uipl_10_12_acc_att_a.pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

Attachment A UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE UI REEMPLOYMENT AND ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT REA PROPOSAL OUTLINE FOR FIRST YEAR UI REA GRANTS 1. UI REA Grant Project Summary . States must use this outline to develop their proposal to implement the UI REA program. All proposals must include an abstract of the UI REA grant proposal containing the elements described in Attachment B Elements of an Unemployment Insurance UI Reemployment and Eligibility Assessment REA Grant Proposal Abstract. 2. Project Costs . Proposals must include a description of all 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. The expenditures for the startup activities are part of the grant and are subject to its rules. Start-up costs would include the costs of staff training program implementation automation costs related to the delivery and records keeping necessary for the UI REA program and the costs of completing the ETA 9128 and the ETA 9129 OMB approval No. 1205-0456 . ETA will not fund any proposal until the state has provided all of the required cost information to support its proposed expenditures. A. 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 UI REA program and to conduct the first 10 000 assessments. States may propose to conduct fewer 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 Employment and Training 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. B. Incremental Costs If the state proposes to conduct more than 10 000 UI REAs the proposal should also include incremental costs. These costs should be expressed as costs per 10 000 UI REAs. States that do not wish to perform more than 10 000 UI REAs do not need to submit this information. Incremental costs consist primarily of costs related to conducting the UI REA rather than costs such as development of management information systems. Regardless of the total number of proposed UI REAs states should ensure that costs are provided in increments of 10 000 UI REAs or less. It may be possible to fund a partial increase but not possible to fund a very large increase in the number of UI REAs. For example a state proposing to raise the number of UI REAs from 10 000 to 40 000 in Fiscal Year 2012 must provide costs associated with providing 10 000 20 000 30 000 and 40 000 UI REAs. 2 C. Initial and Subsequent UI REAs The total projected number of individual initial and subsequent if any UI REAs should be provided along with the projected cost for each type of UI REA. In addition states should provide the number of projected UI REAs for which the claimant does not report along with the cost of rescheduling the UI REA. Claimants who do not report as scheduled must be referred to adjudication and they may be rescheduled for a UI 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 a. 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 UI REA programs may include costs to conduct the UI REA staff training and development of procedures. States should identify separately all staff costs for developing UI REA reports and programming requirements separate from the costs for providing UI REAs to claimants. States should include information in the following format for all staff requests. Position Title Hours Cost Per Hour Total Cost UI REA Interviewer 120 50 6 000 States must charge all staff time used for the UI REA program to a UI REA project code. Both management and other staff may be working on the UI REA program on a part-time basis while assuming other duties. Only the portion of work that accrues to the UI REA initiative may be funded under this grant. Thus the proposal should identify only the project time that will be devoted solely to the UI REA project for all staff hours for which funding is requested. If contract staff is requested documentation should include the type of position estimated contract staff hours anticipated costs per hour and total cost. b. 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 UI REAs to claimants. c. Total Costs. The proposal should include the total funding request. Spreadsheets used to calculate and total these costs should be included. 3 B. Project Design 45 percent of total score The description of the UI 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 Unemployment Insurance Program Letter UIPL are met. Proposals should include a narrative that is responsive to the following project design elements a. A description of the collaborative process used to develop the UI REA design and or to adapt the design to meet the new requirements and the types of partners engaged. b. The geographic locations where the UI REA program will be implemented. c. The process for selecting UI claimants to be assessed. The proposal should identify the target group for the UI 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. d. The point s in time in the claims series when the claimants will be notified of their scheduled UI REA s . e. A description of whether the state will conduct single or multiple UI REAs for individual claimants. If multiple UI REAs are conducted for claimants provide the projected schedule and the number of UI REAs the state anticipates scheduling for each claimant who remains unemployed. f. An explanation of how claimants from the target group will be assigned to the UI REA treatment group and how they will be assigned to the comparison group. g. A description of how the various UI REA components will be staffed. States should ensure that proposed staffing arrangements have been agreed upon by all parties before submitting the UI REA proposal. h. A description of how the state will leverage UI REA funds with funding under the Workforce Investment Act WIA to better serve the UI claimants. i. An explanation of how One-Stop Career Centers will provide the services identified in the Guidelines section Section 5 of this UIPL including triage to identify reemployment needs orientation to help claimants access self-service core services offered through the One-Stop including 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. 4 j. An explanation of how the state will secure a written agreement or Memorandum of Understanding MOU with participating One-Stop Career Centers. A copy of the agreement or MOU must 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 soon after that date. The requirements for MOUs are discussed in more detail in paragraph F below. k. A description of how eligibility issues will be referred to UI adjudication staff. l. A description of how eligibility assessments will be structured. m. A description of how information will be shared among UI Wagner-Peyser and WIA staff and workforce staff and how the work search plan and related activities will be documented. n. 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. o. 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 a UI 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 UI REA key components on the initial UI REA whether UI REAs will be conducted on an individual basis or in a group setting and the average time required for each activity. Staff identification should contain the program office in which the staff works such as UI 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 UI REA. Activity Eligibility Review Labor Market Information Individual Service Plan Orientation Referral to Reemployment Services Staff Individual Group 5 If the state plans to conduct multiple UI REAs for individual claimants it should provide the activities type of staff involved whether an individual or group service s and the average time for a subsequent UI REA s . Staff identification should contain the program office in which the staff works such as UI 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 a subsequent UI REA. Activity Staff Individual or Group Check if by Telephone Eligibility Review Labor Market Information Individual Service Plan Orientation Referral to Reemployment Services C. Perf ormance 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 UI 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 UI 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 UI REA. The total time funded for an individual UI REA cannot exceed two hours. 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 UI REAs that could be accomplished based upon the grant amount requested. 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 projected completion 6 date of the UI REA required reports the ETA 9128 and the ETA 9129 and the date that the first UI REAs will be offered. Scoring will be based upon the timeline provided by the state. F. Collaboration with Service Providers An agreement or MOU must be developed by UI and appropriate service providers who partner with UI for the UI 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 UI 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.