TEGL4-99.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

RESCISSIONS NoneEXPIRATION DATE June 30 2001 DISTRIBUTIONU. S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Washington D.C. 20210CLASSIFICATION OWS CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL TEESS DATE February 15 2000 TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 4-99 TO ALL STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS ALL STATE WORKER ADJUSTMENT LIAISONS ALL STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES ALL ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER SYSTEM LEADS FROM LENITA JACOBS-SIMMONS Deputy Assistant Secretary SUBJECT Instructions and Planning Guidelines for the Program Year PY 2000 Wagner-Peyser Act Agriculture Services Submission 1. Purpose. To provide guidance for the preparation and submission of the PY 2000 Wagner-Peyser Act Agriculture Services Submission in conjunction with the Strategic Five- Year State Plan under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 WIA . 2. References. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 Planning Guidance and Instructions for Submission of theStrategic Five-Year Plan for Title I of the WorkforceInvestment Act of 1998 and the Wagner-Peyser Act herein referred to as the WIA W-P Act Planning Guidance FinalUnified Planning Guidance Developed by the Departments ofLabor Education Health and Human Services Agriculture andHousing and Urban Development herein referred to as the Unified Planning Guidance 20 CFR 652.211 652.212 652.213 653.107 653.112 and 661.230 Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL No. 27-97. 3. Background. The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 requires Wagner-Peyser Act labor exchange services to be provided through the One-Stop delivery system. Further WIA requires that States include in their Strategic Five-Year Plan a detailed description of the Wagner-Peyser Act services that will be provided to job seekers and employers. 2 Assurance No.15 in the WIA W-P Act Planning Guidance and assurance No.14 in the Unified Planning Guidance require States to assure that they will comply with the annual Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker MSFW requirements in accordance with 20 CFR part 653. In line with the regulations at 20 CFR part 653 the WIA W-P Act Planning Guidance the Unified Planning Guidance and applicable WIA and Wagner-Peyser Act regulations the attachment constitutes the guidelines for the PY 2000 Agriculture Services Submission. 4. Agriculture Services Submission. State planning for Wagner-Peyser Act agriculture program services is an annual requirement. Accordingly each State must provide the Employment and Training Administration ETA with an Agriculture Services Submission in conjunction with its WIA Wagner-Peyser Act Strategic Five-Year Plan or Unified Plan see 5. below and must provide annual Agricultural Services Submissions during each of the following four program years. The Agriculture Services Submission should be an integral component of a State s Strategic Five-Year Plan and its development should be coordinated with the development of the Five-Year Plan. Likewise during the four out years in which a WIA Wagner-Peyser Act Strategic Five- Year Plan or Unified Plan is not submitted the State should develop the annual Agriculture Services Submission in light of the Wagner-Peyser Act activities described in the Five- Year Plan. Each year ETA will publish planning guidelines for the Agriculture Services Submission. For PY 2000 States must respond to the items contained in the attached guidelines. Subsequently in their annual Agricultural Services Submissions States must respond to the items contained in the appropriate ETA guidelines for that program year. 5. PY 2000 Submission Schedule. States are to provide their PY 2000 Agriculture Services Submission in accordance with the following schedule - Early WIA Implementers prior to July 1 2000 The PY 2000 Agriculture Services Submission should be submitted prior to April 1 2000 with the Strategic Five-Year Plan or under separate cover. 3 - WIA Implementers Effective July 1 2000The PY 2000 Agriculture Services Submission must be included with the Strategic Five-Year Plan which is to be submitted by April 1 2000. Early WIA Implementers that submit the Agriculture Services Submission under separate cover should send one signed original and two copies via a letter of transmittal to the National Office Attn National MSFW Monitor Advocate and one copy to the appropriate Regional Office. 6. Inquiries. Requests for technical assistance or other inquiries should be directed to the appropriate Regional Office. 7. Attachment. Planning Guidance for PY 2000 Wagner-Peyser Act Agriculture Services Submission. 4 Attachment PLANNING GUIDANCE FOR PY 2000 WAGNER-PEYSER ACT AGRICULTURE SERVICES SUBMISSION I. Summary of Submission Requirements. Each State agency in its Agriculture Services Submission shall describe the activities planned for providing services to the agricultural community both agricultural employers and MSFWs. The document shall contain the following A.Assessment of Need. See Part II All States shall prepare a comprehensive assessment of need in accordance with federal requirements at 20 CFR Part 653. B.Outreach Activities. See Part III All States shall prepare a comprehensive plan for outreach in accordance with federal requirements at 20 CFR 653.107. C.Wagner-Peyser Act Services Provided to MSFWsthrough the One-Stop Delivery System. See Part IV States shall provide specific information on how Wagner- Peyser Act services will be provided to MSFWs through the One-Stop delivery system and how these services will be coordinated with the core intensive and training services provided under WIA Title I. In addition States should explain how they will serve MSFWs in an electronic environment. WIA did not revise the requirements at 20 CFR 653 or 658 therefore States must continue to provide services to MSFWs and collect data as required. All States must meet at least the minimum requirements for providing services to MSFWs. All States are required to meet at least four of the five equity indicators. Additionally significant MSFW States must meet at least four of the seven minimum service level indicators. States which expect to have difficulty in meeting the MSFW performance indicators shall describe the nature of 5 the problem and the steps planned to meet the performance indicators. D.Wagner-Peyser Act Services Provided toAgricultural Employers through the One-Stop DeliverySystem. See Part V All States are required to describe efforts to be undertaken in providing Wagner-Peyser Act services to agricultural employers in both those States with an adequate supply of U.S. workers and those where the supply appears to be inadequate. E.Other Requirements. 1.Status of MSFW Monitor Advocate. States are required to appoint a full-time MSFW Monitor Advocate per provisions at 20 CFR 653.108 d . If the State MSFW Monitor Advocate position is less than full time justification for the part-time status of the State MSFW Monitor Advocate must be provided to and approved by the USDOL. 2.State MSFW Monitor Advocate Approval Comments. All States are to provide a statement that the State MSFW Monitor Advocate has been afforded the opportunity to approve and or comment on the PY 2000 Agricultural Services Submission. 3.Consideration of Previous Year s Annual MSFWMonitor Advocate Report. All States are to provide a statement indicating that consideration was given to the State MSFW Monitor Advocate s recommendations as presented in the annual MSFW summary developed under 20 CFR 653.108 t . 4.MSFW Affirmative Action Review Comments. All States are to provide a statement indicating that as per 20 CFR 653.111 4 h the State Monitor Advocate has been afforded the opportunity to review and comment on the State s MSFW Affirmative Action Plan which is to be submitted as part of the State s PY 2000 submission. States with designated significant Affirmative Action local offices are required to submit an 6 Affirmative Action Plan in accordance with 20 CFR 653.111. 5.Review and Comment by WIA Section 167 JTPASection 402 Grantees. All States are to provide information indicating that WIA Section 167 JTPA Section 402 grantees other appropriate MSFW groups public agencies agricultural employer organizations and other interested employer organizations have been given the opportunity to comment on the State Agriculture Services Submission including any required significant MSFW local office Affirmative Action Plans. A list of organizations from whom information and suggestions were solicited any comments received and agency responses are to be included with the State s PY 2000 submission 20 CFR 653.107 d . II. Assessment of Need. This assessment of need shall take into account data supplied by WIA Section 167 JTPA Section 402 grantees MSFW organizations employer organizations Federal State Agencies Migrant Education Agency etc. This assessment of need shall include A.A review of the previous year s agricultural activity in the State. SIdentify each major labor intensive crop activity in the previous year indicating the months of heavy activity and the geographic area of prime activity. B.A review of the previous year s MSFW activity in the State. SEstimate the agricultural labor employed in each of the crops identified in item II.A. Estimate the number of MSFWs involved in each and indicate crop areas that experienced labor shortages. C.A projected level of agricultural activity expected in the State in the coming year. SIdentify any changes from last year s crop activities as described in item II.A. 7 D.A projected number of MSFWs in the State in the coming year. SIdentify any changes in the numbers of MSFWs involved in each crop activity as described in item II.A. III. Outreach Activities. Each State shall prepare a comprehensive outreach plan in accordance with federal requirements at 20 CFR Part 653.107. The outreach plan must be based on the actual conditions which exist in the particular State taking into account the State agency s history of providing outreach services the estimated number of MSFWs in the State and the need for outreach services in the State. The five States with the highest estimated year-round MSFW activities must assign full-time year-round staff to outreach activities. These States are designated each year by ETA. The designations for PY 2000 are provided in Table 5. The remainder of the significant MSFW States must make maximum efforts to hire outreach staff with MSFW experience for year-round positions and shall assign outreach staff to work full time during the period of highest activity. Approval by ETA will be based on the State adequately addressing the following features of the outreach plan A.Assessment of Available Resources. This assessment of the resources available for outreach shall include 1.The number of State agency staff positions to be assigned to outreach activities. Indicate the full time equivalent positions for each local office to which staff are to be assigned and the number of staff assigned to the State office for this purpose. The significant MSFW local offices listed in Table 4 should assign full-time staff for outreach duties during the peak seasons. 2.Where the number of State agency staff positions assigned to outreach activities is less than in the prior year please explain the reason for the 8 reduction and the expected effect of the reduction on direct outreach activities. 3.Resources to be made available through existing cooperative agreements with public and private community service agencies and MSFW groups. States are encouraged to initiate cooperative agreements with WIA Section 167 JTPA Section 402 grantees for outreach positions . B.Numerical Goals. The anticipated results of the outreach efforts to be provided in item A. These goals shall include 1.The number of MSFWs to be contacted by ES staff during the program year listed by local office where outreach staff is assigned as well as the State office. 2.The number of staff days based on 8 hour days to be utilized for outreach listed by local office where outreach staff is assigned as well as the State office. 3.The number of MSFWs to be contacted by other agencies under cooperative arrangements. Copies of the cooperative arrangements shall be included in the State s PY 2000 submission. C.Proposed Outreach Activities. Describe the outreach efforts to be provided by the ES staff indicated in item B. These efforts shall include those described in 20 CFR 653.107 i-p . Also describe any coordinated activities with other agencies. IV.Wagner-Peyser Act Services Provided to MSFWs through theOne-Stop Delivery System. A.Planning Data for the Upcoming Year. If a State s estimated planning data for the current year indicate difficulty in meeting equity indicators minimum services levels or planned levels of activity the following items must be included in a narrative 9 1.A description of the problems 2.Specific steps planned to meet minimum service levels and 3.Specific steps planned to meet equity level of services. Federal regulations at 20 CFR 653.112 require the establishment of performance indicators reflecting equity and the measurement of minimum levels of service. The indicators established by ETA include five ES-controlled indicators to measure equity of service and seven minimum service level indicators. All States are required to meet at least four of the five equity indicators. Additionally significant MSFW States are required to meet at least four of the seven minimum service level indicators. The seven minimum service level indicators are listed on Table 3. These standards are set to encourage appropriate service to MSFWs and to assure the continuation of such services. The minimum service levels are established annually. The standards are set at a level high enough to encourage low performing States to improve their performance but not so high as to make achievement extraordinarily difficult. The five equity indicators for all States are SRatio of non-MSFWs to MSFWs referred to jobs SRatio of non-MSFWs to MSFWs for whom service is provided SRatio of non-MSFWs to MSFWs referred to supportive services SRatio of non-MSFWs to MSFWs counseled SRatio of non-MSFWs to MSFWs for whom a job development contact was made B.Significant MSFW Local Office Affirmative Action Plans. Significant MSFW local offices for which an Affirmative Action Plan must be developed and submitted were 10 designated in accordance with 20 CFR 653.111. The designations for PY 2000 of Affirmative Action Plan local offices are provided in Table 2. The Affirmative Action Plan must include a comparison of the racial and ethnic composition of the workforce and that of the local office staff. When the comparison shows an under-representation of a racial or ethnic group in the local office the plan must establish a reasonable timetable with goals to remedy the imbalance. V.Wagner-Peyser Act Services Provided to AgriculturalEmployers through the One-Stop Delivery System. A.Data Analysis. 1.Previous year s history based on PY 1998 data a.Number of agricultural job orders and openings received b.Number of agricultural job orders filled c.Percent filled b a x 100 d.Number of interstate clearance orders received e.Number of interstate clearance orders initiated 2.Plan for upcoming year based on estimated data a.Number of agricultural job orders expected to be received b.Number of agricultural job orders projected to be filled c.Percent to be filled b a x 100 d.Estimated number of interstate clearance orders the State will receive e.Estimated number of interstate clearance orders the State will initiate B.Narrative Description. All States shall provide a description of their efforts to provide WIA Wagner-Peyser Act services to agricultural employers including both those with an adequate supply of U.S. workers and those for whom the supply may be inadequate. These efforts should include 11 SA description of how the State agency plans to provide labor exchange services to agricultural employers. SA description of the process used to identify agricultural employers that are expected to utilize MSFWs. SA description of the process for linking available workers with the employers including the cooperation with or the creation of coordinating bodies to assure programs are coordinated and to insure programs respond to local needs. These coordinating groups may consist of organizations such as the Employment Service WIA Section 167 JTPA Section 402 grantees agricultural employers migrant education groups migrant health groups etc. SDescribe how the State will promote labor exchange services to agricultural employers e.g. participate in employer conferences develop marketing tools provide labor exchange information to employers recruit U.S. workers etc. SWhere an H-2A program operated in the State in the previous year explain efforts to increase U.S. worker participation. VI. Enclosures to State Planning Guidelines for AgriculturalServices Table 1. Significant MSFW States for PY 2000 Table 2.Affirmative Action Plan Significant MSFW Local Offices Table 3. Minimum Service Level Indicators for PY 2000 Table 4.Significant MSFW Local Offices and Bilingual Offices by Region for PY 2000 Table 5.States with Highest Estimated MSFW Activity 12 Table 1 SIGNIFICANT MSFW STATES FOR PY 2000 StateMSFW Applicants1.California44 347 2.Texas30 991 3.Florida20 404 4.Washington20 260 5.North Carolina12 729 6.Arizona 8 401 7.Georgia 7 006 8.Michigan 6 958 9.Puerto Rico 6 840 10.South Carolina 4 559 11.Virginia 3 860 12.Oregon 3 207 13.Minnesota 2 582 14.New Mexico 2 270 15.Ohio 2 207 16.Indiana 2 117 17.Idaho 1 794 18.Colorado 1 327 19.New York 1 326 20.Wisconsin 1 001 13 Table 2 AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PLAN SIGNIFICANT MSFW LOCAL OFFICES TOP 20 OF MSFW ACTIVITY NATIONWIDE Local OfficeRegionMSFW ApplicationsMcAllen TX VI 10 155 Edinburg TX VI5 841 Weslaco TX VI5 778 Yuma AZ IX6 741 Sanger CA IX3 315 Sunnyside WA X4 113 Moses Lake WA X3 662Total MSFW Applications 39 605 Federal regulations at 20 CFR 653.111 b 1 require that Affirmative Action Plan local offices be designated each year. For purposes of this provision these local offices mean those representing the top 20 of MSFW activity nationally. Total MSFW applications nationwide in PY 1998 188 727 188 727 x 20 37 745 14 Table 3 MINIMUM SERVICE LEVEL INDICATORS FOR PY 2000 In accordance with federal regulations at 20 CFR 653.112 the following are the services and minimum levels that significant MSFW States are to meet in providing services to MSFWs 1 Individuals placed in a job 2 Individuals placed in a job with a wage exceeding the federal minimum wage by at least 50 cents hour 3 Placed in long-term over 150 days non-agricultural jobs 1 2 3 StateMSFWPlaced .50Placed inPlaced Above FederalLong-termMinimum WageNon-Ag JobCalifornia42.514.0 4.9 Texas42.514.08.2 Florida42.514.06.0 Washington42.514.03.3 North Carolina42.514.05.0 Arizona 42.514.0 3.8 Georgia42.514.03.8 Michigan42.514.04.2 Puerto Rico 42.514.0 3.0 South Carolina42.514.06.2 Virginia42.514.05.0 Oregon 42.514.03.9 Minnesota42.514.05.2 New Mexico42.514.04.3 Ohio 42.514.07.3 Indiana 42.514.03.0 Idaho42.5 14.04.0 Colorado42.514.06.5 New York 42.514.03.3 Wisconsin 42.514.04.5 4 Review of significant MSFW local offices 100 for all significant States The determination for the following were established by the States commencing with PY 1996 5 Field checks on agricultural clearance orders 6 Outreach contacts per staff day and 7 Processing of complaints. 15 Table 4 SIGNIFICANT MSFW LOCAL OFFICES AND BILINGUAL OFFICES BY REGION FOR PY 2000 REGION INONE REGION IIPuerto Rico Aguadilla Arecibo Manati Bayamon Caguas Guayama Humacao Mayaguea San German Ponce Coamo Yauco Rio Piedras Yancio New York Albion Elba Hudson Kingston Lockport Newark Pine Island Riverhead New Jersey Hammonton Vineland Bridgetown REGION IIIDelaware Dover Maryland Crisfield Pennsylvania Chambersburg Gettysburg Virginia Onley Winchester West Virginia Martinsburg REGION IVFlorida Apopka Apollo Beach Belle Glade Bradenton Fort Pierce Homestead Immokalee Naples Plant City Quincy Sebring Wauchula Winterhaven Georgia Americus Bainbridge Cordele Douglas Moultrie Statesboro Vidalia North Carolina Clinton Dunn Elizabethtown Greenville Hendersonville Kenansville Mt. Olive Smithfield Washington Wilson South Carolina Aiken Beaufort Charleston Kingstree Spartanburg Sumter REGION VIllinois Danville Kankakee Murphysboro Peoria Michigan Sidney Minnesota Albert Lea Crookston East Grand Forks Furgus Falls Mankato Moorhead Owatonna Willmar Ohio Fremont Wisconsin Beaver Dam Wautoma Denotes Bilingual Status 16 REGION VINew Mexico Deming Las Cruces Texas Brownsville Canutillo CarrizoSprings Crystal City Del Rio Eagle Pass Edinburg Fabens Floydada Harlingen Hereford Laredo Lamesa McAllen Muleshoe Pecos Plainview Raymondville Rio Grande City Uvalde Weslaco REGION VIINONE REGION VIIIColorado Brighton Delta Greeley Lamar Monte Vista Rocky Ford Montana Sidney North Dakota Grafton Utah Brigham City REGION IXArizona Coolidge Douglas Maryvale Mesa Wilcox Yuma California Bakersfield Blythe Chico Colusa Delano El Centro Calexico Fresno West Gilroy Hanford Hollister Huron Indio Lakeport Lamont Lodi Los Banos Madera Manteca Marysville Mendota Merced Modesto Oakdale Oxnard Porterville Salinas Greenfield Sanger Santa Maria Turlock Ukiah Visalia Wasco Watsonville Woodland REGION XIdahoBurley Canyon County Emmett Magic Valley Payette Rexburg Oregon Hood River Madras Milton-Freewater Ontario Woodburn Washington Bellingham Columbia Gorge Moses Lake Mount Vernon Okanogan Sunnyside Tri-Cities Walla Walla Wenatchee Yakima Denotes Bilingual Status 17 Table 5 STATES WITH HIGHEST ESTIMATED MSFW ACTIVITY The following are the five States with the highest year-round MSFW activity California Texas Florida Washington North Carolina In accordance with federal regulations at 20 CFR 653.107 i these States must assign full-time year-round staff to outreach duties. The remainder of the significant MSFW States shall make maximum efforts to hire outreach staff with MSFW experience for year-round positions and shall assign outreach staff to work full time during the period s of the highest activity. Such outreach staff shall be bilingual if warranted by the characteristics of the MSFW population in the State and shall spend a majority of their time in the field.