To announce the release and the availability of ETA Occasional Paper 2006-02: Building Relationships Between the Workforce Investment System and Faith-Based and Community Organizations: A Background Paper.

To inform states and other Employment and Training Administration (ETA)-fund recipients and sub-recipients of a new limitation on salary and bonus payments that can be made with funds appropriated to ETA and provide guidance on implementing this new provision.

To remind the workforce investment system of the WIA performance reporting deadlines and timeline for submitting data validation results for the following programs: Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title IB, the Wagner-Peyser Act, activities authorized under chapter 41 of title 38, United States Code (Local Veterans Employment Representative and Disabled Veteran Outreach Service programs), Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), and National Farmworker Jobs (NFJP).

To announce the release and availability of Comparison of State Unemployment Insurance Laws 2006.

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is pleased to announce commencement of a SUTA study to examine state implementation of section 303(k) of the Social Security Act (SSA) in selected states. ETA has contracted with Coffey Communications, LLC (Coffey) of Bethesda, Maryland to conduct the study. The study will examine the status and effectiveness of state actions to meet the requirements of the law and operating guidance, and discuss whether the Secretary of Labor should recommend additional Congressional action to improve the effectiveness of section 303(k) of the SSA.

To provide states with WIA Title I Adult and Youth Activities Programs final allotments for PY 2006 and related additional PY 2006 WIA Section 173(e) funds for eligible states.

To announce anticipated FY 2007 funds for selected State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) to continue to operate REA programs and for additional states to implement REA programs; to invite the submission of state proposals; and to provide the guidelines for developing the proposals and criteria governing the use of these funds.

To inform State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) of anticipated funds in Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 that provide the opportunity to submit supplemental budget requests (SBRs) for activities to prevent and detect cases of unemployment insurance (UI) fraud due to identity theft.

To notify state workforce agencies (SWAs) of the availability of FY 2006 UI funds for the priority initiatives listed below and for implementation of additional optional projects if states have already received funds for or implemented the priority initiatives.

Priority initiatives include:

1) Access to the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH);
2) UI Data Validation;
3) Interstate Benefits (IB), Combined Wage Claim (CWC), Liable/Agent Data Transfer (LADT) Applications and Interfaces;
4) Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE) Electronic Application; and
5) UI Required Reports (UIRR) Corrective Action.

1) Training for Adjudication Staff;
2) Improved Occupational Coding Quality;
3) Debit Cards and/or Direct Deposit for UI Benefit Payments;
4) Social Security Administration “Real Time” or Batch Data Exchange;
5) Upgraded Wage Record Databases to Record and Maintain Full Names;
6) Agent State Database for Interstate Claimants; and
7) Improved Performance.

To announce the grant application process and to transmit guidance for the development and management of the PY 2006 Workforce Information Core Products and Services Grant