Reference: UIPL NO. 16-94 (March 15, 1994), UIPL NO. 3-93 (November 9, 1992) The RQC is a continuation of the quality control system initiated under a Federal regulation published in 20 CFR Part 602, effective October 5, 1987. Under the Regulation, the Federal-State UI system is required to have a quality control program to assess the timeliness and accuracy of the States' administration of their UI programs. As a result, the Benefit Quality Control program was started in 1988 to assess the quality of paying UI benefits. To evaluate the quality of UI tax operations, the RQC program was added. The RQC was designed and developed with extensive input of State UI tax experts working in the National Office on temporary Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assignments, a panel of State experts on tax policy and administration, and State and Regional staff involved in the RQC pre-test and pilot test. Following training provided to State RQC program reviewers and ADP staff, 52 States began voluntary implementation of RQC in mid and late 1993. The voluntary implementation phase was an effective test of RQC applications under varying State rules and procedures, generating a number of improvements and modifications in RQC operating procedures. A series of clarifications, questions and answers has been released to States and Regions via UI Program Letter 16-94. To avoid duplicating QA tax performance measures, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) conditioned approval for mandatory Federal collection of RQC data on the elimination of QA-RQC overlap. The following implementation plan is designed to address OMB stipulations. Phased Implementation of RQC: The RQC workgroup is preparing for a phased-in implementation of RQC in 1995 and 1996, under existing statutory authority. Mandatory implementation of RQC Computed Measures will coincide with distribution to the States of a revised form ETA 581 and instructions. The revised instructions contain clarifications to definitions and previous instructions, and the addition of new reporting items in the areas of Report Delinquency, Status Determination, Total Wages Audited and Accounts Receivable. These changes are in the OMB clearance process, and are expected to be approved in the fall of 1994. Immediately afterward, the revised form and instructions will be released to all State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) via a change to ET Handbook No. 401, 2nd Edition. The following steps are designed to coordinate RQC, QA, and ETA 581 reporting for full implementation of RQC. The phased implementa- tion plan has three main components: Step 1. Initiate RQC's Computed Measures with the revised form ETA 581 reporting requirements. Reporting on the revised form is expected to become effective at the start of Calendar Year 1995 (CY 95), with data for the quarter ending March 31, 1995 due in the National Office on May 20, 1995. Step 2. Suspend Quality Appraisal tax reviews after the November 1994 - January 1995 reviews are completed. Data from final QA tax reviews will be published in the 1995 QA Report. Step 3. The balance of RQC (Systems Reviews, Acceptance Sampling and Methods Surveys) will be mandatory effective January 1, 1996, under the Secretary's existing statutory authority to require reports and operations data fromthe States. Transition of QA Measures to RQC: The following is a brief summary of current QA requirements and the measurements RQC will perform in their place. a. Promptness: QA produces promptness measures for cashiering, status determinations, collections and reports delinquency. The first three are from samples, the fourth from ETA 581 (universe) data. The RQC promptness measures will use ETA 581 data for three of the same measures. The RQC's cashiering measure--timeliness of deposit into the clearing account and the accuracy of posting the employer account--uses an expanded version of the current QA sampling approach. The RQC program has more detailed status timeliness measures, and two new report delinquency measures. b. Performance/Accuracy: QA measures audit performance through a small sample, and uses ETA 581 data to measure audit penetration. The RQC includes a comprehensive systems review of the audit function to ensure compliance with all Employment Security Manual requirements (performance). Also encompassed are measures for audit penetration, wage change, and wages audited. In addition to evaluating field audit operations, RQC will measure accuracy and completeness in: status determinations, cashiering, report delinquency, collections, and accounts maintenance (contri- bution processing, debits and billings, credits and refunds, benefit charging, and experience rating). The full transition from QA to RQC (and the rest of the UIS oversight system) will be influenced by the State-Federal Perfor- mance Enhancement group's final recommendation on the most effective way to improve UIS performance. The group's final recommendations are due late in CY 94. Action Required: The SESA Administrators are requested to prepare for the phased-in implementation of mandatory RQC, as follows: (1.) Notify appropriate staff that the phase-in implementation of RQC will begin with Computed Measures in January 1995. a. The SESA data definitions should be compared with RQC defini- tions, and the various data elements should be tested to ensure that the required Computed Measures data can be collected and reported properly for the first quarter of CY 95. b. Notify staff associated with ETA 581 activity, including ADP staff, of the need to implement the revised ETA 581 reporting requirements for the report quarter ending March 31, 1995. The first revised report will be due on May 20, 1995. (2). Advise appropriate staff that the remainder of the RQC program (Systems Reviews, Method Surveys and Acceptance Sampling) will be implemented effective January 1, 1996. Staff will need to ensure that sampling universes are created, tested and operable so that a complete RQC review can begin in January 1996. Results and findings of the 1996 RQC tax reviews are scheduled for compilation in early CY 97.

Background: During the months of May and June, U.S. Department of Labor staff conducted training on Rapid Response policies and strategies. A section of each session briefly focused on the formation and guidance of LMCs, and discussed some of the advantages of these committees. A representative from the Bureau of Labor-Management Relations and Cooperative Programs (BLMRCP) was the key presenter during this section of the workshops. In the weeks following the Rapid Response training, numerous session participants have expressed an interest in receiving in depth instruction on techniques for creating LMCs in response to closings and layoffs and assisting in and facilitating their effective operation. In response to these requests, the Employment and Training Administration has made arrangements to underwrite the costs of multi-Regional LMC "train the trainer" workshops to be conducted by BLMRCP. This TEIN announces the opportunity for States to submit TAT Requests to their Regional Offices in order to attend these workshops. Discussion: A. Training Content The training program has been developed by BLMRCP to equip employment and training professionals with the skills and capabilities required to promote employee involvement in worker dislocation events and empower the workers to help themselves obtain alternative employment and/or training. Specifically, the first part of the program introduces the basics of LMCs and provides participants with the information and skills needed to promote, market, and establish these committees. The second portion imparts the abilities and knowledge required to train workers and other committee members in the basic skills and techniques they need to operate an effective and efficient LMC. Attendees will also come away from the sessions with the ability to instruct others in the content of the workshop. The training is designed for individuals who assist in the formation of LMCs, work directly with these committees, and can instruct other current and potential practitioners in the workshop's content. B. Workshop Logistics The following are the scheduled dates and the locations of the workshops: Regions Workshop Covered Location Dates I II & IV Atlanta 8/25 - 8/26 II V & VI Chicago Noon, 9/1-Noon, 9/3 III VII, VIII, Denver 9/9 - 9/10 IX & X IV I & III Boston 9/16 - 9/17 Attendees are expected to arrange their schedules so participation in the entire workshop is possible. Workshops I, III, and IV will entail 2 full days of training. Hotel accommodations for State and local staff attending the training will be provided without charge. Details regarding the training will be provided when the State's TAT Request has been approved. Workshop participants will be responsible for their own travel and other per diem expenses. C. The TAT Request To attend the training, a State must submit a TAT Request to its respective ETA Regional Office which contains the following information: (1) State Participant Information. Due to the "hands on" nature of the workshop, the number of participants at each session will be limited. As a result, each State will initially be limited to 6 representatives at their scheduled workshop. With this restriction in mind, please provide the number of individuals from your State that will attend . States desiring the participation of extra representatives should provide the number of additional individuals they would like to attend. These additional requests will be reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis. The training is for individuals who assist in the formation of LMCs, work directly with these committees, and can instruct other current and potential practitioners in the content of the workshop. (2) State Contact. Provide the name of an individual from the State whom the Regional Office may contact for or with additional information. D. Regional Contacts Any questions concerning a State's workshop and/or TAT Request should be addressed to: REGION CONTACT PHONE NUMBER I Holly O'Brian-Rachlin (617) 565-2268 II Maria Remboulis (212) 337-2176 III Kathy Riordan (215) 596-6410 IV Jackie Roberts (404) 347-3495 V Michael Batts (312) 353-5062 VI Robert Larrea (214) 767-6917 VII Fred Ho man (816) 426-3796 VIII Niall Rogers (303) 844-4143 IX Jeff Salzman (415) 744-7648 X Gary DeRosa (206) 553-4543 Action: Each interested State must submit its TAT Request (as outlined above) to its Regional Office by c.o.b. August 14. After evaluating the Requests, the Regional Offices will contact their States to provide additional information concerning the workshop arrangements.

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Background: In 1991, ETA contracted with Appropriate Solutions, Inc. of Columbus, Ohio to develop and implement a two-part technical assistance effort. Part One of this effort consisted of selecting one site in each of the ten regions which was interested in receiving technical assistance on any aspect of follow-up or use of followup data in performance management. Part two consisted of preparing a supplement to the 1990 Technical Assistance Guide for JTPA Follow-up and Validation, incorporating what was learned from the technical assistance efforts at the sites. The intention of this two part project was to produce a supplement which focused on practical problem solving and provided additional assistance to States and SDAs in understanding and using their follow-up data in planning, program design, and other management areas. In order to make the document more useful, a different format is being offered. Instead of providing the document as a total unit, twelve individual modules will be disseminated on a periodic basis. Each module will contain information roughly corresponding to State and local planning cycles and will be delivered at times most appropriate to the application of the content. A list of future modules is included as Attachment 3 to this document. The visual design was also chosen to be more readable. Because this effort is a different conceptual design approach, comments and reactions from the field as to its value are welcome and solicited. For purposes of differentiating the 1990 TAG from this supplement, the supplement will be referred to as TAG +. Action Required: States should ensure dissemination of these modules to all staff with responsibilities for follow-up and/or ties with planning, evaluation and other performance management responsibilities.

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Background. The conference is being sponsored as a joint project with the following agencies: U.S. Departments of Education, Division of Adult Education and Literacy, Office of Indian Education, Agriculture, Labor, Interior (BIA), and Health and Human Services. At the State level, the State Directors of Adult Education have been asked to coordinate the selection of "adult education teams" to attend the symposium. It is anticipated that twenty-five States will send representatives. The scheduling of this important symposium was coordinated with the Annual Conference on Indian Education which commences on October 15th in St. Paul. In order to ensure that key administrators attend from the Native American communities residing in each of these States, it will be necessary for you to contact the State Director of Adult Education to assist with the formation of the team. A list of State Directors of Adult Education is attached for your convenience. Also attached is a discussion on organizing an adult education team. The team composition will be comprised of four or five members representing these State agencies and additional four or five representatives from Native American tribes working in adult education and occupational training. This process of team selection will take place during a pre-symposium event coordinated by the State Director of Adult Education. During the pre-symposium meeting, strategies and activities for strengthening policies and partnerships at the symposium and follow-up activities will be identified. The Department of Education's Division of Adult Education and Literacy and Office of Indian Education is preparing a plan to distribute funds to each participating team to be used for the pre- symposium activity or underwriting travel costs to the symposium. Symposium Outcomes and Focus. The symposium's planning committee has identified two outcomes and four focuses which will be addressed at the two and one-half day event. They are as follows: a. Outcomes. (1) Create a national and local priority for Native American adult, cultural, technological, and career education and training. (2) Identify public policies/issues relating to resources, programming, and related services that support economic development and cultural literacy. b. Focus. In order to broaden the base of support, community to national-national to community, for Native American Adult Education, State teams will be formed to: (1) Improve the coordination and collaboration with Federal, State, regional, local and tribal agencies. (2) Establish cooperative agreements among all agencies providing adult education, employment and training for Native Americans. (3) Strengthen the partnerships that will allow every Native American adult increased education opportunity and to obtain necessary academic and technical skills to achieve personal goals, meaningful employment and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship together with cultural awareness. (4) Support research and demonstration projects impacting on Native American adult and continuing education. Potential Benefits. Through attending this symposium, you and your team members will address national policies impacting the deliver of adult and job training programs to Native Americans. Special presentations by national experts on Native American education will look at trends affecting the future of these programs. You will have the opportunity to visits with model program personnel and build new partnerships to affect change in your program. Also, each State team will be involved in intensive planning sessions designed to identify barriers and formulate solutions which will enhance the quality of life for Native Americans. Action Required. Please contact your State office if you want an opportunity: a. to voice your interest in participating as a team member; and b. to assist in the planning of the pre-symposium activity if you are able to participate. Inquiries. For information or assistance on the symposium, please contact Dr. Carroll Towey, Division of Adult Education and Literacy 202/205- 9791, Jacquelyn Power, Project Consultant, 602/491-6616. Please call your Federal Representative on 202-219-5504 if you need general information.

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UIPL 39-93, Dated August 20, 1993; ET Handbook 392; INTERNET User Guide; Interstate Benefit Payment Plan. For the past few years, we have worked towards automation of the Interstate Handbooks that are maintained through State submitted updates in order to provide claimstakers with on-line access to current information. To date, the software for the Handbook for Interstate Claimstaking and INTERNET Local Office Directory has been made available to all IBM States. Software, documentation and User Guide have been provided to all IBM States. Non-IBM States have been provided with a Non-Model Code Guide that describes the Model Code programs, file layouts, the IB-13 format necessary for updates and a User Guide. The Model Code has also been distributed to non-IBM States, upon request. UIPL NO. 39-93 advised all States that the Interstate Conference of Employment Security Agencies' Interstate Benefit Committee had established a deadline, of October 1, 1993, for all IBM States and February 1, 1994, for non-IBM States, for nationwide implementation of the automated Handbook and the Local Office Directory. States were also advised that after the above dates, hardcopy updates for data entry to the system by the National Office were no longer acceptable. Although hardcopy updates have been submitted and the data has been entered into the system by the National Office after the deadlines established, updates will no longer be accepted. Neither data entry staff nor on-site printing of the electronically submitted handbook data in the format necessary is available at the National Office. Procedures for Updates to the Automated Handbooks. Effective May 2, 1994, electronically submitted updates to the Handbook for Interstate Claimstaking and the Local Office Directory are automatically distributed nationally by the Martin Marietta Information Systems (MMIS) Hub upon receipt. When updates are distributed, MMIS will generate a printed copy to the National Office. The National Office will no longer review the information or otherwise oversee the maintenance of the Automated Handbooks. After an updated section has been communicated to the MMIS HUB, that section of the Handbook is protected against further update until the State's official "Automated Handbook" file has been updated from the incoming IB-13(s) from the MMIS. States should establish a schedule for the computer to load the incoming handbook updates at least weekly. The National Office will continue to periodically provide hardcopy updates to the ETA Regional Offices. However, the hardcopy updates will not coincide with or be as frequent as the electronic releases. Formatting of Handbook Pages. A number of States have questioned why the data in the text in the automated handbook is not arrayed, indented and changes asterisked, as previously printed. The data file to which the text is entered is not a word processing system and does not easily accommodate style adjustments. Each line accommodates 80 characters and there is no wrap-around to the next line. In creating the original data, there was no staff available to enter the data manually to maintain the format style. However, as each State updates its section, it should indent the procedural text and asterisk the changes in the manner previously used for the hardcopy updates. Due to the limited number of characters on each line and page, it is virtually impossible to array the Summary Page B information in the hardcopy style. State Administrators are requested to provide a copy of this letter to the appropriate staff and ensure that the State has procedures in place to properly maintain the Automated Handbooks.

References: Title I of the "Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991", P.L. 102-164, as amended by P.L. 102-182, P.L. 102-244, and the "Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992" (P.L. 102-318); the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (the EB Act), as amended by the "Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992" (P.L. 102-318); 20 CFR Part 615; GAL 4-92 and Changes; UIPL 9-92 and Changes; the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2271 et seq.); 20 CFR Part 617; GAL 10-92; ET Handbook Nos. 392 and 399; and 20 CFR 616. Background: Title I of the "Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1991" created the EUC program. The "Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992" (P.L. 102-318), enacted on July 3, 1992, amended a number of the provisions of Title I of the EUC Act. An explanation of the amendments and operating instructions have been issued in GAL 4-92, Change 4, dated July 9, 1992. The program changes have given rise to questions answered in this UIPL. Action Required: State Administrators are requested to make a copy of this UIPL available to all appropriate staff.

Copies of the Quality Appraisal results for FY 1994 are being transmitted under separate cover to all States. This report contains the results of all State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) for all performance measures in the Quality Appraisal system. Measures in the Quality Appraisal system, using data reported by SESAs, include first benefit payment promptness, appeals promptness, field audit penetration, report delinquency, cash management and benefit payment control. Measures using results from on-site reviews performed by SESAs or Federal staff include nonmonetary determinations performance and promptness, appeals performance, employer status determinations, field audit performance and collections. The quantifiable goals SESAs should achieve in the various measures are designated as Secretary's Standards (SS) and Desired Levels of Achievement (DLAs). Criteria in the Secretary's Standards apply to intrastate and interstate first payment promptness and lower authority appeals promptness. SESA Administrators are requested to: a. Review the FY 1994 Quality Appraisal report and identify any activities not meeting the designated SS/DLAs; and b. For those activities not meeting the SS/DLAs, submit corrective action plans in accordance with the FY 1995 Program and Budget Planning (PBP) instructions. Unemployment Insurance Quality Appraisal Results for FY 1994.