The purpose of this advisory is to inform the SWAs that the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is granting an extension period where employers or their representatives can file WOTC certification requests for new hires using the previously OMB-approved June 2007 ETA Forms 9061 or 9062.

To announce the release and availability of the Employment and Training Administration’s (ETA) Occasional Paper 2009-9:
Trends in the Structure of the Labor Market and Unemployment: Implications for U.S. Unemployment Insurance.

To inform state workforce agencies (SWAs) about plans and the timetable for upgrading the UI-ICON to take advantage of new technologies and better support more diverse state information technology (IT) architectures.

To provide additional guidance to states concerning unemployment compensation (UC) modernization incentive payments, the recent special administrative transfers, and to correct guidance related to relief from interest on advances to state unemployment funds.

On March 9, 2009, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) emailed Indian and Native American grantees a letter and Modification Addendum regarding the availability and use of funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the Recovery Act), and stated that specific guidance would be forthcoming. Accordingly, the purpose of this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) is to provide further policy guidance and direction regarding the Recovery Act funding for activities authorized under the WIA, Subtitle D, Section 166, Native American Programs. Through this guidance, ETA is also providing specific instructions about the requirements for Indian and Native American grantees to modify the currently approved two year plan.

The purpose of this Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) is twofold. First, the TEGL provides policy guidance and direction regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“the Recovery Act”) funding for activities authorized under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) and the Wagner-Peyser Act. The second purpose is to provide specific instructions regarding the requirement for states to modify their WIA and Wagner-Peyser Strategic State Plans.

The purposes of this guidance are: 1) To provide all current SCSEP grantees with further instructions and procedures for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) funds that are available on February 17, 2009, with a period of performance to June 30, 2010; and 2) To extend the period of performance of current Program Year (PY) 2008 grants for an additional six months to December 31, 2009.

To inform the workforce investment system of the cancellation of this Employment and Training Administration (ETA) sponsored conference in 2009.

To announce the release and availability of the Interim Report: Assisting Newcomers through Employment and Support Services: An Evaluation of the New Americans Centers Demonstration Project in Arkansas and Iowa prepared by The Urban Institute.

To announce the National Conference for UI Tax Administration that will be held in Savannah, Georgia, August 16 – 19, 2009.

To advise states that Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) 09-98 expresses the Department’s position concerning the application of state-wide personnel actions such as hiring freezes, shutdowns, and furloughs to the unemployment insurance (UI) program.

This advisory contains instructions for updating the ET Handbook No. 395, 4th Edition, on BAM Paid Claims Accuracy (PCA) and Denied Claims Accuracy (DCA) programs.

The purpose of this Training and Employment Notice (TEN) is to provide information to the workforce investment system to support the Department of Education’s roll out of the 2009-2010 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The 2009-2010 FAFSA has been revised to include questions asking whether an individual or an individual’s spouse or parent is a dislocated worker, which will be used when determining need for financial aid. This notice will guide the workforce investment system and the state Unemployment Insurance (UI) agency in providing information to One-Stop Career Center customers and supporting financial aid administrators at public, private, and proprietary (for-profit) post-secondary institutions.

To inform State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) of the 2009 MAFO National Farmworker and the Monitor Advocate Training Sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Region IV Dallas Office being held in San Antonio, Texas, March 29-April 1, 2009.

To provide states and outlying areas with stimulus allotments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to supplement Program Year (PY) 2008 allotments for WIA Title I Adult, Dislocated Worker and Youth Activities Programs, and Employment Service (ES) activities, as required by the Wagner-Peyser Act, as amended, and to provide RES Allotments.

To provide State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) with additional information on the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) Information Technology (IT) security guidelines.

To provide State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) with guidelines and key dates for the completion of CY 2008 UI BAM paid and denied claims sample cases and the publication of CY 2008 BAM data.

To advise states about the extension of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08) program.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (The Recovery Act) was signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will issue formal guidance to all states within 30 days of enactment for implementation of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and Wagner-Peyser funding under the Recovery Act. This notice describes the initial plans ETA has developed for implementing these programs under the Recovery Act. Formal guidance is forthcoming.

To provide an opportunity for comment on proposed changes to the Assurance of Disaster Recovery Capability and the Assurance of Automated Information Systems Security sections within ET Handbook 336.