Quick Tips for Approaching
WIOA Deadline

As implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 (WIOA) continues, some CAAs may have been asked to sign on to a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with their Local Workforce Development Board (WDB) and other WIOA partners by June 30, 2017. These MOUs generally describe various aspects of the one-stop delivery system, including who are the required partners, how the required partners will coordinate and deliver services, and how the required partners will contribute to the infrastructure costs of the one-stop centers (also known as American Job Centers (AJCs)). As with any contract, CAAs should be sure to fully understand the MOU before signing on. Below are a few quick tips to help CAAs navigate this process.

Tip # 1
Understand whether your CAA is a required partner

WIOA requires entities that operate certain federally funded programs to participate in the WIOA one-stop system; these entities are called “required partners.” Only required partners are obligated to enter into an MOU with the local WBD. Among the required partners are entities responsible for administering a program that provides “employment and training activities carried out under the Community Services Block Grant Act.” For entities that receive CSBG funding but do not use those funds to provide employment and training activities, their CSBG funding does not make them a WIOA required partner. Given the flexible nature of CSBG funding, the determination of whether a CAA is a WIOA required partner will need to be done on a case-by-case basis. To determine whether your CAA’s CSBG dollars are being spent on employment and training activities, you should review the definition of  “employment and training activities” in Section 134 of WIOA (see 29 U.S.C. § 3174) which includes activities such as job search and placement assistance, career counseling, job recruitment, providing workforce and labor statistics such as job vacancy listings and job market information, providing information regarding filing of claims for unemployment compensation, assistance in establishing eligibility for programs of financial aid assistance for training and education programs that are not funded under WIOA, or referrals to any such services. 

In addition to CSBG-funded employment and training activities, WIOA lists 12 other federally funded programs that trigger the required partner designation. These programs include Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (unless the governor makes a determination to exclude TANF from the state’s WIOA system), employment and training activities carried out by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and programs authorized under Title I of WIOA. The full list of programs that trigger the required partner designation can be found here.

If your CAA is not a required partner, it should not sign a WIOA MOU with the local WBD.

Tip # 2
If your CAA is a required partner, determine whether it may be required to contribute to funding the one-stop center

One of the obligations of a WIOA required partner is to contribute a portion of its funds that trigger a required-partner designation to support the operation of the one-stop delivery system.  For example, a CAA that runs a CSBG-funded job training program may be required to support the infrastructure costs of the local one-stop center by contributing a portion of its CSBG funds that support its job training program. Only WIOA required partners are obligated to contribute such funding.

In January 2017, the U.S. Departments of Labor, DOL, Education, and Health & Human Services published detailed guidance on the issue of infrastructure funding of the one-stop delivery system (see Training and Employment Guidance Letter WIOA No. 17-16). The guidance explains that all required partners must contribute to infrastructure costs of the one-stop centers but that, consistent with the federal cost principles in the Uniform Guidance, the contribution must be based on the partner’s proportionate use of the one-stop center and the relative benefits received. The required one-stop partners must also provide access to their programs in the one-stop centers, make available their program’s applicable career services at the one-stop centers, and may need to contribute to shared services and shared operating costs.

The guidance explains that only those one-stop partners that participate in the one-stop centers would be required to contribute to the infrastructure costs for those centers, although participation includes not only a physical presence at the one-stop center but also where access to programs, services, and activities are made available through a direct linkage. “Access” through a “direct linkage” is defined in the regulations as “providing direct connection at the one-stop center, within a reasonable time, by phone or through a real-time Web-based communication to a program staff member who can provide program information or services to the customer.” The financial contributions of one-stop partners that provide access to their services through a direct linkage will be different, and presumably lower, than those one-stop partners with a physical presence.

Tip # 3
Understand the time frames and processes involved

The MOU for Program Year 2017 must be in place by July 1, 2017. However, the DOL has extended the deadline for development of the Infrastructure Funding Agreement (IFA) to January 1, 2018, although individual states may set an earlier deadline. The DOL explains that “this extension is provided to allow local areas additional time to negotiate and reach consensus on one-stop partner infrastructure funding contributions in PY 2017.” (Emphasis added). During the extension period, local areas may use the funding agreement they used for PY 2016, with any such modifications as the partners may agree to, to fund infrastructure costs in the local area.

The DOL makes clear that the process of determining the infrastructure funding of the one-stop center is meant, at least initially, to be a collaborative one. This initial process, known as the Local Funding Mechanism (LFM), is intended “to encourage local areas to make a good-faith effort to reach consensus in developing a local IFA.” If consensus is not reached--i.e., if even one required partner cannot agree on its share of one-stop center infrastructure costs--a separate mechanism is triggered to determine infrastructure funding known as the State Funding Mechanism (SFM). The SFM entails the governor determining the infrastructure cost contributions and is intended as a failsafe if local partners cannot come to consensus. The process has eight discrete steps that must be followed by the Governor and Local WDB in accordance with WIOA and its regulations, and that process is described in detail in the DOL guidance.

If you have specific questions about a WIOA MOU, or any other WIOA issues, please contact CAPLAW at (617) 357-6915.

This News Flash is part of the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Legal Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Center. It was created by Community Action Program Legal Services, Inc. (CAPLAW) in the performance of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Community Services Cooperative Agreement – Grant Award Number 90ET0441-03. Any opinion, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.