References. None. Background. As previously announced by the Association for Farmworker Opportunity Programs (AFOP) at its May 1992 Board meeting, the Second National Conference on Migrant/Seasonal Farmworkers will be held May 10-13, 1993, in Denver, Colorado. Based upon the success of the initial joint conference in Buffalo, New York in 1991, leaders in Migrant Health, Migrant Education, Migrant Head Start and Farmworker Employment and Training agreed to stage joint conferences every 2 years as a means of fostering improved coordination and cooperation among all programs and agencies involved with farmworkers and farmworker issues. ETA Involvement. Representatives from the Division of Seasonal Farmworker Programs (DSFP), the U. S. Department of Education's Office of Migrant Education, National Association of Community Health Centers (Migrant Health Division), Housing Assistance Council, Inc., AFOP, and other agencies serve on the Executive Planning Committee (EPC) for the conference. As such, DSFP has agreed to support the purpose and goals of the joint conference, promote, and encourage attendance by Section 402-funded grantees, and coordinate the participation and involvement of other agencies of the U.S. Department of Labor in the conference. Call for Presentations. The EPC has developed the attached Call for Presentations. The DSFP and AFOP invite Section 402 employment and training and housing grantees to formally consider this request for proposal for joint conference presentations that would appeal to all conference participants. Action. Those grantees wishing to respond to the Call for Presentations should submit their proposal(s) and other information on the appropriate attached form in accordance with the instructions in the attachment. The first submission, the Workshop Abstract Form, is due on September 30, 1992. Inquiries. Contact Ms. Bea Fowler, DSFP Federal Representative, at (202) 535-0517. Attachments. Call for Presentations Proposed Workshop Abstract Form.

In April 1994, the proposed JASPR format and instructions for completion of this report were provided to the States pending OMB approval. This trans-mittal is to confirm that the attached updated JASPR format and final reporting requirements have OMB approval and that States should implement this report. OMB Approval and Reporting Burden: The JASPR require-ments have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) according to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980, as amended. The JASPR has been approved under OMB Approval Number 1205-0200 and the expiration date is July 31, 1997. Reporting Requirements: The initial required submittalof the JASPR for the Title I, Section 123, (8%) program will be for the program year ended June 30, 1994. For PY 1993 ONLY, the JASPR for the 8% program is due in the ETA National Office and Regional Offices by September 30, 1994. (Henceforth, this report for the 8% program will be due in these offices by August 15 for the prior program year.) The initial required submittal of the JASPR for the Title II-B, Summer Youth E & T Program (SYETP), will be for the reporting period October 1, 1993 through September 30,1994. This JASPR will be due in the ETA National Office and Regional Offices by November 15, 1994. The approved format and instructions for completion of the JASPR are attached.

Background: From 1982 to 1988, the Rockefeller Foundation provided funding for selected community-based organizations to operate employment-training programs for minority female single parents. The subsequent findings of this project showed that the CET design overwhelmingly provided the most positive impacts. In pursuing the Department of Labor's desire to promote quality programs in the JTPA system, a cooperative agreement has been signed between the Department and CET, to provide training and technical assistance to replicate this model. This agreement provides funding for CET to train up to ten sites to use the CET job training model. Action Required: Governors that have sites in their States will be notified after site selection has been completed. Those States are encouraged to be actively involved in the local replication project, thus enabling States to increase their technical assistance ability with this model.

Background: The unemployment insurance system, designed in a different time for a fundamentally different economy, is premised on the expectation that laid-off workers would return to their former jobs following a periodic downturn in the economy. Today, workers are finding their jobs are directly affected by global competition and changes in technology. Many of these workers do not possess the skills necessary for reemployment in jobs which replace the ones they lost. Dislocated workers looking for reemployment assistance are faced with a complex network of programs and services. Students, workers and the unemployed have a difficult time getting information on the benefits and services that are available, where they can obtain quality training and what they need to know to find good jobs. Hopefully, the attached report, Reemployment Services: A Review of Their Effectiveness will be helpful as we transform current programs and services for the unemployed into an effective reemployment system. Report: The report summarizes the best available evidence on the impact of reemployment services on the reemployment prospects of dislocated workers. Reemployment Services: A Review of Their Effectiveness analyzes dozens of studies, which represent the best and most current research on reemployment strategies for dislocated workers. Such strategies include job search assistance, reemployment bonuses, self-employment assistance programs, and both short-term and long-term training programs. This research indicates that most of these services improve the earnings of workers and save the government money. For example, dislocated workers who receive job search assistance early in their spell of unemployment find new jobs -- and move off the unemployment rolls -- more quickly. In the area of training, the evidence suggests that displaced workers who need new skills would benefit from improved access to long-term training. The report also addresses what does not work in our current approaches to helping the unemployed. For example, reemployment services -- though cost-effective -- have not been the focus of the unemployment insurance system, which was designed to provide income support to the jobless. Furthermore, because current services for dislocated workers are often provided through a fragmented and confusing array of categorically-based programs, many dislocated workers do not qualify for assistance. Finally, the report discusses how conclusions from this research formed the basis of the proposed Reemployment Act of 1994. The legislative proposal incorporated the successful reemployment strategies identified in the research; also addressed the major problems identified in the research, by consolidating reemployment programs, increasing access to services, and providing better labor market information to jobseekers. The report also provides important lessons States and localities can use to improve strategies to help dislocated workers. Action: State Liaisons and SESA Administrators are requested to make the report available to appropriate State staff, Service Delivery Areas, Substate Areas, and Employment Service and Unemployment Insurance local offices. Sufficient copies are being mailed to you under separate cover.

Background: The report is the first to provide a literacy profile of clients served by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and Employment Service (ES)/Unemployment Insurance (UI) programs. Findings were obtained from a survey of nearly 6,000 adult participants in DOL-administered programs. Among the major findings: -- Some 40 to 50 percent of people applying for JTPA services and roughly 40 percent of people seeking assistance from ES or UI programs demonstrate very low literacy skills. These percentages include a substantial number of persons who reported having earned a high school degree. -- Persons who demonstrate higher levels of literacy skills tend to avoid long periods of unemployment, earn higher wages, and work in higher level occupations than those who demonstrate lower literacy skills. -- Some 60 to 65 percent of those surveyed believe they could get a better job if their reading or writing skills were improved through additional education or training, and roughly 70 to 80 percent report that their job opportunities would improve with increased skills in mathematics. -- As with other data bases, Black and Hispanic DOL clients are disproportionately represented at the low and high levels on the literacy scales when compared with White DOL clients. Use of the Publication: This timely and significant report adds to our understanding of the literacy problems facing the Nation's job seekers. Findings also support the Job Training Reform Amendments of 1992, which provide for more intensive and individualized service strategies. Action Required: Ensure that copies are distributed promptly to SDAs and EDWAA sub-State areas, and to local ES and UI offices. Distribution: Initial shipment of copies is being sent under separate cover for appropriate distribution. Additional copies may be obtained by calling Aida Hilliard, (202) 535-0664.

References: Section 301(a) of the Act; 631.3 of the JTPA Regulations (20 CFR 631.3) published September 22, 1989; Section 1141 of 10 U.S.C. Chapter 58, as amended by the Defense Authorization Act of 1990. Background: Typically, individuals who were discharged or released from active duty with the armed forces were unlike the traditional "dislocated workers" to be served by Title III. For most who left prior to retirement, the limited period of active duty in the armed forces was an expected step in a career path. With the advent of the volunteer army, many individuals who enlisted did so with the intent of making military service a career. With the reductions in Department of Defense expenditures which are now occurring, a number of these "employees" find themselves involuntarily separated from their chosen career. Reasonable questions, raised by several States, are whether members of the armed forces discharged or released from active duty are eligible for Title III, including the Defense Conversion Adjustment Program, and on what basis the eligibility of these individuals should be determined. Section 502 of the Defense Authorization Act of 1990 includes a definition of "involuntary separation," and authorizes benefits and services from the Department of Defense for members of the armed forces who are faced with involuntary separation. The definition of "involuntary separation" from active duty with the armed forces, now found at Section 1141 of 10 U.S.C. Chapter 58, as amended, is provided here: A member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps shall be considered to be involuntarily separated for purposes of this chapter if the member was on active duty or full-time National Guard duty on September 30, 1990, and (1) in the case of a regular officer (other than a retired officer), the officer is involuntarily discharged under other than adverse conditions as characterized by the Secretary concerned; (2) in the case of a reserve officer who is on the active duty list or, if not on the active duty list, is on full-time active duty (or in the case of a member of the National Guard, full-time National Guard duty) for the purpose of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the reserve components, the officer is involuntarily discharged or released from active duty or full-time National Guard duty (other than a release from active duty or fulltime National Guard duty incident to a transfer to retired Status) under other than adverse conditions, as characterized by the Secretary concerned; (3) in the case of a regular enlisted member serving on active duty, the member is (A) denied reenlistment, or (B) involuntarily discharged under other than adverse conditions, as characterized by the Secretary concerned- and (4) in the case of a reserve enlisted member who is on full-time active duty (or in the case of a member of the National Guard, full-time National Guard duty) for the purpose of organizing, administering, recruiting, instructing, or training the reserve components, the member (A) is denied reenlistment, or (B) is involuntarily discharged or released from active duty (or full-time National Guard) under other than adverse conditions, as characterized by the Secretary concerned. Discussion: Included in the definition of "eligible dislocated workers" for Title III are individuals who are terminated or laid off; eligible for unemployment compensation; and unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation (Section 301(a)(1)(A) of the Act). Following is a discussion of the three parts of this definition as they relate to individuals separated from active duty with the armed forces. Terminated or laid off. Although the provisions of 10 U.S.C. Chapter 58, Section 1141 are not directly applicable to JTPA, the determinations made under these provisions may be relevant when considering the eligibility criteria established at JTPA Section 301(a)(1). Eligible for unemployment compensation. Former members of the armed forces may be eligible for unemployment compensation for ex-service members (UCX). UCX may be considered as a form of unemployment compensation for the purpose of determining eligibility under Title III. However, not all individuals eligible for UCX will meet the "terminated or laid off" criterion discussed above. Unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation. The Department expects that grantees will be able to follow existing procedures in determining whether a former member of the armed forces is unlikely to return to her or his previous industry or occupation. In summary, the Employment and Training Administration considers that individuals who have been involuntarily separated, as defined in 10 U.S.C. Chapter 58, including those who accept an inducement to leave the military, and are otherwise eligible, are eligible to participate in programs funded under Title III of JTPA. The State or the sub state grantee remains responsible for determination of eligibility under reasonable safeguards (Section 141(i)). Individuals who are separated from the armed forces are not necessarily "involuntarily separated." For example, the definition does not apply to individuals who have been involuntarily discharged under adverse conditions. Also, individuals who voluntarily leave the armed forces, including those who retire with or without an inducement, do not fall within the meaning of the term "involuntarily separated." States and sub state grantees may wish to consult with local veterans' employment representatives (LVERs) or other specialists to identify the documents and/or mechanisms that can be used to make an accurate eligibility determination. Additional information regarding adverse conditions is being prepared by the Department of Defense and will be shared once it becomes available. However, individuals involuntarily separated from active duty through honorable discharges are eligible. Since Title III is not an entitlement, program managers should ensure that retraining services are limited to those eligible dislocated workers who can most benefit from and are in need of such services, as required under Section 141(a) of the Act, and 631.41(d) and 631.51(d) of the regulations. In the case of members of the armed forces who have been recently separated from active duty, this might include those without marketable civilian skills. States are encouraged to develop procedures to determine "most in need" for Title III. Attached for your information is a copy of a document issued by the Assistant Secretary of Defense concerning transition services provided by the Department of Defense. Action: State and sub state grantee policy makers should review existing policies regarding eligibility under Title III in light of this policy clarification.

Background: In 1990, Congress authorized two programs to assist specific groups of dislocated workers. The Defense Conversion Adjustment Program (DCAP) provides assistance to workers dislocated by defense cutbacks. The Clean Air Employment Transition Assistance (CAETA) Program provides assistance to workers dislocated as a result of compliance with the provisions of the Clean Air Act. Both programs are discretionary programs. Eligible grantees include States, Title III sub state grantees, employers, employer associations, and representatives of employees. A new reporting form was needed for these programs because discrete projects needed to be tracked. The Dislocated Worker Special Project Report (DWSPR) consists of two sections. Section I is submitted quarterly, and provides financial and some participant data. Section II is submitted at the end of each program year and at project completion. It contains items on participant characteristics, program outcomes, and program activity. Most of the data items are similar to those used in the Worker Adjustment Annual Program Report (WAPR) and the Worker Adjustment Quarterly Financial Report (WQFR) used for Title III programs under JTPA. OMB Approval and Combined Reporting Burden: The reporting requirements are approved by the Office of Management and Budget according to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 under OMB approval no. 1205-0318 to expire February 28, 1993. Action Required: State JTPA or Worker Adjustment Liaisons are requested to distribute the attached instruction to all officials within the State who need such information to implement the new reporting requirements. The Liaisons are also requested to assist DCAP and CAETA grantees within their States that are not familiar with Title III reporting (such as employers, employer associations) with any questions they may have.

Background: Due to changes in personnel, facilities and agency reorganizations, periodic updates of State agency contacts are necessary. States have provided the names, telephone numbers and facsimile (fax) numbers of individuals designated to respond to inquiries from other States about UC tax and employer accounts. This directory reflects information provided through July 1994. It replaces UIPL No. 35-93 and the attached directory. Changes: When changes occur, the page to be changed should be copied and the changes penned in. Mail or fax the revised page to the appropriate Regional Office. They will update their information and forward the changes to the UIS National Office for inclusion in the next directory update. Action Required: All SESAs are requested to ensure that a copy of the attached directory is made available to appropriate personnel.

Background: A provision to a final UCX rule published in the Federal Register on October 17, 1988, required the SESAs to send, effective November 16, 1988, notices of claims filed and sub-sequent monetary and nonmonetary determinations to the branches of the military and to individuals separated from the Commis-sioned Corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin-istration (NOAA) and the Coast Guard. SESAs were provided with a list of military addresses via UIPL 19-94 Change 1. Subsequently, the Air Force has provided a new address for such notices. Action Required: State Administrators should provide the attached list of military addresses to appropriate staff and advise them to immediately discontinue using the list of military liaison addresses provided in UIPL No. 19-94 Change 1.

Background: Last year, ETA invited State and local JTPA program staff to participate in one of five, "JTPA Procurement Training Course" presentations held in Bethesda, Kansas City, San Diego, Atlanta and San Antonio. The course presentations were attended by approximately 500 State and local JTPA program staff. The course and the materials provided are part of an ongoing project to provide technical assistance in the area of JTPA procurement, particularly for training and employment services. The Guide is part of a series of technical assistance and training materials to be released during this program year. Participant evaluations at each site consistently gave high marks to the course manual, the "JTPA Procurement Training Guide", Which was issued to all participants in attendance. Since the Guide has undergone several revisions during the course of this project, ETA is providing the final revised edition for distribution to all JTPA State and SDA entities for use as a procurement resource tool. A video is also being developed as part of an instructional package for use With a companion workbook and the Guide. The video and workbook are scheduled for completion this Fall. Further details Will follow. Distribution: Copies of the Guide (2 per SDA, 5 per State) are being provided under separate cover to all Liaisons for distribution to the SDAs and to the State JTPA agency. The material has been prepared in a looseleaf format suitable for use in 3-ring binders.