The purpose of this notice is to reinforce the importance of accurate state and grantee reporting on attainment of industry-recognized credentials.

This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) Change 1 gives current SCSEP national grantees the application instructions, allocations, and the process and procedures for the first quarter of Program Year (PY) 2012. It also provides information on the transition to grants that will be awarded under the SCSEP Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA) to provide SCSEP services.

This guidance letter updates the procedures states should follow to apply for WIA Section 503 Incentive Grants.

To request states to submit spending plans for their shares of the $500 million Special Distribution provided under the Recovery Act.

To advise UC agencies of their responsibilities to provide information to the VA, upon request, about the UC eligibility of veterans applying for VA sponsored rehabilitation services and to transmit a copy of the Request for and Consent to Release of Information from Individual’s Records, VA Form 3288 (Office of Management and Budget Control No. 2900-0028).

To inform the workforce system of a curriculum for teaching soft skills or work readiness skills to youth.

The purpose of this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) is to provide information about exclusions based on criminal records, and how they are relevant to the existing nondiscrimination obligations for the public workforce system and other entities (including the “covered entities” listed above) that receive federal financial assistance to operate Job Banks, to provide assistance to job seekers in locating and obtaining employment, and to assist employers by screening and referring qualified applicants. As explained in this TEGL, restrictions based on criminal history records may have a disparate impact on members of a particular race or national origin, in violation of federal antidiscrimination laws. This guidance is being issued by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA), in conjunction with the Civil Rights Center (CRC).

The purpose of this advisory is to inform the State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) of new provisions that affect the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Veteran target group, to provide guidance for the effective and timely implementation of eligibility determinations for this group and its new categories, and to inform SWAs of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance on the submission of Form 8850.

To advise state agencies of the provisions in the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, (the Act) governing Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) programs and offering assistance to state agencies that operate such programs.

To provide guidance on disclosure of confidential UC information to private entities seeking to serve as intermediaries between lenders and state unemployment insurance (UI) agencies.

To announce the availability of the Employment and Training Administration's (ETA's) WIA Youth Program Reference Tool.

To provide guidance to the states regarding the content of the WIA Annual Report narrative; including strategies for serving veterans (as referenced in section 4, part E), and the procedures for submission of the report to the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The Annual Report is due on Monday, October 1, 2012.

This Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 11-11, Change 2 clarifies the implementation of the Selective Service registration requirements of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 § 189(h), codified at 20 CFR 667.250, and the Military Selective Service Act (50 U.S.C. App. 453), codified at 32 CFR Part 1605. This guidance clarifies that grantees, subgrantees, or contractors funded or authorized by Title I of WIA must set a policy for potential participants who are males 26 years old or older that failed to register with the Selective Service. The policy may either (1) request a Status Information Letter from a potential participant before making a determination of knowing and willful failure to register; or (2) initiate the process to determine if the potential participant’s failure to register was knowing and willful without the first requesting a Status Information Letter (see Section 4. Ensuring Selective Service Compliance in the Public Workforce System). This clarification replaces and supersedes prior guidance issued.

To transmit the updated Services to Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Report, ETA Form 5148 without revisions; and the One-Stop Career Center (OSCC) Complaint/Referral Record, ETA Form 8429 with revisions.

To (a) share with the workforce system a joint memorandum by the Secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture, the Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Assistant Secretary of the Army, and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality to agency leadership recommending they encourage their respective field staff build on or create new partnerships to employ young Americans this summer, and (b) provide the workforce system with information on partnering with public land management agencies and conservation corps to create or expand summer employment opportunities for Workforce Investment Act (WIA) youth and young adults on public lands.

To notify State Workforce Agencies of the availability of Fiscal Year (FY) 2012 funds for activities that support the integrity of the UI program for the prevention, detection, and recovery of improper UI benefit payments; improve state performance; address outdated Information Technology (IT) system infrastructures necessary to improve UI program integrity; and enable states to expand or implement Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) programs.

To encourage workforce investment system leaders to develop and enhance partnerships and resource-leveraging efforts with Registered Apprenticeship programs in order to increase job seekers’ access to career pathways utilizing Registered Apprenticeship. Although state and local workforce system budgets continue to be constrained and high growth employment opportunities are very scarce in this economy, partnering with Registered Apprenticeship is a proven way to improve placements for job seekers looking for a sustainable career, as well as to engage with employers in communities seeking to improve the skills of their workforce.

To provide information on the availability of a UI SIDES Messaging and Communications Toolkit (Toolkit) containing products and tools designed for use by state UI agencies to communicate with employers and third-party administrators (TPAs) about the offerings and benefits of SIDES and SIDES E-Response.

To inform and to remind the workforce investment system of the performance reporting requirements and associated timelines for submitting the reports for the following programs/activities:

• quarterly and annual reports and data validation results for the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) title IB programs and National Emergency Grants (NEGs);
• quarterly reports and data validation results for the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service;
• activities authorized under chapter 41 of title 38 United States Code (Local Veterans’ Employment Representative and Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Programs);
• the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program,
• the Indian and Native American Program (INAP); and
• the National Farmworker Jobs Program (NFJP).

To provide the public workforce system with an overview of VRAP, the role of the system in implementing the program, and inform the system that additional information will be made available as procedures and protocols for implementing the program are finalized.