TEGL 2-22, Change 2 (Accessible PDF).pdf

ETA Advisory File Text

RESCISSIONS None EXPIRATION DATE Continuing ADVISORY TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 2-22 CHANGE 2 TO STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARDS AND CHAIRS STATE LABOR COMMISSIONERS INDIAN AND NATIVE AMERICAN PROGRAM GRANTEES FROM BRENT PARTON Acting Assistant Secretary SUBJECT 2023 QUEST Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants Funding Announcement 1. Purpose. To announce the availability of funding for 2023 Quality Jobs Equity Strategy and Training QUEST Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants DWGs and convey updated submission and project requirements. 2. Action Requested. ETA will award funds to responsive high-quality applications on a first- come first-served basis while funding remains available. Any eligible applicants should submit applications no later than August 4 2023 at 4 00 p.m. EDT as described in Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL 2-2 2 section h. Grants.gov Submission Process. Please share with all staff who administer DWGs Unemployment Insurance and Employment Services to ensure high-quality applications. Please disseminate this guidance to all interested entities and potential partners. 3. Summary and Background. a. Summary This Change 2 to TEGL 2-22 announces the availability of funding for 2023 Quality Jobs Equity Strategy and Training QUEST Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants DWGs and conveys updated submission and project requirements. Award amounts for 2023 QUEST DWGs will be up to 5 million for the grant period of performance. Updates to TEGL 2-2 2 are outlined in section 4 below. b. Background While the public health emergency declaration has been rescinded the uneven health employment and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION ADVISORY SYSTEM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Washington D.C. 20210 CLASSIFICATION DWG CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL OWI-DASG DATE 2 continue to create challenges for the nation s full recovery. Many of the workers most impacted by the resulting economic downturn were employed in the care economy hospitality and transportation and logistics sectors. These sectors are dominated by people of color immigrants people with disabilities individuals who were formerly incarcerated women and lower-wage workers. Furthermore global supply chain disruptions caused the displacement of workers who would have been eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance TAA program services however this program is not accepting new participants. These conditions continue the need for 2023 QUEST DWG grants to support pandemic-impacted workers industries and communities now and for years to come. Applicants may propose 2023 QUEST grant activities that address workforce needs in the following sectors Infrastructure Care Economy Hospitality Climate and Environment such as climate change mitigation clean energy transition efforts construction manufacturing and technology or Other industries or sectors relevant to their local economy. 4. 2023 QUEST DWG Funding Opportunity. a. Applicant Eligibility. Eligible applicants for all Disaster Recovery DWGs including the 2023 QUEST DWGs are i. the state ii. an outlying area or iii. Indian tribal governments as defined by the Stafford Act 42 U.S.C. 5122 6 . DWG projects are funded by Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act WIOA Dislocated Worker Program and are therefore considered required partners in the American Job Center AJC network. Grant recipients that are not already AJC partners through the WIOA Dislocated Worker Program must engage with the local workforce development board within six months of the grant award to become a partner in the AJC network which may include contributing to operating costs of the one-stop delivery system as described in Training and Employment Guidance Letter no. 17-16... In addition applicants are strongly encouraged to review performance accountability and grant management requirements and technical assistance resources in the reference section below to understand performance reporting requirements for the DWG program. b. Participant Eligibility. Individuals who are eligible for WIOA Disaster Recovery DWGs are i. individuals temporarily or permanently laid off as a consequence of the COVID- 19 pandemic disaster ii. long -term unemployed individuals as defined by the applicant iii. d islocated workers as defined by WIOA Section 3 15 and 3 iv. self-employed individuals who became unemployed or significantly underemployed due to the disaster. To maximize benefits to individuals and communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic ETA encourages grant recipients to strive to enroll the largest number of eligible participants possible under the 2023 QUEST DWG. The participant eligibility categories above provide grant recipients with substantial flexibility in how to apply them for purposes of a Disaster Recovery DWG. For example the individuals temporarily or permanently laid off as a consequence of the pandemic group provides grantees with the flexibility to determine whether individuals who were working before but became unemployed because of the health or economic impacts of the pandemic may be eligible to participate in grant activities. This definition also notes that such a layoff may be temporary in nature and grant recipients have the authority to determine how that term is interpreted for Disaster Recovery DWGs including 2023 QUEST DWGs. Another definition that provides grant recipients a good deal of latitude to apply to individual eligibility determination is long-term unemployed individuals. Under DWG guidance per TEGL 16-21 long-term unemployed individual is defined by the applicant and is not required to align with the Bureau of Labor Statistics definition. Grantee recipients may interpret this to include individuals who have no work history have been incarcerated have otherwise not worked for an extended period or in other ways that ensure that they can enroll the largest number of participants. In addition grantee recipients are reminded that workers who became unemployed or are threatened with job loss because of foreign trade are by definition dislocated workers and therefore eligible to participate in a 2023 QUEST DWG. While not a replacement for the TAA program 2023 QUEST DWG applicants may serve individuals who were certified or would have been eligible for TAA program services had the TAA Program not entered termination. 2023 QUEST DWG grantee policies should include define and describe all participant eligibility criteria. Lastly in 2022 the Departments of Labor and Commerce published The Good Jobs Principles a shared federal vision of job quality describing the core elements of a good job. ETA recommends each applicant frame their project s job quality components using these Principles. c. Required Grant Activities. The 2023 QUEST DWG required activities are the same as those described in TEGL 2-22. However the Department emphasizes the importance of providing comprehensive necessary supportive services including childcare transportation housing mental health supports and other allowable services to program 4 participants to enable them to successfully complete grant activities and meet their planned employment and training goals. d. Availability of Funds and Application Review and Award. The period of performance for the 2023 QUEST DWG grants is 36 months. Grants will start on October 1 2023 and conclude on September 30 2026. e. Attachment A QUEST DWG Terminology. The 2023 QUEST DWG replaces the term High-quality jobs in TEGL No. 2-22 Attachment A with the definition of Good Jobs provided in Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 7-22. The characteristics of good jobs and the importance of integrating good job strategies in the public workforce development system are incorporated into this Change 2 by reference. These characteristics align with The Good Jobs Principles a shared federal vision of job quality published in 2022 by the Departments of Labor and Commerce. ETA recommends each applicant frame their project s job quality components using these Principles. f. Application Requirements. This Change 2 clarifies that the information requested in Attachment 1 the 2023 QUEST DWG Suggested Grant Application replaces Attachment B QUEST DWG Project Synopsis form that was published in TEGL 2-22. The following four items must be submitted through grants.gov at www.grants.gov i. An electronically signed copy of an SF-424 - Application for Federal Assistance OMB Control No. 4040-0004 ii. An SF-424A - Budget Information Non-Construction Programs OMB Control No. 4040-0006 iii. A Budget Narrative to explain the projected costs reflected in each line item of the SF-424A demonstrating how grant funds will be used. See Attachment 2 for instructions on completing the budget narrative and iv. A completed 2023 QUEST DWG Suggested Application Attachment 1 or another file format with the information requested in Attachment 1. g. Office of Management and Budget OMB Information Collection OMB Information Collection No 1225-0086 Expires July 31 2025. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 20 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions searching existing data sources gathering and maintaining the data needed and completing and reviewing the collection of information. 5 Send comments about the burden estimated or any other aspect of this collection of information including suggestions for reducing this burden to the U.S. Department of Labor to the attention of the Departmental Clearance Officer 200 Constitution Avenue NW Room N-1301 Washington D.C. 20210. Comments may also be emailed to DOL PRA PUBLIC dol.gov. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR GRANT APPLICATION TO THIS ADDRESS. SEND ONLY COMMENTS ABOUT THE BURDEN CAUSED BY THE COLLECTION OF INFORMATION TO THIS ADDRESS. SEND YOUR GRANT APPLICATION TO THE SPONSORING AGENCY AS SPECIFIED EARLIER IN THIS ANNOUNCEMENT. The information being collected through this Training and Employment Guidance Letter is for the purpose of awarding a grant. This information is required to be considered for this grant. 5. Inquiries. Questions regarding this guidance should be directed to the Grant Specialist Ms. Diane Easterling at DOL-ETA-DWG dol.gov with 2023 QUEST DWG in the subject line. 6. References. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act WIOA sec. 170 Pub. L. No. 113-128 128 STAT. 1425 1573-1576 July 22 2014 20 CFR pt. 687 Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL No. 7-22 Increasing Employer and Workforce System Customer Access to Good Jobs January 18 2023 Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL No. 2-22 QUEST Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants Funding Announcement July 5 2022 Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL No. 16-21 Updated National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance June 16 2022 TEGL No. 14-18 Aligning Performance Accountability Reporting Definitions and Policies Across Workforce Employment and Training Programs Administered by the U.S. Department of Labor DOL March 25 2019 Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL No. 19-16 Guidance on Services Provided through the Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act WIOA and the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service ES as amended by title III of WIOA and for the implementation of the WIOA Final Rules March 1 2017 Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL No. 17-16 Infrastructure Funding of the One-Stop Delivery System January 18 2017 Department of Commerce and Department of Labor Good Jobs Principles site https www.dol.gov general good-jobs principles Employment and Training Administration Performance site https www.dol.gov agencies eta performance National Dislocated Worker Grant WorkforceGPS Community of Practice Performance Reporting Resources 6 https dwg.workforcegps.org resources 2022 05 18 13 44 DWG-Performance- Reporting-Resources and Employment and Training Administration Grants site https www.dol.gov agencies eta grants management 7. Attachments. Attachment I - 2023 QUEST DWG Suggested Application Form Attachment II - Instruction Sheet for Completing the Budget Narrative