TEN36-06acc.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 NO. 36-06 TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT NOTICE DATE June 21 2007 To ALL STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES ALL STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER LEADS From GAY GILBERT s Administrator Office of Workforce Investment MARIA KNIESLER FLYNN s Administrator Office of Policy Development and Research Subject Human Services Transportation Coordination 1. Purpose . The purpose of this Training and Employment Notice TEN is to announce two recently released policies from the Interagency Council on Access and Mobility and identify how the workforce investment system can link to a newly devised coordinated human services transportation planning process. These coordination policies were promulgated to 1 promote the participation of federally-assisted grantees in a locally-coordinated human services transportation planning process which would reduce transportation duplication increase service efficiency and expand access for populations that face major transportation challenges and 2 coordinate resources to maximize accessibility and availability of transportation services by encouraging vehicles and rides to be shared with other federally-assisted programs customers or other members of the riding public. 2. References . Training and Employment Notice No. 8-05 Human Service Transportation Coordination Resources Developed by the United We Ride Initiative. 3. Background . Transportation continues to top the list of support services necessary to assist people who are transit disadvantaged e.g. people who are low-income disabled and or elderly to become employed. A 2005 study by the Community Transportation Association of America CTAA looked at One-Stop Career Center services and found that nearly half of their customers were transportation disadvantaged. A 2005 survey of Disability Program Navigators DPNs located in EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 2 One-Stop Career Centers identified transportation as the most significant barrier to employment. Transportation is a frequently cited barrier to both employment and access to the One-Stop Career Centers services for customers who fall into one of the groups above. Approximately 80 percent of One-Stop Career Centers recently surveyed by CTAA provide some form of transportation assistance to their customers. While most provide information on available transportation services some One- Stop Career Centers provide more direct services such as tokens or vouchers to ride transit gas allowance for car trips funding for bus or van services in addition to other support. 4. Interagency Coordinating Council . Presidential Executive Order 13330 issued on February 24 2004 established the interagency transportation Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility CCAM to reduce duplication among federally-funded human service transportation services increase the efficient delivery of such services and expand transportation access for persons who are older have disabilities are low-income children and other disadvantaged populations. CCAM members are charged with implementing actions and developing guidance to accomplish Federal program grantee participation in locally-developed coordinated public transit human service coordinated planning processes. The Department of Labor DOL is a member of the CCAM and continues to work closely with the other partners Departments of Veterans Affairs Transportation Health and Human Services Education Interior Housing and Urban Development United States Department of Agriculture the Commissioner of the Social Security Administration Attorney General and Chairperson of the National Council on Disability on issues related to human service transportation coordination. In October 2005 the CCAM adopted two policies to achieve additional coordinated planning and transportation service delivery local coordinated human service transportation planning process and vehicle resource sharing. 5. Coordinated Planning . In its 2005 Report to President George W. Bush the CCAM recommended that a coordinated planning process for human service transportation programs be established. Subsequently on August 10 2005 the President signed legislation to reauthorize Federal public transportation and highway programs that included such a coordinated planning process. This legislation the Safe Affordable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act A Legacy for Users SAFETEA-LU included a requirement for a locally developed coordinated public transit human service plan for the Federal Transit Administration s FTA three human service transportation programs for underserved populations which are the Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Job Access and Reverse Commute and the New Freedom Programs. Funding for these programs is contingent upon EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 3 communities establishing an initial locally-coordinated transportation plan by 2007 and a complete plan by 2008. 6. CCAM Vehicle Resource Sharing Policy . While workforce investment programs only reimburse individual customer travel costs rather then invest in transportation service delivery systems knowledge of the CCAM Vehicle Sharing policy may be of interest to recipients of workforce investment funding. This policy clarifies that Federal cost principles do not restrict Federally-assisted grants and programs to serve only their own customers. Applicable cost principles enable grantees to share their own vehicles if the cost of providing transportation to the community is also shared. This policy seeks to maximize the use of all available transportation vehicles and facilitates access for persons with disabilities persons with low income children and senior citizens to and from community and medical sites employment and training opportunities and other necessary services. Such arrangements can enhance service by increasing the pool of transportation services reducing the amount of time that vehicles are idled and reducing or eliminating duplication of routes and services in the community. Although this policy may not always apply to One-Stop Career Centers it is important to be aware of it as you participate in the local coordinated planning process. Refer to the attached policy statement. 7. CCAM Local Coordinated Human Services Transportation Planning Process. This policy states that Federally-assisted grantees having significant involvement in providing service delivery should participate in a local coordinated human service transportation policy and develop plans to achieve the objectives of reducing duplication increasing service efficiency and expanding access to persons who are transportation-disadvantaged. Refer to the attached policy statement. 8. How to Get Involved in the Coordinated Planning Process . Participation by a wide variety of stakeholders including One-Stop Career Centers and Local Workforce Investment Boards LWIBs is required in the development of locally-coordinated public human services transportation plans. One-Stop Career Center and LWIB staff can take advantage of the funding programs listed above and the new coordinated planning process described here to increase transportation for persons who are low- income older have disabilities and other One-Stop Career Center customers. The most effective way for LWIBs and One-Stop Career Centers to become involved with the development of this coordinated plan is to contact the Metropolitan Planning Organizations MPOs in urbanized areas to ask about the statewide planning process. A national directory of state MPOs can be found at http www.ampo.org directory index.php . EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 4 One-Stop Career Centers outside urbanized areas need to contact transportation providers operating in the areas served by their One-Stop Career Centers and or their state Department of Transportation about the statewide planning process. The Federal Transit Administration has released its final guidance on SAFETEA- LU s three human service transportation programs Elderly Individual and Individuals with Disabilities Job Access and Reverse Commute and New Freedom including the new requirement for developing a coordinated public transit human service transportation plan. The final guidance is available at http www.fta.dot.gov laws circulars leg reg 6622.html 9. Additional SAFETEA-LU Provisions . a Job Access and Reverse Commute JARC SAFETEA-LU continues to fund the JARC program which provides communities with funding to develop and support transportation services to connect people who are low income and or welfare recipients with employment sites. This program provides formula-based assistance to states and urbanized areas based on low-income and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families TANF populations. Funding is provided for local programs that offer job access and reverse commute transportation services for individuals who are low income and who live in the city core and work in suburban locations. Urbanized area recipients and states select JARC projects based on competitive solicitations. Funds may be awarded for capital projects 80 percent federal share or operating projects 50 percent federal share . Under SAFETEA-LU the program continues its allowance for matching dollars to be supplied through other Federal funding such as the TANF program the Workforce Investment Act WIA Social Security Block Grants SSBG and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HUD in addition to traditional state and local investments. JARC projects must be derived from the coordinated local human services transportation plans starting in FY 2007. To facilitate these planning efforts up to 10 percent of JARC funds may be used for project administration planning and technical assistance activities. The JARC program is funded for 138 million in 2006 144 million in 2007 156 million in 2008 and 165 million in 2009. http www.fta.dot.gov laws circulars leg reg 6623.html http www.fta.dot.gov documents FTA New Freedom Fact Sheet Sept05.pd f . EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 5 b New Freedom Program SAFETEA-LU continues all the transit programs that have helped address the mobility needs of persons with disabilities. It also adds a new program the New Freedom Program which further enhances the national commitment to access and mobility. The New Freedom Program is funded at 78 million for fiscal year 2006 81 million for fiscal year 2007 87.5 million for fiscal year 2008 and 92.5 million for fiscal year 2009. The New Freedom Program is a formula-based grant that is part of a larger government-wide New Freedom Initiative NFI that President Bush established in 2001 under Presidential Executive Order 13217. The NFI promotes the integration of persons with disabilities into the workforce and into community life through a variety of strategies implemented by the Federal Departments of Labor Health and Human Services Housing and Urban Development Education Justice Veterans Affairs and now Transportation. Funds will be awarded competitively and eligible sub-recipients are units of state or local government nonprofit organizations and other public and private operators of public transportation services. New Freedom Program transportation projects are to be derived from locally-developed coordinated public transit-human service transportation plans. Communities can use New Freedom Program transportation dollars to provide expanded public transportation services and alternatives to public transportation beyond those accessible transportation services required by the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA . Such services may assist persons with disabilities to access jobs and employment-related services beyond those provided by existing transit systems. The New Freedom Program s formula grant goal is to provide additional tools to overcome barriers facing Americans with disabilities seeking integration into the workforce and full participation in society. These funds may be used for capital expenses at an 80 percent Federal share or operating expenses at a 50 percent Federal share . The non-Federal share may be obtained from cash service agreements with state local or private social services organizations or from other Federal funding sources including TANF and WIA which allow their funds to be expended on transportation activities. http www.fta.dot.gov laws circulars leg reg 6624.html http www.fta.dot.gov documents FTA New Freedom Fact Sheet Sept05.pd f . EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 6 c Mobility Management Transportation Navigation Activities As communities build partnerships employ new approaches and secure funding to begin or maintain additional transportation services they are also implementing efforts to ensure that as many people as possible can access services to get them where they need to go. The concept of mobility management now frequently referred to as one-on-one transportation coordination or transportation navigation is an activity increasingly being adopted by coalitions of workforce development professionals the disability services community human service agencies and transportation providers. Local communities are beginning to explore options for funding transportation navigators as staff to address individual travel needs. Transportation navigators could undertake a range of roles from working at a community regional level to ensure that there are enough transportation services available to meet the needs of a diverse population with a myriad of destinations to actually working on a one- on-one basis with One-Stop Career Center customers so that they can link to those available services. Although mobility management and transportation navigator activities are eligible expenses under the JARC and New Freedom Programs SAFETEA-LU transportation navigation mobility management activities can be funded by other FTA programs as well. When FTA funds are used for mobility management transportation navigator activities a 20 percent non-FTA match is required. As with the JARC and New Freedom Programs this match can be obtained from other Federal programs in addition to dollars derived from cash debt reserves state or local government revenues or income from social service contracts even if those funds are Federal in origin. 10. Resources a United We Ride is an interagency Federal initiative that supports states and their localities in developing coordinated human services planning activities and delivery systems. Resource and technical assistance information is available at www.unitedweride.gov . b One Vision. One Call. is new educational campaign launched by United We Ride to simplify access in every community across America. Regardless of who you are where you are going what type of ride you need who is providing the ride or who is paying for the ride consumers should only have to call one number. One Vision. One Call. includes a brochure PowerPoint presentation and talking points that can be used across the country to help educate consumers providers and policy makers. Materials are available at http www.unitedweride.gov 1 1207 ENG HTML.htm EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR WASHINGTON D.C. 20210 7 c A Report on One Stop Centers and Employment Transportation April 2006 CTAA. This report presents the survey results from One-Stop Career Centers and Workforce Investment Boards. It focuses on how these entities view transportation issues within the context of other issues which they face what types of partnerships they have developed to address the transportation needs of their customers how they have implemented technological developments in their outreach efforts and identifies the challenges and successes of their current practices. http www.ctaa.org atj resources currentresources one stop final.pdf d Linking People to the Workplace Transportation Strategies and Practices October 2005 CTAA. This publication a companion to the Linking People to the Workplace Toolkit http www.ctaa.org ntrc atj toolkit index.asp is a collection of resources to support workforce development transportation and human services partners in meeting the mobility needs of low income individuals and or persons with disabilities. It includes information on funding opportunities effective local practices and recommended strategies. http www.ctaa.org ntrc atj joblinks linking people workplace.pdf . Also available from the CTAA Web site is Disability Program Navigators Resources for Meeting the Mobility Needs of People with Disabilities. http www.ctaa.org ntrc dpn . The CTAA Web site s Information Station has links to resources on employment transportation and service for passengers with disabilities. e Easter Seals Project ACTION is a national technical assistance project working with the transportation industry and the disability community to increase the availability and use of accessible transportation by people with disabilities. Project ACTION provides free resources and technical assistance http www.projectaction.org or 1-800-659-6428 . Its Web site includes the publication But How Do I Get There Making the Transportation Link for Job Seekers with Disabilities A Guide for One-Stop Career Center Staff. http projectaction.easterseals.com site DocServer onestop brochure.pdf docI D 16883 11. Action Required . Recipients are requested to distribute this TEN to the state and local Workforce Investment Boards other workforce development partners and providers. 12. Inquiries Contact . Questions on this TEN should be directed to Mary Ann Donovan at 202 693-3936 and Randee Chafkin at 202 693-2723. 13. Attachments