UIPL10-11aA.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

1 Attachment A UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE UI REEMPLOYMENT AND ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT REA PROPOSAL OUTLINE FOR FIRST YEAR REA GRANTS 1. UI REA Grant Project Summary . States should use this outline to develop their proposal to implement the UI REA program. All proposals must include the Unemployment Insurance Reemployment and Eligibility Assessments Cover Sheet found in Attachment B. 2. Project Costs . Proposals must include a description of proposed expenditures and a projected schedule for significant project activities. The costs should be identified separately as start-up costs and the projected costs for one year of operation. Start-up costs would include the costs of staff training program implementation automation costs related to the delivery and records keeping necessary for the REA program and the costs of developing the ETA 9128 and the ETA 9129 OMB approval No. 1205-0456 . Any proposed expenditures in the proposal that do not include all of the required information will not be funded. As of the date of issuance of this UIPL the United States Department of Labor USDOL has been funded under a continuing resolution CR for REA activities for slightly less than one half of the funding level of FY 2010. The current CR ends on March 4 2011. Due to the uncertain status of the budget it is necessary for states to provide funding leve ls both for a full year of REA activities and for only a six-month period beginning April 1 2011 and ending September 30 2011. If it is necessary to issue incremental funding to states due to an additional continuing resolution s states will be advised of the funding status and the USDOL will address this in the grant award letter. Fixed Minimum Costs The proposal should include fixed minimum costs. As a part of the fixed minimum costs the proposal should describe the costs to implement the REA program and conduct the first 10 000 assessments. States may propose to conduct less than 10 000 assessments and should calculate costs accordingly. Fixed costs should also include the projected costs for programming the ETA 9128 and ETA 9129 reports as a one-time cost. Reporting instructions can be found in ET Handbook No. 401 4 th Edition and edits for these two reports can be found in ET Handbook No. 402 5 th Edition. These instructions should assist in determining the approximate programming time needed to develop these required reports. The costs for programming these reports should be clearly identified in the project costs. Incremental Costs If the state proposes to conduct more than 10 000 REAs the proposal should also include incremental costs. These costs should be expressed as costs per 10 000 assessments. States that do not wish to perform more than 10 000 assessments do not need to submit this information. Incremental costs consist primarily of costs related to conducting the REA rather than costs such as develop ment of management information systems. Regardless of the total number of proposed REAs states should ensure that costs are provided on a sliding scale at 10 00 0 increments. It may be possible to fund a partial increase but not possible to fund a ver y large increase in the number of REAs. 2 Types of REAs The total projected number of individual initial and subsequent if any REAs should be provided along with the projected cost for each type of R EA. In addition states should provide the number of projected REAs for which the claimant does not report along with the cost of rescheduling the REA. Claimants who do not report as scheduled should be referred to adjudication and or they may be rescheduled for an REA. 3. Scoring Elements . The following elements are used to score the proposal. Proposals must have a score of 80 points or more to be recommended for funding. Therefore each element is important and should be addressed fully in the proposal. Proposals should use the following format. a. Project Costs 15 percent of total score Staff Costs . The proposal should identify both state staffing needs in excess of base staff and any contract staff needs. Staff needs should include the type of position the expected number of staff hours and the projected hourly cost. Staff cost estimates should reflect only actual hours to be worked. Staff costs for new REA programs may include costs to conduct the REA staff training and development of procedures. States should identify separately all staff costs for developing REA reports and programming requirements separate from the costs for providing REAs to claimants. States should include information in the following format for all staff requests. Position Title HoursCost Per HourTotal Cost Claims Examiner 120 50 6 000 States should charge all staff time utilized for the REA program to an REA project code. If contract staff is requested documentation should include the type of position estimated contract staff hours anticipated costs per hour and total cost. Other . The proposal should include costs for other activities and or equipment not identified above. Each cost should be broken down to the specific cost item with a description of each cost and the associated costs for each item requested. All costs must be related to providing REAs to claimants. b. Project Design 45 percent of total score A description of the REA program should address in detail the processes that will be put in place to ensure that all core components described in the Guidelines section 5 and 6 of this UIPL are met. Proposals should include narrative that is responsive to the follow ing project design elements A description of the collaborative process used to develop the REA desig n and or to adapt the design to meet the new requirements and the types of partners engaged The geographic locations where the REA program will be implemented 3 The process for selecting claimants to be assessed. The proposal should identify the target group for their REA program. For example states have tried various methods including focusing on those claimants most likely to exhaust their benefits focusing on claimants with a lower profiling score who might be likely to return to work more quickly and focusing on claimants who have job skills that are in high demand The points in time in the claims series when the claimants will be notified of their scheduled REA s Whether the state will conduct single or multiple REAs for individual claimants. If multiple REAs are conducted for claimants provide the projected schedule and the number of REAs the state anticipates scheduling for each claimant who remains unemployed How the claimants from the target group will be assigned to the REA treatment group and to the comparison group How the various REA components will be staffed. States should ensure that proposed staffing arrangements have been agreed upon by all parties prior to submitting the REA proposal How the state will leverage REA funds with funding under the Workforce Investment Act WIA to better serve the UI beneficiaries How One-Stop Career Centers will provide the services identified in the Guidelines section including triage to identify reemployment needs orientation to help claimants access self-service core services offered through the One-Stop in cluding labor market and career information ensure registration in the State s job bank make other referrals to One-Stop services and support the development of the claimant s reemployment plan How the state will secure a written agreement or Memorandum of Understanding MOU with participating One-Stop Career Centers. A copy of the agree ment or MOU should be submitted with the proposal. In the event that the MOU is under development and has not yet been finalized states should provide the anticipated date of completion and should submit a copy of the MOU by that date How eligibility issues will be referred to UI adjudication staff How eligibility assessments will be structured How information will be shared among UI and workforce staff and how the work search plan and related activities will be documented A description of the processes that will make up the feedback loop that will provide information to the UI program staff about the results of referrals to reemployment services and A description of any additional factors not covered in this list that will be a part of the project. In addition states are asked to provide brief answers to the elements below. This information will be shared with states seeking assistance to implement or change an REA project. It will also be used to provide information as needed for UI management staff. The information will be compiled and will be available to all states. This information is not used for scoring purposes and an extensive narrative is not needed. Identify which staff will conduct each of the REA key components on the initial REA whether they will be conducted on an individual basis or in a group sett ing and the average time required for each activity. Staff identification should contain the p rogram office in 4 which the staff works such as UI the Employment Service ES or other. Any additional activities should be included in the table. The sum of the average time for each activity below should be equal to the time for the complete initial REA. Individual Activity Staff Group Average Time Eligibility Review Labor Market Information Individual Service Plan Orientation Referral to Reemployment Services If the state plans to conduct multiple REAs for individual claimants it should provide the activities type of staff involved whether individual or group service s and the average time for subsequent REA s . Staff identification should contain the program office in which the staff works such as UI the Employment Service ES or other. Any additional activities should be included in the table. The sum of the average time for each activity below should be equal to the time needed to complete subsequent REA. Individual Check if Activity Staff Group Average Time by Telephone Eligibility Review Labor Market Information Individual Service Plan Orientation Referral to Reemployment Services c. Performance Accountability and Reporting 15 percent of total score The proposal should identify areas in which UI program performance is expected to improve as a result of the REA program such as increasing the numbers of UI claimants receiving workforce services improved employment outcomes reductions in average benefit duration and reductions in improper payments. The proposal should also explain how expected performance improvements will be measured. In addition the narrative should contain an affirmation that the state will comply with the REA reporting requirements as described in Section 7 of this UIPL See Handbook No. 401 4 th Edition . d. Estimated Time and Cost for Each Assessment 15 percent of total score The proposal must include an estimate of the time and the cost requirements for each REA. If appropriate varying levels of service may be specified in conjunction with varying costs e.g. it may cost less to serve claimants who are determined to be job ready. Sufficient information should be provided to illustrate how the state determined the projected staff costs and projected staff time for the various components of the assessment that were used to determine the maximum number of REAs that could be accomplished based upon the grant amount requested. 5 e. Project Timeline 10 percent of total score A timeline of the project must be included that identifies significant milestones in implementing the program including project design and any staff training. The timeline should include a projected date for completion of programming the selection of participants and tracking of participants. It should also include the p rojected completion date of the REA required reports the ETA 9128 and the ETA 9129 and the date that the first REAs will be offered. Funding will be based upon the timeline provided by the state. f. Collaboration with Service Providers An agreement or Memorandum of Understanding MOU is required to be developed by UI and appropriate service providers who partner with UI for the REA program. This ensures that the necessary partners commit to providing reemployment services as required by the grant. In addition states in which the UI partner has entered into an agreement with One-Stop Career Center staff to provide the REA must gain a commitment of staff to perform the necessary tasks. States must submit a copy of the agreement or MOU. If the agreement MOU has not been finalized the state must provide the estimated date of submission. In addition the agreement or MOU must contain Names of all parties to the agreement A brief description of the collaborative process jointly developed Identification of those who will provide the specific services Description s of how feedback will be provided and Description s of the role of the service providers. g. Supporting Materials States may attach additional materials that will support the proposal.