WIA PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY

1. WIA PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY A Basic Introduction to Workforce Investment Act Eligibility for Adults & Dislocated Workers

2. Overview • General Eligibility Requirements • Adultsand Priority of Service • Who is Low Income? • What is a Family? • What Counts as Family Income? • Eligibility Specific to Dislocated Workers • Good Eligibility Practices • Common Eligibility Errors • Preventing Common Eligibility Errors • Priority of Service References • Eligibility Resources • Questions?

3. General Eligibility Requirements • To be eligible to participate in WIA programs a person must: • Be 18 years of age or older • Be a citizen or noncitizen authorized to work in the U.S. • Male only: meet Selective Service registration requirements • For Adults - meet the definitions under Priority of Service

4. Adults and Priority of Service Must meet Basic Eligibility Requirements and Priority of Service: • First priority is provided to recipients of public assistance and other low-income persons in the local area who are covered persons with respect to veterans’ priority. • Second priority is provided to recipients of public assistance and other low-income persons in the local area. • Third priority is covered persons, i.e., covered persons not considered to be recipients of public assistance or low-income. • Other local discretionary target population groups.

5. Who is considered “low income”? • A person who-- • receives, or is a member of a family that receives, cash payments under a Federal, State, or local income-based public assistance program; OR • received an income, or is a member of a family that received a total family income, for the 6-month period prior to application for the program involved (exclusive of unemployment compensation, child support payments, payments described in subparagraph (A), and old-age and survivors insurance benefits received under section 202 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 402)) that, in relation to family size, does not exceed the higher of– (cont.)

6. Who is considered “low income”? (cont.) • (i) the poverty line, for an equivalent period; or • (ii) 70 percent of the lower living standard income level, for an equivalent period; OR  • is a member of a household that receives (or has been determined within the 6-month period prior to application for the program involved to be eligible to receive) food stamps pursuant to the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.); OR • qualifies as a homeless person, as defined in subsections (a) and (c) of section 103 of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 11302); OR

7. Who is considered “low income”? (cont.) • is a foster child on behalf of whom State or local government payments are made; OR • in cases permitted by regulations promulgated by the Secretary of Labor, is a person with a disability whose own income meets the requirements of a program described in subparagraph (A) or of subparagraph (B), but who is a member of a family whose income does not meet such requirements.

8. What is a “family”? • Defined as – two or more persons related by blood,marriage or decree of court, who are living in a single residence, and are included in one or more of the following categories: • A husband, wife and dependent children. • A parent or guardian and dependent children. • A husband and wife. Note: A disabled person, whose family does not meet the income criteria, is considered low income if the person’s own income, separate from the household’s, meets the income eligibility guidelines.

9. What counts as family income? • For the purposes of determining WIA income eligibility, list the total income received by the applicant and the members of the applicant’s family from • Gross wages and salaries (before deductions); • net self-employment income (gross receipts minus operating expenses); and • other money income from sources such as net rent, social security, pensions, alimony, government and armed forces retirement payments, insurance policy annuities and other sources of periodic income. • NOTE: When a federal statute specifically provides that income for payments received under such statute shall be excluded in determining eligibility for the level of benefits received under any other federal statute, such income or payments shall be excluded in WIA eligibility determination.

10. Who is Eligible for Veteran’s Priority of Service? • Includes a veteran, as well as eligible spouses of veterans as defined below: • A veteran means a person who served at least one day in active military, naval or air services, and who was honorably discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. This includes full-time federal service in the National Guard or a Reserve component. • Eligible spouse means the spouse of any of the following: • any veteran who died of a service-connected disability; • any member of the armed forces on active duty who, at the time of the spouse’s application, is listed in one or more of the categories and has been so listed for more than 90 days: i) missing in action, ii) captured in the line of duty by a hostile force, or iii) forcibly detained or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power; • any veteran who has a total disability resulting from a service-connected disability; or • any veteran who died while a disability so evaluated was in existence.

11. Adult Eligibility Examples • John – age 55 is homeless and a veteran. He has not worked steadily for the last year. He has worked for cash and earned $2,500. • Mary – age 42 has not worked outside the home for the last 10 years, her husband left her 8 months ago. Her last job was as a registered nurse. She would like to go back into nursing. • Kimi – age 19 is a recent arrival to the US with a student visa. He is living in a group home.

12. Adult Eligibility Examples • Sam – age 37 has been living off his savings for the last 9 months. He is out of money. His work history is limited for the last 2 years. • Dexter – age 27 has been coming to the Center to use the Resource Room for the last few months. He is interested in finding work, however is evasive when engaged in the eligibility process.

13. Dislocated Workers • Generally speaking…Workers are considered to be dislocated if they lose their job through no fault of their own • However, they must fall into one of the four categories in order to satisfy the definition • Documentation Tip – follow the path of least resistance! Look for the applicable category with the least amount of data elements to verify

14. Eligibility Specific to Dislocated Workers • Applicant must be in one of the following categories: • Is terminated, laid off, or received notice of termination or lay off from employment AND … Is eligible for or has exhausted unemployment benefits (UI) OR Has been employed for a sufficient time to demonstrate attachment to the workforce but is not eligible for UI due to insufficient earnings or having performed services for an employer not covered by UI AND Is unlikely to return to previous industry or occupation

15. Eligibility Specific to Dislocated Workers 2. Has been terminated or laid off, or has received a notice of termination or layoff from employment as a result of any permanent closure or any substantial layoff at a plant, facility or enterprise OR Is employed at a facility where the employer has made a general announcement that such a facility will close within 180 days OR For purposes of eligibility to receive services other than training services in Section 134(d)(4A), intensive services in Section 134(d)(3), or supportive services, is employed at a facility at which an employer has made a general announcement that such a facility will close.

16. Eligibility Specific to Dislocated Workers • 3. Was self-employed (including employment as a farmer, a rancher, or a fisherman) but is unemployed as a result of a natural disaster; or general economic conditions in the community where the individual resides.

17. Eligibility Specific to Dislocated Workers • Is a displaced homemaker: “Displaced homemaker” means an individual who has been providing unpaid services to family members in the home and who: - has been dependent on the income of another family member but is no longer supported by that income; AND - is unemployed or underemployed and is experiencing difficulty upgrading or obtaining employment.

18. Dislocated Worker Eligibility Examples • Joe – is age 45 and was fired from his job at Acme Corp last week. He has signed up for classes at George Mason and wants you to re-pay him for the cost of the courses. • Scarlett – age 37 and has been laid off from a job with Acme Corp in their production department. Her job is being eliminated with no chance of returning to Acme Corp. She has worked there for 15 years. • Marie – age 50 is recently widowed and was working in the home. She has been unable to find employment due to outdated skills – she was a bookkeeper using a manual accounting system.

19. Dislocated Worker Eligibility Examples • Jerome – age 45 has just been discharged from the US Army, he was discharged one year prior to having 20 years of service. He was a E-7 at the time of discharge. He has six members in his family. He is interested in returning to his home in California.

20. Documentation Requirements • Eligibility determination must be documented. • WIA Eligibility Documentation has been reviewed and will be published shortly (provided to you and post on VWN website). • Must be maintained in participant folder (secure these as they contain personally identifiable information).

21. Good Eligibility Practices • Eligibility documentation should support the eligibility determination • Process used should be easy for another to follow • Another case manager could review your results and come to the same conclusion • Determination process is consistently applied to all customers • When co-enrolling customers, eligibility must be determined for all programs at the same time

22. Common Eligibility Errors • Documentation missing or incomplete • customer receives SNAP (food stamps) but file contains no documentation to support • Selective service status verification • Date of Birth verification • Missing or incomplete documentation of family membership • Layoff, termination or dislocation verification documents • “Family of one” determination based solely on customer being disabled

23. Common Eligibility Errors (cont.) • Income calculations • arithmetic errors • using net vs. gross earnings • 6 month earnings not annualized • VOS/Client Folder errors • Documentation in client folder does not match data entered in VOS, for example • date of birth on ID in client folder does not match date entered in VOS • Documents are not signed or dated and no witness identified.

24. Preventing Common Eligibility Errors • Always refer to the WIA Eligibility Manual • Peer review of eligibility • Review all eligibility documentation before making a client’s determination • Ensure client folder contains all documentation that supports your eligibility determination • If possible, review eligibility determination with an experienced case manager • Ineligible participants can cost money! • Eligibility reviews are conducted by VCCS and LWIA staff monitors. • Consistency, accuracy, timeliness and reliability are critical elements of this process. • Call your LWIA’s assigned Monitor or VOS/Policy support staff at the VCCS system office or LWIA staff

25. Priority of Service References • Always refer Virginia WIA Guidelines for Determining Eligibility, revised 11/2/2008, for complete definitions of Veteran, Low Income and other terms used in this slide show • This document can be found by logging onto the VOS (VaWC) website, www.vawc.virginia.gov, Staff Online Resources, Policies & Procedures, WIA Plans & Policies

26. Eligibility Resources • WIA Eligibility Documentation* • VWL 11-11 Income Guidelines* • Local Priority of Service Guidance • Local Eligibility Guidance, if applicable * Both can be found on the VOS (VaWC) website

27. Questions? Joe Holicky jholicky@vccs.edu 804-819-1692