ACTION BULLETINS (PY 2004)
AB - # 52 Residency Policy/Procedures for WIA Youth Programs
AB - # 52
Effective Date: July 1, 2005
ACTION BULLETIN
TO: Youth Program Providers
DATE: May 31, 2005
SUBJECT: Residency Policy/Procedures for WIA Youth Programs
PURPOSE OF BULLETIN:
The purpose of this bulletin is to provide the policy and procedures for implementation of the Residency requirement for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title I Older and Younger Youth programs. Residency requirements will not necessarily apply to discretionary grants or programs.
At the May 12, 2005 meeting, the Alameda County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) adopted a new Residency Policy that states:
1. Resides in the Alameda County Workforce Investment Area.
2. Allow 5% of enrollments, per youth provider, beginning with PY 2005-06 contract plan, to be youth who reside outside the LWIA.
3. Implement new policy beginning July 1, 2005.
The Alameda County Workforce Investment Area includes the 16 cities of: Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Sunol, and Union City, including the unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland and Fairview.
BACKGROUND:
The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 allows local boards to establish priorities of service. In May 2004, the WIB approved “residency” within the local Workforce Investment Area as the local priority of services for adults and dislocated workers.
The decision to limit services was based on several factors.
a. Alameda County’s WIA Title I allocation is based on need in the Alameda County LWIA.
b. Neighbor LWIA’s, like City of Oakland, receives allocations to meet the need in their service area.
c. Neighbor LWIA’s may not allocate sufficient funds to meet the need in their service area, but Alameda County’s focus must be on our residents.
The recommendation to include the youth funding stream in this residency policy is predicated on the following demographic statistics. Per the 2000 Census, Alameda County LWIA has a population of 1,044,257. Of these 6.5% (67,876) are youth 15 – 19 years and 6.9% (72,054) are youth 20 to 24 years. Additionally the Poverty Status statistics shows that 6.6% of families with youth under age 18 are living below the poverty line, and for those families with single mothers the percentage is 17.7%. For individuals over age 18, 7.7% are living below the poverty line. These statistics confirm that there are low-income youth living in our local service area that are eligible and in need of service.
However, over the last three program years, the number of youth served who reside outside our LWIA has increased.
In 2004-05 youth providers have served 258 youth (through 2-28-05), 30 who live outside our area equating to 11% of the total enrollments.
In 2003-04 youth providers served 198 youth, 20 who lived outside our area equating to 10% of the total enrollments.
In 2002-03 youth providers served 187 youth, 9 who lived outside our area equating to 4% of the total enrollments.
The majority of these youth are living in the City of Oakland, but some reside in Richmond or in the San Joaquin Valley area. The increasing numbers indicate that we should manage the service to youth residing outside our service area, but staff recognizes that exceptions should be allowed. Therefore, as with the adults and dislocated workers, staff is recommending an exception policy. When the contract enrollment plans are set for each Youth Provider, the recommendation is that they will be allowed to enroll (up to 5% of their plan), youth who reside outside the LWIA service area.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT:
Documentation of Residency for Older and Younger Youth who reside in the Alameda County Workforce Investment Area will be required as part of the eligibility intake process and included in a complete case file.
CRITERION ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION
RESIDENCYResidency Priority –All registrants enrolled into Youth Services must reside within the Alameda County Workforce Investment Area, excluding the City of Oakland.NOTE: The listed items of documentation are acceptable for any individual listed on the grant. -Copy of California Driver’s License or State ID-Copy of Social Services Printout for any applicant who is a family member living in a single residence with an active case-Current Social Security Letter in applicant’s name -Current bill or statement (utility, medical, financial institution) issued within 30 days of application date or most current for type of document-Current School Letter -Current Rent Receipts-Shelter Letters for homeless residency-Collateral Contact Form to document homeless or runaway youth residency (See Collateral Contact instructions) -Residency Waiver (as applicable)
EXCEPTION PROCEDURE:
The exception procedure allows youth program providers to enroll a limited number of youth who reside outside our local service area, but are better served by participating in our youth program. It is equitable and reasonable to provide optimum responsibility to the Youth Provider to determine which youth applicants will be served with an exception.
To request an exception, the Youth provider must submit to the MIS department a “Request for Use of 5% Residency Exception” Form (see attachment). The form indicates the applicant name and the residence address outside the LWIA. MIS staff will verify that the youth program provider has at least 20 enrollees, per grant, residing within the LWIA for every 1 request received as an exception.
MIS staff will approve or deny the request, sign and date the form and send it back to the provider for inclusion in the eligibility intake file submitted for review.
ACTION:
Beginning July 1, 2005 all Youth providers must adhere to the Residency policy outlined above when determining eligibility for WIA Title I programs. Appropriate documentation to substantiate residency must be included in the eligibility file.
INFORMATION & INQUIRIES:
Linda Slater
MIS Administrator
(510) 259-3802
Lslater@acgov.org
ATTACHMENT:
Request for Use of 5% Exception for WIA Residency Requirement Form
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