Background: Title III funding for PY 1994 has been increased to $1.118 billion, more than twice the level available in PY 1993. At the same time, and independent from the increase in the appropriation, the Department, in consultation with State and local partners, is refocusing the dislocated worker system in order to expand and improve the quality of services and outcomes to dislocated workers and employers. This refocus has been developed through an extensive consultation process and reflects a legislative proposal to be submitted to Congress in 1994 to legislate a new comprehensive dislocated worker program for implementation in PY 1995 based on the following tenets: -- Establish a strong customer focus and orientation which leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction. -- Focus performance management on the attainment of quality-based outcomes; -- Provide maximum flexibility to those involved in direct delivery of services to customers; -- Increase the availability of quality services by expanding service and training options and giving customers more choice in the selection of options; -- Improve the collection and maintenance of data on program quality and LMI to enable the system and individual dislocated workers to make effective selection of service providers and program activities. -- Improve system operations by developing and implementing MIS systems. Plans developed for PY 1994 and PY 1995 based on the tenets outlined above, should focus on two goals: -- Improving Program Quality, and -- Effectively Increasing Program Capacity Changes in PY 1994 should lead to higher levels of performance in PY 1995. Program Goals for PY 1994/1995: During PY 1994/1995, the focus of the States' and SSAs' efforts should be to: -- Improve Program Quality -- Improve the timeliness and effectiveness of early intervention activities, -- Increase the level of earnings recovery/high wage placements, -- Improve the responsiveness of services to the individual needs of the dislocated worker, -- Expand customer choice by providing more options on available services and sources of training, and -- Facilitate timely return to appropriate employment. -- Increase Program Capacity -- Significantly increase the effectiveness of outreach activities, -- Provide assistance to more dislocated workers, -- Provide an expanding variety of services, as well as longer-term training, as needed, -- Enhance cooperation and participation of other agencies in serving dislocated workers, -- Promote increased involvement of the private sector in the planning and provision of assistance to dislocated workers, and -- Increase the capacity of the State's and substates' systems, including staff skills, to provide quality services. The Employment and Training Administration has established a national goal of increasing the level of customer satisfaction among those served by the dislocated worker program by 10% during PY 1994. The Department is currently undertaking a survey of a sample of terminated program participants in order to establish a current measure of customer satisfaction. Planning Process for PY 1994/PY 1995: Current EDWAA legislation requires the submittal of State plans for PY 1994 and PY 1995 to the Department by May 1, 1994. For this cycle, the Department wants to ensure that the plan document is not viewed as an end in itself but as a part of a productive planning process that develops effective State and substate strategies for accomplishing the goals previously described. The Department has developed a proposed planning strategy which promotes a high level of Federal, State-substate interaction throughout the Winter and Spring, and includes an appropriate level of Federal support and guidance. The major components of this strategy are: -- Transmit draft planning guidelines to States November: -- Issuance of policy guidance on various program topics (training waivers, CCEs, needs-related payments, etc.) January: -- State planning briefings/meetings with all SSAs by January -- Provide information on a nationwide basis on recent program performance to all States February: -- Provide ongoing assistance on plan preparation process in the States January-April: -- Preparation of State Title III plans March-April: -- Submission of State Title III plans May: The Department is revising the planning instructions to include both a description of State policies and systems that relate to currently legislated responsibilities, and a description of improvement actions to be undertaken by the State during PY 1994 to increase program quality and program capacity within the State. An important objective of the planning process is developing State/SSA-specific strategies for establishing the capability to meet the goals and policy emphases that may be legislatively implemented. To support this planning process, the Department will set aside and make TAT funds available to each State, for use during PY 1994. These funds are intended to support capacity building efforts needed to achieve the improvements described in the State plan, and to facilitate the State's transition into PY 1995 in the event that new dislocated worker legislation is enacted by the Congress. States will be required to prepare and submit a technical assistance plan for the use of such funds. Action Required: State Worker Adjustment Liaisons are requested to provide this information to the appropriate staff and to all their SSAs as soon as possible, and to proceed to implement the planning process based on the contents of this TEIN.

Reference: Training and Employment Information Notice (TEIN) No. 58-85 and Beyond the School Doors: The Literacy Needs of Job Seekers Served by the U.S. Department of Labor, by Kirsch, I.S., Jungeblut, A. & Campbell A. (1992). Background: Recognizing the importance of literacy skills in the workplace, the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is sponsoring a series of initiatives to address the literacy needs of ETA program clients. These literacy initiatives are built on an earlier effort to report literacy levels of Americans such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Under contract with ETA, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) designed and conducted the DOL Workplace Literacy Survey of the JTPA and ES/UI populations. Building on this survey, ETS developed the WLT. Description of Workplace Literacy Test: The WLT is an assessment instrument that measures three dimensions of literacy: prose comprehension, the ability to read and understand prose; document literacy, the ability to use information found in documents; and quantitative literacy, the ability to set up and solve problems using quantitative information. The assessment items are built on tasks that adults frequently encounter in their daily lives. In addition, the test items making up this assessment were developed in a manner that was faithful to a logical cognitive model that attempts to define how adults approach and perform these types of tasks. Pilot Project Objectives and Description: The purposes of the WLT Implementation Pilot Project are to: 1) inform ETA programs about the WLT, 2) determine the validity of WLT procedures, 3) develop procedure manuals, 4) establish a standardized scoring system, and 5) obtain information to determine whether the WLT can be used for the following purposes: -- providing literacy profiles on clients for use in vocational counseling and remedial programs (e.g., JTPA); and -- measuring changes in literacy skills associated with participation in various training programs. Approximately eighty sites will be included in the pilot project. (Sites to be selected will include SESA local offices, State JTPA and EDWAA programs and projects.) As soon as sites are obtained ETS will schedule a one-day training session in each of the ten DOL Regions. ETS will supply sites with test booklets, score the test, and provide score reports at no charge to the sites. Participant responsibilities include: 1) administering the WLT test to 100-300 individuals during the next year, 2) keeping the test instruments secure, 3) returning completed tests for scoring. Each of these responsibilities will be described in more detail by ETS at the training sessions. Use of the WLT: The WLT can be used to meet federal requirements for reporting the literacy levels of JTPA clients. According to the Standardized Program Information Report instructions, DOL will consider either grade level or raw scores from such tests as the WLT to be in compliance with reporting requirements. Limitations of the WLT: The WLT test results cannot be used for hiring or promotional purposes, nor for counseling or training individuals in literacy level requirements for specific occupations. Action: States are requested to provide this information to appropriate JTPA, EDWAA, or SESA entities and request that interested parties contact Jules Goodison, ETS Co-project Director by December 10, 1993, at 1-800-223-0267 or by telefacsimile (609) 734-1878.

Reference: Training and Employment Information Notice (TEIN) No. 20-92. Background: These TAGs were prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) by the Center for Human Resources of the Heller Graduate School at Brandeis University. The Center is one of the Nation's leading research, training, and policy development organizations in the fields of youth development, employment, and education. "Assessment for At-Risk Youth: A Practitioner's Guide to Definitions, Guiding Principles, and Implementation Strategies" has been prepared to help youth practitioners understand the importance of assessment and its basic components. The guide goes beyond the essential components of a comprehensive, integrated, quality assessment system by addressing key questions. The "Assessment for At-Risk Youth: A Decision Maker's Summary" serves as a companion piece to the Practitioner's Guide. It has been prepared to help line practitioners, managers, and policy makers understand what it takes to build and manage an effective assessment system that meets public accountability expectations and youth employability development needs. It complements the previously issued "Improving Assessment" TAG. The "A Guide to Program Design Options for Serving At-Risk Youth" synthesizes the major themes involved in youth program design and walks through the basic components of youth program planning and implementation. Advance copies of the TAGs were distributed at the DOL sponsored train-the-trainer sessions on Youth Assessment and Program Design Options held the weeks of September 27, October 18, and November 1. These TAGs are part of a series of technical assistance guides and training being developed to assist States and service delivery areas (SDAs) in the implementation of quality JTPA programs. In addition to these TAGs, the series will include technical assistance guides and training in critical program areas such as: Case Management; SDA Monitoring of Service Providers; Targeting, Outreach and Recruitment; On-the-Job Training; Financial Management; Procurement; and State Oversight. Distribution: Copies of the TAGs are being provided under separate cover to all State Liaisons for distribution to: -- SDAs (4 copies each); -- State Worker Adjustment Liaison (3 copies); -- State Employment Service Administrator (one copy); and -- State JTPA agency (balance of copies). The TAGs have been prepared in a loose-leaf format suitable for use in a three-ring binder. Computer disks are also being provided to the State Liaisons for the distribution of one each to the SDAs.

Background: The public employment and training system is poised for a period of significant change in funding and organization. The new sorting of responsibilities between and among the federal, State and local partners contained in both the current House and Senate legislation creates challenges and promising opportunities. ETA views technology as an indispensable component in helping our delivery system organizations to address the effects of these challenges, to exploit latent opportunities, and to accelerate the nation's movement to a world class public employment and training system. Both the President and the Vice President have stressed that technology will play a key role to both improve the education and training opportunities of all Americans and reduce the cost of government. With the reality of reduced budgets, all levels of government are being called on to deliver high-quality, easily- accessible services at a lower cost to the taxpayer, to position those services closer to the customer, and to retain the flexibility to respond to dynamic conditions in our labor markets. Conference Objective: With the potential of new employment and training legislation in the very near future, this particular conference provides an excellent learning opportunity for those engaged in critical workforce development activities. Specifically, JETT*CON provides ETA's State and local partners the opportunity: -- to learn how technology can be used to improve the operation and delivery of workforce development services, -- to see, touch, and feel these technologies first-hand, -- to become more knowledgeable consumers of technology. In addition, the commercial marketplace, and technology vendors in particular, will have the chance to gain a better understanding of and access to the emerging public workforce development marketplace. JETT*CON will provide a forum for ongoing discussion of our collaborative system-building efforts at all levels of government, with lively and provocative demonstrations on how today's and tomorrow's technology can be used in the delivery of public employment and training programs and services. In anticipation of block grants and program consolidation requirements, ETA has structured meetings and colloquia within the conference format to promote exchanges and networking between and among all system-building partners. JETT*CON provides a unique, integrated forum where all of ETA's system-building activities can conduct essential dialogues between organizations and experts, and share effective practices and experiences. Conference Overview: JETT*CON is a combination of three integrated, coordinated events: national conferences for three of ETA's system-building activities (i.e., One-Stop Career Centers, Enterprise/Pioneers, and America's Labor Market Information System), JETT*CON technology workshops and the JETT*CON exposition program. A one-page summary of the content of the concurrent national conferences is attached. JETT*CON's technology workshop and exposition program has been organized around integrated thematic tracks (see attached Registration Brochure for additional detail about these "tracks"). Several activities and events have been structured around each track, including: -- Educational Workshops -- an interactive, hands-on learning experience which focuses on the application of technology to that "track" and provides tools to assist consumers in choosing technologies and vendors. -- System Showcases and Presentations -- Examples of exemplary uses of technology drawn from the public employment and training system. -- Exhibits -- more than 70 vendors that provide technologies germane to workforce development. -- New Product Demonstrations -- selected exhibitors will be asked to present new and exciting products that are of benefit to the public employment and training community. In addition to these activities, Capacity Building will convene a meeting of their Technical Panel of Experts, and the Enterprise will hold a meeting of its governing council. ETA's electronic replacement of the outdated Dictionary of Occupational Titles, O*NET, will be showcased. The conference is being co-sponsored by several of ETA's national partner organizations (i.e., the American Association of Community Colleges, American Society for Training and Development, Human Resources Development Institute (AFL-CIO), and National Alliance of Business). Attendance: This conference is designed for leaders, policy makers, and practitioners of States and local governments engaged in planning for or implementing One-Stop Career Centers and local learning laboratories, developing labor market information delivery systems, engaging in system-building activities, and establishing or expanding programs of continuous improvement and quality services to benefit their customers. JETT*CON can accommodate about 1000 participants. This projection is based in part on the core JETT*CON educational component -- the workshops -- which need to remain limited in size in order to maintain the integrity of the learning experience and in part on the availability of breakout rooms (available for concurrent conference activities) and sleeping rooms. -- One-Stop and ALMIS -- Registration for the One-Stop and ALMIS national conferences will be by invitation. Registration packets, with a cover letter detailing how many conference slots are being made available, are being sent directly to each state. The One-Stop and ALMIS support teams will be contacting their state and local principals with full information on their respective parts of the conference program. -- Enterprise and Pioneers -- The national meeting for the Enterprise and Pioneers initiatives is based on a first- come, first-serve open registration. Slightly over four hundred (400) conference slots have been set aside for this purpose, and the attached registration brochure can be used to reserve these slots. Please contact the Enterprise support team for more information (202-501- 5440). Housing Information: Hotel space is being held until December 12, 1995. A limited number of guest rooms are available at the government rate ($114). Please contact each hotel directly for reservations (hotel contact information is contained in the registration brochure). Be sure to mention JETT*CON to secure the government rate. Action: Please share this information with appropriate staff who may be interested in attending JETT*CON. A copy of this directive is also being sent directly to each SDA/SSA.

References: Training and Employment Information Notice (TEIN) No. 49-93, Capacity Building Strategy Paper; TEIN 11-94, Consultation with our Customers: A Process to Build a Comprehensive Capacity Building Structure; TEIN 15-94, Status of JTPA PY 94 Capacity Building Pilot Projects; TEIN 11-94, Change 2, System-Wide Survey on Staff Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Needs. Background: The nation's public employment and training system has come to realize the importance of adopting principles from the "quality revolution" that swept through the private sector during the last decade. Some pioneering workforce development agencies have become "high performance" in every sense of the term. Today, most organizations at least recognize the need to move toward a more customer-focused and quality-oriented approach to the delivery of services. Evidence of this growing interest in quality can be seen in a recent capacity-building survey conducted for the Employment and Training Administration (ETA). The survey was administered to a random sample of front-line staff and program managers from the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) system, the Employment Service (ES), and the Job Opportunities and Basic Skills (JOBS) system. One of the survey items asked respondents to evaluate their need for training (or their staff's need for training) over the next two years. Out of 38 technical and organizational skill areas, front-line staff identified the need for training in Quality Improvement/Total Quality Management as the fifth highest priority. Program managers rated this area as the fourth highest priority. ETA's Quality Initiatives: ETA is currently sponsoring a number of specific initiatives to promote continuous program improvement and the provision of better services to its ultimate customers--employers and job seekers. Among these are the following: The ES Revitalization Initiative is developing a number of products including a system for measuring customer satisfaction as the foundation for implementing continuous improvement techniques throughout the Employment Security System. Products include samples of "tested and validated" survey instruments, a "How to" manual, advice from leading consultants and training sessions on running a comprehensive customer satisfaction system at the state and local level. The Enterprise is a voluntary membership network of best-in-class employment and training organizations committed to providing quality services to their customers. To be eligible for membership in the Enterprise, agencies that deliver direct employment and training services must be independently evaluated against three measures that are characteristic of quality organizations in both public and private sector: Superior Performance, Customer Satisfaction and Continuous Improvement. The Enterprise provides extensive technical assistance to aspiring members through its network of "Pioneers." The One-Stop Career Center System, ETA's vehicle for transforming the current employment and training system into a high-performance, coordinated information and service delivery organization, includes a commitment to develop a performance evaluation strategy based on customer satisfaction measurements. School-To-Work, another of ETA's system-building initiatives, is also based on quality management and customer service. Although these separate initiatives often have differing cultures and histories, ETA believes that quality operations and a commitment to customers can be key organizing principles around which the country's emerging workforce development system can coalesce. The Simply Better! Continuous Improvement Project: Simply Better! is a national technical assistance project designed to help employment and training professionals and organizations incorporate principles of continuous quality improvement into their daily operations. It began as a joint initiative between LETA's Seattle and Philadelphia Regional Offices but quickly expanded to include representatives of State governments, private industry councils, service delivery areas, sub-state grantees, local direct service providers and additional ETA Regional Offices. The goals of Simply Better! are twofold. The immediate goal is to design products and provide services that assist employment and training organizations in implementing continuous improvement efforts. The long-term goal is to develop a learning network of individuals and organizations committed to continuous service improvement, to customer satisfaction and to exceptional quality. Simply Better! does not believe its customers should be drawn from any one part of the Employment and Training system. The project will be equally relevant to ES offices, JTPA service providers, one-stop career centers, school-to-work programs, vocational education institutions and other employment and training programs, many of which, as mentioned above, have begun their own continuous improvement initiatives. New Products: Simply Better! has just published three products: the Self Assessment System, The Voice of the Customer, and Customers in Focus. You will soon receive copies of each of these publications under separate cover. ETA's Regional Offices will be responsible for distributing copies of these materials to service delivery areas, Private Industry Council chairs, State Human Resource Investment Council chairs, and other State/local level entities. Regional Offices also will serve as the primary points of contact for individuals and organizations seeking further information about Simply Better! or additional copies of its products. The Self Assessment System is designed to help organizations better understand their strengths and opportunities for improvement in seven key areas or "dimensions" of organizational management. Modeled after the Malcolm Baldrige Award, the self-assessment process helps establish priority areas for quality improvement and helps organizations develop action plans for redesigning service delivery or management operations. The Self-Assessment System consists of nine user-friendly booklets. The first is an Overview of the entire self-assessment process. Then, separate modules examine seven critical areas of an agency's operations: Strategic Planning, Leadership, Information Analysis, Customer Focus and Satisfaction, Management of Process Quality, Human Resource Development and Quality and Results. The series ends with a Guidebook containing practical tips for conducting a self-assessment in one's own agency. One of the central principles of quality management is that the value of services and products must be defined in the customer's terms. That is why quality-focused organizations develop effective customer feedback strategies and integrate the resulting information into program design and decision-making. The Voice of the Customer can facilitate this process by providing an overview of the tools and techniques available for measuring satisfaction with employment and training programs. Topics addressed include informal research techniques, focus groups, survey design, and data analysis. Samples of survey instruments used by a variety of employment and training agencies are also provided. Focus groups can be a valuable tool for learning how customers feel about a particular issue, and why they hold those beliefs. Customers in Focus offers a wealth of in-depth information for those interested in conducting focus group sessions. This publication discusses the relative advantages and disadvantages of focus groups, how to construct a discussion guide, how to select and recruit participants, the competencies required of focus group moderators, and tips for the analysis and presentation of focus group data. Coordination With Other Quality Initiatives: Simply Better! feels an important responsibility to work cooperatively with ETA's other quality initiatives. Many of Simply Better!'s products have been "field tested" at local agencies whose quality operations qualify them for membership in the Enterprise. The Simply Better! publications mentioned above include materials developed by both the Enterprise Council and the Employment Service Revitalization Project. Working together, Simply Better!, the Enterprise/Pioneers, and ES Revitalization, along with the One-Stop and School-To-Work system building initiatives, offer the potential to break down existing barriers between programs and levels of government. The ultimate goal is to transform the workforce development system into a high- performance, high-quality system that delivers world class services. Future Publications: Simply Better! has several additional products scheduled for completion and dissemination later in 1996. Service by Design will introduce a problem-solving model for continuous improvement of employment and training operations that focuses on front-line transactions the points of contact between the service and the customer. Measures of Success will help service providers determine which tools and measures best meet their management and information needs. Case Studies in Quality will document "real world" examples of employment and training organizations that improved the quality of their services by adopting a continuous improvement philosophy of "putting the customer first."

References: None Background: Legislation currently under consideration to restructure the nation's employment and training system assigns an important role to "workforce development boards," private-sector-led bodies similar to existing Private Industry Councils but with expanded powers and purview. During the upcoming transition to a new workforce development system, one of ETA's challenges will be to oversee the successful evolution of PICs into these new boards. A new study by the National Association of Private Industry Councils (NAPIC) demonstrates that some PICs are already pursuing new approaches to meeting the workforce needs of their local communities. The experiences of these "cutting edge" PICs can serve as models to states and localities as they begin to put in place the more consolidated, customer-oriented employment and training institutions envisioned in the proposed legislation. Lessons Learned: Facing the Future: Private Industry Councils in the '90s examines five representative PICs that have altered their missions and goals, their client and program mix, and their operational strategies in response to changing workforce demands brought on by such factors as technological advances and corporate downsizing. Included are profiles of the PICs in Quincy, MA; New Haven, CT; Kankakee Valley, IN; Sunnyvale, CA; and Eugene, OR. As the study notes, these PICs exhibit common characteristics which distinguish them from traditional PICs and make them more viable in today's job training environment. Among these common traits are a strong identification with the local business community and a belief that employers are their customers, trainees their product. These PICs seek to serve a client base beyond the adult disadvantaged jobseeker and as a result are involved in mainstream education and training institutions, school-to-work programs, business-education partnerships, and business-led school reform. Support of local economic development efforts is high on their list of priorities as is the active pursuit of multiple funding sources. The manner in which these PICs have implemented their agenda varies. Some have taken what the study's author Joseph Fischer calls the "supermarket" approach*offering a wide range of services to as broad a client base as possible through diverse funding sources and fee-for-service arrangements. They cater to their business customers and are very much a part of the local business culture. Others have taken a "mall manager" approach, assuming the role of planners, facilitators, program coordinators, and overseers. These PICs see their strength in their ability to expedite negotiations and resolve conflicts among program managers. They prefer to relinquish direct control over programs. The study concludes that if PICs are to continue to effectively provide employment and training services to America's workforce in the twenty-first century, they must follow the lead of these cutting-edge examples. Congress is preparing to make major changes in the nation's workforce development system--changes that will compel all PICs to reexamine their reason for existence, identify their basic strengths within the context of their business community, lobby for increased status among state and local policymakers, and create new programs to prepare disadvantaged and dislocated workers to succeed in the labor market. Only then, the study contends, will PICs be in a position to deal with the workforce challenges of the future. Distribution: NAPIC has distributed one copy of Facing the Future to each PIC and State Job Training Coordinating Council free of charge. Additional copies are available for a small fee from NAPIC, 1201 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 289-2950. Action Required: None

Reference: Training and Employment Information Notice (TEIN) No. 20-92, JTPA Amendments Implementation Strategy. Background: The State Oversight TAGs were prepared by a contractor, Kerber, Eck and Braeckel, under a competitively awarded contract with the Employment and Training Administration. The Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, as contractor for regional JTPA technical assistance and training funds, and the Region V ETA office managed this activity. There was also an advisory group composed of States in Region V that guided this activity from its inception. The contractor also conducted several surveys of all States to ascertain their primary needs regarding oversight. These TAGs are a reflection of those needs expressed by the States and the State advisory group. General Statement of Purpose/Design: The State Oversight TAGs address the complex area of State oversight, but go beyond what is the required minimum (i.e., compliance areas) so that States can address the issues of quality and continuous improvement in the context of their specific State concerns. This gains increasing value as the employment and training system moves into an environment where States can modify programs to address their specific priority issues, and where continuous improvement and customer-driven systems are paramount. The five volumes of this technical assistance product are divided into three TAGs which provide a framework for the evaluation of a State's oversight system, guidance and information that assists in the modification of the oversight system to ensure coverage of all required areas and, lastly, a guide that assists a State in developing a framework for oversight of program quality. Other objectives include a user-friendly abstract for the requirements in the Act and Regulations, training tools for new staff/new responsibilities and a risk analysis process that allows a State to determine where to expend shrinking resources. These TAGs are as follows: JTPA REQUIREMENTS ABSTRACT AND INDEX (3 volumes) This is an easy-to-use alternative resource for obtaining information on requirements that affect States and subrecipients under JTPA. Each abstract summarizes and simplifies JTPA statutory and regulatory requirements and provides a detailed index so that specific requirements can be found quickly. They are designed to simplify and expedite the requirements research process by addressing difficulties often associated with statutory and regulatory federal program requirements, such as technical style and manner, need to consult more than one source and need for frequent cross-referencing. This TAG is in three volumes: Part I - General Administrative and Program (which applies to both Titles II and III). Part II - Requirements Under Title II Part III - Requirements Under Title III STATE OVERSIGHT OF COMPLIANCE AND PERFORMANCE This TAG contains materials intended to assist States as they continue to manage and improve this aspect of their oversight responsibilities. Effective compliance oversight makes a critical contribution to improving and maintaining high levels of performance related to customer needs and customer satisfaction. This TAG also contains a risk assessment process that can assist a State in identifying vulnerable areas and making decisions about deployment of resources. STATE OVERSIGHT OF PROGRAM QUALITY This TAG is based on the premise that specific measures of program quality are best developed by each State and structured appropriately to the circumstances and priorities of that State. Therefore, this TAG does not directly define specific measures of program quality that can be applied across the board to local programs. This TAG provides a framework and guidance to States on how to structure oversight activity oriented toward the quality of local programs. It assumes that the quality of local programs is determined primarily by and through the operation of local program processes, e.g., the planning process. This TAG guides States in oversight of those processes which are believed to be the ones affecting program quality. This orientation also allows States to develop a cogent, rational technical assistance plan which focuses on improving program quality at the local level. Technical Assistance: There is no national, formal training being planned for these TAGs. Rather, funds are available in the contract to provide technical assistance to the system as is deemed most appropriate by ETA regional offices in consultation with the States. Resources are available to provide on-site technical assistance or training with each region. This assistance could cover any or all of the TAGs, or focus on a specialized area such as risk analysis or the State Oversight of Program Quality TAG. Distribution: Copies of the TAG have been provided under separate cover to all State JTPA Liaisons for distribution to appropriate State staff. Electronic Distribution: All three TAGs are also available electronically via ETA's Training Technology Resource Center (TTRC) FTP server. Please note, all files are in Wordperfect 5.1 format. Should you have any problems or questions about retrieving these files, please call the TTRC at (800) 488-0906 and ask for "ETA TAG Support." Direct your FTP client program to: ftp.ttrc.doleta.gov Log in as "anonymous" and enter your e-mail address as your password. Make sure your FTP client program is set to transfer BINARY files. Once connected, change directory to the \tags directory. In the \tags directory you will find the following three subdirectories. compliance.9505 for State Oversight of Compliance and Performance Under JTPA. quality.9505 for State Oversight of Program Quality Under JTPA. req-abs.9505 for JTPA Requirements Abstract and Index The following is a listing of the files found in each of the subdirectories: Subdirectory: compliance.9505 comptag1.wp5 Full text of TAG except for the checklists. comptag2.wp5 Exhibit 2.1: Compliance Review Checklist. comptag3.wp5 Exhibit 3.1: Performance Review Checklist. comptag4.wp5 Exhibit 4.1: Checklist of State's Direct. Responsibilities comptag5.wp5 Exhibit 4.2: Checklist for Review of Job Training Plans and Plan Modification. comptag6.wp5 Exhibit 4.3: Checklist for Review of PICs. Subdirectory: quality.9505 qualtag.wp5 Full text of TAG Subdirectory: req-abs.9505 defin.wp5 TAG Instructions. instr.wp5 TAG Definitions. parti.wp5 Part I: General Administrative and Program Requirements. partii.wp5 Part II: Requirements Under Title II. partiii.wp5 Part III: Requirement Under Title III. Change directory to the appropriate TAG directory. Use the transfer feature capability of your FTP software to transfer file to your PC. If using a Windows based product, click on the transfer arrow, or if using a command line FTP, issue the appropriate 'get' or 'mget' command to retrieve one or more of the documents. Action Required: States are requested to review these materials. They will be contacted by their Regional Office to determine the type of follow- up technical assistance desired.

Background: Last year, ETA awarded a grant to the National Youth Employment Coalition (NYEC), an organization with an extensive background in youth programs and issues, to plan, test and develop PEPNet. This network will establish standards, methods of measurements, a nomination process and recognition for youth programs that have demonstrated their effectiveness or potential. Programs with promise or demonstrative effectiveness will be examined as models for replication and vehicles for learning. Furthermore, it is expected that PEPNet will assist in showcasing many of our finest youth programs (or program components) to demonstrate what works and what is possible. The identified programs will not be limited to ETA funded programs, although it is expected that most will be from Job Training Partnership Act (including Job Corps), Bureau of Apprenticeship Training, and School-to-Work. ETA is focusing its effort into creating a more comprehensive youth development system that will serve in-school and out-of-school youth and foster the underlying philosophy -- work-based, contextual learning that fuses work with experiential schooling. PEPNet will further these goals by establishing a visible network of successful or promising youth programs that can be a catalyst to expand the number of effective youth programs. Next Steps: NYEC has convened a broad-based group of experts in youth programs from both the public and private sectors, including researchers, program operators, educators, and business representatives, to develop criteria needed to select promising and effective youth programs. It is anticipated that the criteria will be distributed by the end of March 1996. The nomination process and format will be completed by the end of April 1996. A Training and Employment Information Notice containing further details on the nomination process will be sent to you, requesting nomination of youth programs or program components you believe meet these criteria. The PEPNet workgroup of experts will then select the youth programs from those nominated based on the criteria and evidence of effectiveness. Information Accessible Electronically: As information on PEPNet becomes available, it will be made accessible electronically via the Training Technology Resource Center (TTRC) on-line information system. TTRC is accessible by: calling 1-800-488-0901 voice; via modem by dialing 1-800-767-0806; or Internet: WEB URL: HTTP://WWW.TTRC.DOLETA.GOV.

Background: The MLS program is a Federal/State cooperative program which uses a standardized, automated approach to identifying, describing, and tracking the effects of major job cutbacks using data from each State's unemployment insurance database. The MLS program is authorized by Section 462(e) of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) (P.L. 97-300), as amended by P.L. 102-367, which directs the Secretary of Labor to "develop and maintain statistical data relating to permanent lay-offs and plant closings." The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was directly funded to administer an MLS program from FY 1984 through FY 1991. Funding for the program was dropped from the BLS budget in FY 1992, but was provided by the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) from JTPA Title IV funds. The MLS program was eliminated in November 1992 primarily for lack of funding. Language in Congressional Appropriations Reports on the Department of Labor's budget request for FY 1994 called for ETA to provide BLS with funding from JTPA Title III discretionary accounts to continue the MLS program. ETA and BLS entered into an Intra-Agency Agreement (IAA) under which ETA transferred $6,000,000 to BLS to administer an MLS program. One of the provisions of that agreement called for BLS and ETA to establish a Federal/State workgroup to examine the utility of the MLS program to the Dislocated Worker program. The workgroup has finished its work and issued its Final Report (attached). The recommendations in the report have implications for actions at the state level. Findings of the Workgroup: The objective of the workgroup was to determine (1) whether the MLS program is, or can become, responsive to the information needs of the Dislocated Worker program, and (2) if changes are needed, what those changes are and what they would cost. In this regard, the workgroup defined four broad information needs for the Dislocated Worker program: Information which could be used to provide Early Warning of possible plant closings and mass layoffs that would require services from State or local Dislocated Worker program providers; Information which could serve as a means to identify the overall Dislocated Worker Population in need of EDWAA-funded services; Information which could be used as inputs to improve the Planning and Funding Allocation processes at the State level; and Information which could be used to facilitate Program Evaluation and Policy Analysis at both the State and National levels. The value of the information provided through the MLS program was determined by assessing how well it met, or could be made to meet (through reasonable changes), these information needs. In general, the workgroup concluded that the MLS program, as currently constituted and with no change, did not provide information that was of significant value to the Dislocated Worker program. However, the workgroup also concluded that, if certain key changes were made in the MLS program, the resulting information would be of value and could be used, at least at the State level, to meet or partially meet three of the four principal information needs of the Dislocated Worker program. Recommendations of the Workgroup: To enable the necessary changes to be made in the MLS program, the workgroup made the following recommendations: Take the actions necessary to make the definitions in the MLS program consistent with Dislocated Worker program definitions and to expand the population identified by the MLS to include the bulk of those persons eligible to participate in the Dislocated Worker program. Add occupational data for claimants identified through the MLS program. Provide training for State and local users of the MLS system, not just the system operators. Add a series of questions to the Employer Contact Survey to gauge customer satisfaction with services provided by State and local Dislocated Worker units. Require, as part of the BLS cooperative agreement with States regarding MLS, that State LMI/Research offices contact State Dislocated Worker offices to jointly determine what services can and will be provided to Dislocated Worker units using the resources provided under such agreement; concurrently, ETA should issue an instruction to State Dislocated Worker programs asking them to work cooperatively with the LMI/Research offices in this regard. Commit to continued funding for the revised MLS program for two to three years in order to implement the changes and evaluate their impact on the utility of the resulting data. Continue the MLS workgroup, or a similar body, to plan and oversee implementation of the required changes to the MLS program. Resolve the issue of the degree of flexibility allowed States (by BLS) in carrying out the MLS program. Determine the feasibility of using alternative means, in some instances, for the manner in which follow-up contacts with employers are conducted to reduce the cost of conducting the follow-up survey. While a final decision has not been made to accept all of the recommmendations of the Workgroup, several have been accepted and are already being implemented. Of primary interest is recommendation (e) above, which BLS has incorporated in its FY 1996 Cooperative Agreements with the States to carry out the MLS program. This recommendation grew out of a recognition by the Workgroup that there was a "clear need for a strong link between State Dislocated Worker program and LMI offices..." Moreover, the funding provided by BLS to LMI offices to carry out the MLS program, which comes entirely from Title III, primarily buys staff. The Workgroup believed that some portion of that staffing should be used to support the information needs of the dislocated worker program. In implementing this recommendation, BLS has called for a written agreement between the LMI and the Dislocated Worker offices as a deliverable under its Cooperative Agreement with each State. This agreement is intended to set out how MLS resources will be used and the support services that will be provided. It might also address the restrictions (under State or Federal law) that would be placed on the use of MLS Data by staff in State and local dislocated worker offices. Action Required: Ensure that the Dislocated Worker Unit (DWU) works with the State LMI/Research office to identify its information needs and to determine the services that the LMI/Research Office will provide to the DWU unit; and Share a copy of the attached report with appropriate staff.

References: Training and Employment Information Notice (TEIN) No. 49-93, Capacity Building Strategy Paper; TEIN No. 11-94, Consultation with our Customers: A Process to Build a Comprehensive Capacity Building Structure; TEIN No. 15-94, Status of Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Program Year 1994 Capacity Building Pilot Projects; TEIN No. 11-94, Change 2, System-Wide Survey on Staff Capacity Building and Technical Assistance Needs. Background: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) supports a variety of technical assistance and training initiatives. These activities include staff training, curricula development, technological innovations, and other capacity building endeavors. ETA has recently published the attached document, titled ETA: Inventory of Technical Assistance and Training Initiatives, which is a comprehensive resource guide of all the major initiatives. Improving the skills, knowledge, and abilities of managerial and front-line staff of the nation's many disparate employment and training service delivery agencies has long been a priority of ETA. As public programs have become more aware of the importance of continuous improvement and customer satisfaction that are part of the "quality movement" now popular in the private sector, the need for more concerted and coordinated efforts in the area of staff development has become more acute. All of ETA's major programs have made plans to provide staff training and technical assistance to their local agencies. The purpose of this document is to transmit information about all of these programs to customers throughout the nation*s workforce development system. Description: The ETA: Inventory of Technical Assistance and Training Initiatives was originally developed to assist ETA officials in identifying common areas of capacity-building activity, opportunities for working together, and appropriate contacts within ETA from whom to obtain more specific information and/or establish cooperative relationships. It has since been determined, however, that this resource is appropriate to a wider employment and training audience as a tool to inform the system about the various national capacity- building efforts and where to go at the national level for more information about these activities. The ETA: Inventory of Technical Assistance and Training Initiatives documents the systemic and professional development capacity- building projects currently underway throughout ETA*s various employment and training units. These programs include: Employment Service Revitalization, One-Stop Career Center Systems, JTPA Titles II and III, the Office of Work-Based Learning, School-to-Work Initiatives, America*s Labor Market Information System (ALMIS), Older Workers, and Migrant/Seasonal Farm Workers. The capacity- building activities of the Veterans* Employment and Training Service and the National Occupational Information Coordinating Committee are also included. This information was gathered through interviews with principle national office managers of each of these programs. A summary matrix at the front of the document provides a brief overview of all of these initiatives. This matrix is organized into the following categories: Information/Data Collection Training Delivery Methods Training System Development Training Programs Best Practices Standards/Evaluation System Coordination/Development The body of the document includes the overall purpose/approach of each of these initiatives and the following information about each capacity-building activity: Key Activity Target Audience Specific Products Delivery Method The appendices include contact information for each initiative and a list of acronyms. Distribution: Copies of ETA: Inventory of Technical Assistance and Training Initiatives will also be distributed to: ETA Regional Offices, State Training Institutes, State Training Coordinators, and other stakeholders. A copy of this publication is also available via the Training Technology Resource Center (TTRC) on-line information system. TTRC is accessible by calling 1-800-488-0901 (voice); via modem by dialing 1-800-767-0806; or via the Internet: WEB URL: HTTP://WWW.TTRC.DOLETA.GOV. Action Required: None.