistance to secure and hold employment shall be defined as an individual who:
(a) has never held a job; or
(b) has been fired from a job within the 12 months prior to application; or
(c) has never held a full-time job (30+ hours per week) for more than 13 consecutive weeks; or
(d) lacks familial support to secure or hold employment.

4. Other eligible youth who face serious barriers to employment shall be defined as an individual who:
(a) is at risk of dropping out of school; or
(b) is a court/agency referral mandating school attendance; or
(c) has a cumulative GPA of less than 1.5; or
(d) is failing two or more academic subjects in the current academic semester, or
(e) has been referred to or is being treated by an agency for a substance abuse related problem; or
(f) is an emancipated youth; or
(g) has experienced a recent traumatic event, is a victim of abuse, or resides in an abusive environment; or
(h) is a previous dropout or has been suspended five or more times or has been expelled; or
(i) for each year of secondary education, is at least two semester credits behind the rate required to graduate from high school; or
(j) lacks familial support to secure or hold employment.

5. An Out-of-School Youth is considered Underemployed when they are:
(a) employed but working part time and desires full time employment, or
(b) is employed full-time in short term (four months or less) jobs within the year prior to application, which was for the purpose of income maintenance rather than a career path.

Procedure

The WIA Youth employment and training programs will use the approved definitions to identify youth that are eligible to receive employment and training services.

Acceptable documentation to substantiate the eligibility definitions are outlined in the Eligibility Technical Assistance Guide (TAG) provided to the program operators and One Stop Career Centers. Technical assistance and training, provided by the Certification and Information Processing Unit of the WIB, is available to staff on the collection of documentation, completion and submittal of a case file, and the enrollment and exit of participants.

Action

The Youth Collaboratives and the One Stop Career Centers must use the definitions and maintain WIA eligibility documentation and verification for Youth Programs in the case file that is sufficient to guard against serving ineligible applicants.

Information & Inquiries

Please contact Linda Slater, MIS Manager, at (510) 728-7905 or "lslater@alcopic.com"lslater@alcopic.com with any questions regarding the bulletin.


cc: WRS