To ensure that State Unemployment Insurance (UI) officials are aware of the requirement that Employment and Training (ETA) grantees, including UI grantees, use the official branding logo for America`s Workforce Network on their public materials and to advise SESA's that basic guidelines for the use of the logo will be sent along with the UI grant modification within the next two weeks.

To announce the release and Availability of ETA Occasional Paper 2004-06: Business as Partner and Customer under WIA: A Study of Innovative Practices

To provide clarification to State Employment Service Agencies with regard to the processing of H-2B temporary applications for limited jobs in the landscaping industry which includes only those activities addressed in this guidance for the 2000-2001 season.

To announce details of two RJM training sessions for state staff

To provide State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) with information on the implementation of BAM DCA and the inclusion of interstate claims in the BAM paid claims samples. Pending Office of Management and Budget (OMB) information collection approval, SESAs should plan to select DCA samples and include interstate claims in the BAM paid claims samples beginning with batch 200123 (batch ending date June 9, 2001).

To provide additional guidance to states concerning the amendments to Federal law designed to prohibit "SUTA Dumping."

To inform States of the Department of Labor's (Department) interpretation of Federal law concerning the "outsourcing" of unemployment compensation (UC) administrative functions.

To announce Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approval to collect data validation results and provide submission instructions to states concerning the Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) data validation process, for the following programs: Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Title IB, Wagner-Peyser Act/Employment Service (ES), and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA).

To provide information about the partnership between the AWN Toll-Free Help Line (1-877-US-2JOBS) and the Internet-based ASL (www.servicelocator.org) as the two key access points for information about workforce development services available under America's Workforce Network.

To advise state workforce agencies (SWAs) about: 1) access to the Wage Record Interchange System (WRIS) Distributive Data Base Index (DDBI) for unemployment insurance (UI) purposes; 2) distribution of a new Interstate Connection Network (ICON) application developed for this purpose called the State Identification (SID) Inquiry; and 3) changes to the quarterly Interstate Crossmatch/Claimant Locator (ICCL) that takes advantage of the WRIS DDBI.