Narrative: II. a. 2. A.

Colorado’s workforce development activities are coordinated through the following state agencies: the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE), Colorado Department of Education (CDE), and Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS). These agencies are responsible for all the core and non-core programs included in the combined state plan.

The Colorado Workforce Development Council (CWDC) is the governing body charged with the continuous improvement of the workforce system and oversight of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funds and programs. CWDC ensures that the state workforce activities are aligned with the efforts of economic development, education, workforce development, government, and business stakeholders at the local, regional, and state levels. This multifaceted alignment of public and private stakeholders creates a workforce system that is demand-driven, flexible, and responsive to the needs of Coloradans.

Colorado’s workforce system is driven from the bottom up though 10 local workforce areas including the Colorado Rural Workforce Consortium (CRWC), which is a comprised of 10 sub-areas. Each workforce area and sub-area has a board strategically directing the workforce activities at the community level and providing local guidance for implementation of workforce programs. With local guidance, workforce activities are often customized to fit the needs of individual customers -both businesses and jobseekers alike. The partnerships and atmosphere of collaboration guided by the state agencies and CWDC funnel to the local areas to create a fully integrated workforce system of not only core and non-core program partners, but community stakeholders that facilitate a system design to provide impactful services and activities throughout the state.

Colorado Workforce Centers

The Colorado Workforce Centers are at the forefront of the workforce activities, and represent Colorado’s version of the American Jobs Center. There are 58 workforce centers spread across the state providing access to many Coloradans.[1] In addition to these locations, Colorado has partnered with several local stakeholders to establish 31 virtual workforce centers where customers can access staff members through technology. Another example of collaboration and an effort to provide additional access to as many customers as possible is an initiative led by the Colorado Rural Workforce Consortium. This initiative provides funding to establish 15 Library Partners where Coloradans can access basic career services including over-the-shoulder assistance with Connecting Colorado, the state job matching system. In all, Colorado has more than 100 physical locations where the unemployed, underemployed, and businesses can receive an array of workforce system information and services.

The Colorado Workforce Centers are overseen at the state level by the CDLE, and are managed locally by each of the local area and sub-area boards. Local boards are comprised of local businesses, labor, partner agencies, and other key stakeholders to create a diverse and functional group. The boards, in alignment with the States’ vision, provide front line strategic implementation for state-wide initiatives in addition to their locally-determined priorities. State initiatives include sector strategies, career pathway development, and standardized business services delivery. Local priorities include lay off aversion, specific career pathway development, youth programs, targeted sector partnerships, work-based learning, and others.

Local boards are tasked with procuring a one-stop operator for the daily operation of their perspective center(s) in accordance with WIOA 121(d). These boards carry out workforce activities by partnering locally though Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) to implement core, non-core, and other partner programs. Colorado Workforce Centers are fully integrated with WIOA, Wagner-Peyser, Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG), and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA); local partnerships and integration also exist in many areas with TANF, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Adult Education and Family Literacy, Vocational Rehabilitation, and others.

With this foundation for service integration, Colorado Workforce Centers operate under the “no wrong door” philosophy, while local areas have developed their own customer flow strategies that are unique to their area. Typical customers entering the center are engaged by an intake process that is designed to identify the needs of the individual by gathering information and then utilizing the appropriate resources for those needs. In some cases, the resources are initiated by a referral to a partner program. Customers are given solutions and next steps to their questions, barriers, and issues by connecting directly with the appropriate workforce system partner as part of this philosophy. Because Colorado Career Centers are fully integrated and operate in close partnership with other workforce agencies, co-enrollment in multiple programs is commonplace. Co-enrollment provides the customer with the ideal service plan while allowing the system to utilize its resources in an efficient manner.

Collaboration of Activities

Communication is vital in order to coordinate and align workforce services statewide. This communication starts with the CWDC which has representation from the CDLE, CDHS, CDE, Colorado Department of Higher Education, and Colorado Department of Corrections, and which encompasses all of the core, non-core, and partner programs providing workforce activities in the state. Communication is further enhanced by the collaborative efforts of local area workforce directors, who hold a monthly director’s meeting where partnerships, special initiatives, and ongoing efforts are discussed with one another and state partners.

The CDLE recognized that local areas needed assistance in collaboration and information sharing and created an online Knowledge Management Portal, e-Colorado, which manages virtual resources through a single, comprehensive, electronic interface developed for workforce stakeholders and partners, including businesses, workforce professionals, government, and others. This resource allows for all stakeholders within the workforce development system to readily access policies, best practices, and program information including eligibility criteria. The portal offers team rooms for front line staff to discuss services and coordinate workforce activities through online calendars. In addition to these features, the portal offers business tools that include Virtual Job Fairs and online fillable “smart” forms, and houses the Adobe Connect online meeting capability utilized by stakeholders, as well as Colorado’s Workforce Centers, to conduct webinars and other online meetings.

Connecting Colorado is the case management, data collection, and reporting system utilized by all of the Workforce Centers. The system provides the ability for Workforce Centers and their partners to track all WIOA, TAA, Veteran, Wagner-Peyser, state and local programs (approximately 60), plus discretionary grants in one common database. All reports generated from this system are “up to the minute,” thus allowing for better management of day-to-day activity and performance. Along with the federally-mandated reports, Colorado has developed a variety of locally-requested reports that allow staff to track their caseloads, correct data entry errors, and analyze performance at the state, local, and case manager level. In addition, the system is agile enough to allow the as-needed addition of reports, and program and service codes that will track new statewide initiatives supporting the state’s workforce strategies. Workforce partners may make use of this system through data sharing agreements with the state or the local workforce regions.

Through this planning and collaboration, Colorado Workforce Centers were able to provide a full range of workforce services to nearly 400,000 job seekers in PY14. In that same period, more than 25,000 businesses received services from the standardized business service team while more than 4,800 job seekers were provided training services to increase the talent pipeline and meet the needs of the state’s businesses in targeted sectors with high-growth industries. To this end, Colorado met or exceeded all of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) common performance measures in PY14.

Workforce System Services - Unemployed and Underemployed

Colorado Workforce Centers offer the full array of Career Services outlined in WIOA 134(c)(2) for unemployed and underemployed jobseekers.

Career services available at the centers vary because of local area inflexion and needs of particular communities. Basic career services are available at over 100 locations throughout Colorado. Each center has computers, printers and copiers, printed resources, and staff to assist jobseekers.

Many of the services, including Connecting Colorado and Colorado LMI Gateway, can be accessed virtually though the internet via computer, smart phone, or tablet. Connecting Colorado is the state job matching system and is the virtual one-stop-shop where Coloradans can centralize all their career search activities. It allows jobseekers to self-enter his/her resume(s) and job search 24/7. Jobseekers can set up virtual recruiters and receive an e-mail notification once a job is entered that matches their unique specifications. Connecting Colorado also provides access to a tool box of job search assistance links that has been customized for each workforce area. Links include direct access to the area’s web page, career exploration, training resources, self-marketing tools, Unemployment Insurance information, and additional job banks. The built-in event calendar communicates upcoming hiring events, job fairs, and other workforce activities. Colorado LMI Gateway allows jobseekers to make informed data-driven career decisions. This labor market system provides a wide variety of regional labor market services, such as labor trends, statistics, economic, demographic, salary, and employer data. It allows jobseekers to set up a personal page for their career exploration data to be readily accessible.

Basic Career services also extend beyond the virtual world. After the initial assessment, customers—as appropriate—may be provided with direct linkages to additional workforce activities, including multiple education and training opportunities, across the workforce system though partner referrals. Many of these partners are housed within the workforce center, making customers unaware that they are participating in multiple programs due to the integrated service delivery.

Individualized Career Services

Individualized career services within the Colorado Workforce Centers vary across the state, but all the offices offer a full line of activities to prepare jobseekers for the modern workforce. They address many of the soft skill and technical skill training Colorado employers require such as:

• Complex Problem Solving
• Writing
• Critical Thinking
• Judgment and Decision Making
• Deductive Reasoning
• Information Ordering
• Coordination
• Interacting With Computers, and
• Analyzing Data or Information

Local areas work with employers to identify these needs and systematically create programs to provide the education and training needed. These types of services begin with the development of an individual employment plan to address the unique requirements of each customer. Professional staff in the workforce system work with the customer to create and implement their plan. Staff provide the customer with local labor market information including in-demand occupations, wage data, and employer requirements. The plan may include activities such as:

• Workshops - Job Search, Application, Resume Writing, Interviewing, Finical Literacy, etc.;
• Short-Term Pre-vocational Services - Career Readiness that includes soft skill training;
• Workforce Preparation Activities - Microsoft Office Training, Basic Computer, Keyboarding, KeyTrain, etc.;
• Career Exploration Inventories - CareerScope, COPS, My Next Move, etc.; and
• Comprehensive Assessments - SkillCheck, Prove It!, WorkKeys, Test of Adult Basic Education, etc.

By utilizing these services and successfully completing the appropriate assessments, Coloradans are eligible to receive the Career Ready Certificate (CRC). The CRC is an assessment-based credential signed by the Governor that certifies a job seeker’s skills. The certificate creates objective standards for employment readiness and demonstrates a job seeker’s mastery of the work-applied skills employers are seeking. To earn a certificate, one must achieve appropriate levels for one or more of the vocational or soft skill assessment tests incorporated in the CRC by the State.

Training Services

Career services are not always enough to enable job seekers to obtain self-sufficient employment. In some instances, formal training is required. Colorado Workforce Centers offer multiple trainings services such as:

• Occupational skills training
• On-the job training (OJT)
• Apprenticeships
• Incumbent worker training
• Skill upgrading and retaining
• Entrepreneurial training, and
• Adult education and family literacy activities

Training services are funded through WIOA programs, Pell Grants, partner programs, and state and local grants. Local areas are responsible for establishing and implementing local polices for eligibility, Individual Training Account (ITA) limits, and the identification of in-demand sectors or occupations. Through multiple initiatives and projects, Colorado has focused training and career development activities on sector strategies/partnerships and career pathway development.

WORK Act - The Skilled Worker Outreach, Recruitment, and Key Training Act (WORK Act) is a grant program administered by CDLE and an 11-member grant review committee that is made up of system partners and stakeholders. The grant enables recipients to reach a broader audience through recruitment and outreach activities, increase enrollment in and completion of their skilled worker training programs, and fill existing needs for skilled workers in the market. This allows for Colorado to address the middle skills gap by strengthening training programs and increasing participation.

Colorado House Bill 15-1274 - The legislation directs the CWDC to coordinate multiple state agencies and industries in the design of career pathways in growing and emerging sectors. The first pathways to be developed are in construction and skilled trades, information technology, and health care. Pathways are required to be posted online, allowing easy access for all Coloradans. These career pathways blend multiple learning experiences including internships, apprenticeships, and traditional training.

Colorado House Bill 15-1275 - This recent legislation has directed advisory boards made up of CDE, CDLE, community college systems, CWDC, and other stakeholders to create recommendations that assist local education providers in creating cooperative agreements to include apprenticeships and internship programs in the available concurrent enrollment programs. In addition, the legislation creates a tuition assistance program for eligible students enrolled in short-term certification programs that Pell Grants do not cover. This allows low-income individuals to enter career pathways through short-term certification programs, helping Colorado grow the middle class.

Sector Partnership National Emergency Grant (NEG) - The Sector Partnership NEG provides funding for the expansion or creation of new sector partnerships in multiple local areas. The partnership includes local community colleges or other educational institutions, county departments of human services, employers, and local area boards. The funding is also used for career services for dislocated worker training including OJT and other work and learn activities.

Displaced Homemaker Grant - The Displaced Homemaker Grant provides Keep Envisioning Your Success (KEYS) Scholarship, and is a partnership between CDLE and the Community College of Denver (CCD) to provide reemployment services to individuals who lost their primary source of income and must re-enter the labor market. The program provides financial support to participants to earn their Certificate or Associate Degree with programs focused on in-demand careers in the areas of health care, computer science, human services, business, legal, and education. In addition, the program helps participants develop self-confidence, achieve academic success, and overcome barriers to employment.

The continued development of sector partnerships and career pathways allows Coloradans to understand the full potential of their participation in workforce activities. Non-traditional training such as work and learn programs including OJTs and apprenticeships offer a wide selection of training opportunities, at the same time enabling local areas to customize training to fit the needs of regional industry demands. This flexibility in training options provides the state with the opportunity to assist individuals in obtaining the technical skills demanded by employers as outlined above. At the state level, the Eligible Training Provider List (ETPL) has been updated pursuant to WIOA Sections 122 and 134. This list ensures that Coloradans are able to make informed decisions on training providers and programs based on accurate data including completion and placement rates, labor market information, and wage expectations.

Supportive Services

In order to assist job seekers in obtaining or retaining employment though career or training services, Colorado Workforce Centers offer a variety of supportive services. Local areas are responsible for establishing supportive service policy that outlines types, eligibility, limits, etc. Examples of supportive services include child care, transportation, needs-related payments, tools and equipment, uniforms, and other clothing. In addition to WIOA-funded supportive services, local areas have developed relationships with community partners that assist with utility payments, food, shelter, and other basic needs. Formal MOUs with workforce partners outlined below provide additional supportive services such as cash and food assistance to jobseekers.

Workforce System Activities: Business

The focal point of all workforce system activities is business and industry. Colorado has been a national leader in the development of sector partnerships and business services over the past several years. The workforce system created a statewide Business Service Team consisting of members across core partners. The team established eleven core services to present to employers. These activities are taking place statewide and include:

Access to facilities - use of Workforce Center facilities by a business for a variety of purposes such as meetings, trainings, orientations, interviews, etc.;

Assessments - Any test or assortment of tests used to measure the skills, interests and/or personality traits of a job seeker, potential employee, or current employee;

Business education - Seminars, round tables, workshops, focus groups, etc.;

Business information - Information given to a business pertaining to a variety of incentive programs or other information requested that provides a benefit to that business;

Hiring events - A customized event for a single employer that assists with recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of one or more positions;

Job fairs - Brick & Mortar is an event for multiple employers that assists with the recruiting, interviewing, and hiring of one or more positions; Virtual is an online “event” in which employers and job seekers each meet in a virtual environment, using chat rooms, teleconferencing, webcasts, training/workshop videos, webinars, employers online hiring sites, and/or email to exchange information about job openings and/or resources;

Job postings - Staff-entered or web-entered job orders approved by staff;

Labor market information - Information on state and local labor market conditions; industries, occupations, and characteristics of the workforce; area business identified skills needs; employer wage and benefit trends; short and long-term industry and occupational projections; worker supply and demand; and job vacancies survey results;

Rapid Response - A variety of services to businesses that are facing restructuring and downsizing including onsite workshops for employees in transition; job placement assistance; and information on unemployment benefits;

Screening - Any service that involves the initial evaluation of applications or resumes that assists the employer in the recruiting process; and

Training and retraining - Any service provided to a business that involves the training or retraining of current or future employees including OJTs, Work Experiences, Incumbent Worker Training, etc.

This collaboration among local areas is reinforced at the annual Business Service Summit where Business Services Representatives (BSR) from across the state work to ensure activities and strategies align system wide.

Workforce System Partners and Activities

Job Corps

Colorado has one Job Corps location in Collbran, Colorado. Job Corps is a federally-funded program under WIOA that provides free education and training to young adults (16-24 year olds). Eligible youth are able to earn a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma and receive life, soft, and occupation skills training. The Job Corps partnership with Colorado’s workforce system is statewide and comprehensive. Staff of the Collbran Job Corps Center and their outreach and recruitment contractor, CHP International, have a long history of participation in the state and local youth councils. Youth from the Collbran Job Corps Center also become members of local youth councils on a regular basis. Job Corps regularly participates in local youth job and career fairs. The strong relationship between the Colorado Workforce Centers and Job Corps is solidified by MOUs to provide Job Corps and their contracted vendor with access to Connecting Colorado. Collbran youth register with Connecting Colorado to search for jobs once they have completed their coursework and are transitioning back to the community. They benefit by posting a résumé, applying for a specific job, or completing a self-directed job search. A formalized process for referring Job Corps participants to local WIOA youth programs is in place with each workforce area and provides youth with access to more career services that they may need to meet their educational and employment goals.

YouthBuild

YouthBuild is an education, career-training, and leadership program for young adults without a high school diploma or equivalent. The program provides skill building and preparation for participants to obtain their diploma while simultaneously providing work and learn programing in a variety of in-demand occupations. Students are exposed to soft skill training throughout the program and build the foundational career skills needed to succeed in the modern workplace. Upon completion of the program, students are assisted with career or post-secondary education placement and receive 12 months of follow-up services. With two active grantees in Colorado, YouthBuild program information and referrals are available through the workforce centers nearest these programs.

Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers Program

CDLE administers the Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers Program (MSFW), ensures that program information is available at all workforce centers, and that eligible participants receive proper referrals. Colorado is designated as a significant MSFW state and six centers have been determined as significant MSFW Workforce Centers (Brighton, Greeley, Lamar, Monte Vista, Delta, and Rocky Ford). These centers administer a bilingual (English/Spanish) outreach program through workforce centers to ensure that equitable services are provided to all MSFW clientele, including:

• Job search assistance and placement registration assistance
• Assistance with Unemployment Insurance
• Testing
• Counseling
• Training opportunities
• Referral to supportive services
• Job development
• Referrals to other organizations that serve migrant and seasonal farm workers
• Complaint resolution, and
• Farm worker rights and labor law information

MSFW programs coordinate with Colorado Workforce Centers and many times customer are co-enrolled, which allows them to access the full array of workforce system programs.

Employment First

Colorado operates its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) and optional Workfare program under the title Employment First. The Colorado Department of Human Services administers the Employment First Program, which is run through local county human service departments in 45 counties statewide. Counties procure their own service providers, and may coordinate activities with local workforce centers. Several examples of integration already exist in Colorado between Employment First and workforce centers. Such local level collaboration provides customers an opportunity to apply for and receive SNAP assistance to help overcome barriers to employment, as well as allowing SNAP participants to access additional resources in their employment search.

The mission of Employment First is to increase employment for food assistance recipients though support, referrals, accountability, and community work. Participants may engage in a variety of employment-oriented activities through the Employment First program, including:

• English Language Acquisition
• Literacy
• Adult Basic Education
• Employability Education
• Working
• WIOA -Funded Programs
• Vocational Training
• Business
• Vocational Rehabilitation, and
• Post-Secondary Education

Colorado Works

Colorado’s Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is known as Colorado Works and is administered at the state level by the Colorado Department of Human Services, and is locally administered by county departments of human/social services. In some local areas, agreements are in place to establish partnerships between human service agencies and the workforce centers. In other areas, the workforce center may fall underneath the broader umbrella of the county human service department. While human service offices exist in all of Colorado’s 64 counties, workforce centers are not always accessible within every county. In these areas, partnerships take the form of regional collaboration or virtual services.

All applicants for Colorado Works are given an assessment within 30 days of application that focuses on identifying what services and assistance will best support the family in achieving economic stability. Often times these assessments lead to referral(s) to WIOA and other workforce partner services as a priority population. In many counties, workforce development activities associated with Colorado Works are administered through the workforce center via a local level agreement or contract for services. Participants may engage in a variety of employment-oriented activities through the Colorado Works program, including:

• English Language Acquisition
• Adult Education and Family Literacy
• Post-secondary and Vocational Education
• Work Experience/Interships
• Community Service
• WIOA - Funded Programs
• Job Readiness Training
• Employment

Adult Education and Family Literacy

CDE’s Office of Adult Education Initiatives (AEI) administers the federally-funded Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) grant program under Title II of WIOA, as well as the state-funded Adult Education and Literacy Act of 2014 grant program. AEI provides oversight for programs across the state, and services are provided locally by sub-grant recipients. As a combined plan core partner, and consistent with the focus of WIOA, adult education and family literacy services are essential to the workforce system. In many cases, meeting adult education and family literacy needs is the first step in a job seeker’s career pathway. Adult education and family literacy services include adult basic and secondary education and english language acquisition focused on career pathways and family literacy to promote stronger educational advancement of children, helping break cycles of poverty, and building stronger local areas within Colorado.

Senior Community Service Employment Program

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is administered by the Division of Aging and Adult Services, Department of Human Services. SCSEP promotes useful, part-time employment opportunities in community service activities for persons with low incomes who are 55 years of age or older and have multiple barriers to employment. Priority is given to individuals who are: veterans, age 65 plus, live with a disability, have limited English proficiency and/or low literacy skills. The program is designed to foster individual economic self-sufficiency and increase the number of people in unsubsidized employment.

SCSEP participants are placed in non-profit or government agencies called, "Host Agencies." Host agencies agree to provide employment training through community service activities, upgrading the participants’ employability skills. Participants are provided minimum wage, skill enhancement or acquisition of skills, personal and employment counseling, and assistance in obtaining un-subsidized employment. Approximately 1,000 individuals throughout Colorado are served annually through SCSEP.

Vocational Rehabilitation

Vocational Rehabilitation Programs fall under the authority of CDLE though the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR), beginning July 1, 2016. DVR’s positioning within CDLE, creates natural and meaningful partnerships with other WIOA services to better serve Coloradans with disabilities who have previously struggled to participate in the workplace, including those with disabilities for whom employment has remained completely out of reach, as well as other groups such as youth, recently discharged veterans, and the long-term unemployed. The DVR mission is to assist persons with disabilities to succeed at work and to live independently. DVR accomplishes this mission with a variety of employment and training activities including:

Evaluation and diagnostic services provided to determine eligibility and the services needed for the individual to become employed;

Vocational rehabilitation counseling and guidance provided directly by a vocational rehabilitation counselor during the individual’s plan of services;

Physical and mental restoration services which may be provided to correct or substantially modify an individual’s physical or mental condition;

Training services, when necessary to become employed, including vocational training, academic training, personal and vocational adjustment training, job coaching, on-the-job training, job-seeking skills training, and books, tools, and other training materials;

Specialized services for individuals who are blind, deaf, and deaf-blind, including interpreter services, note-taking services, and reader services;

Rehabilitation technology services, including assistive technology devices, assistive technology services, and rehabilitation engineering services to address barriers encountered by an individual in attaining or retaining employment;

Placement services provided to assist an individual with a disability to find adequate and suitable employment in his/her chosen career; and

Supportive services, such as maintenance, transportation, personal assistance services, and services to family members may also be provided if necessary for the individual to utilize the services identified above.

Post-employment services may be provided to previously rehabilitated individuals when needed to maintain or regain suitable employment.

Pre-employment transition services provided to students with disabilities, including: job exploration and counseling, work-based learning experiences, counseling on opportunities for enrollment in comprehensive transition or postsecondary educational programs at institutions of higher education, workplace readiness training to develop social skills and independent living, and instruction in self-advocacy.

Technical assistance, training, outreach and other supportive services provided to public and private employers of all sizes, including Federal and Federal contracting employers for the purpose of increasing employment opportunities for job seekers with disabilities.

Trade Adjustment Assistance

Trade Adjustment Assistance is overseen by CDLE and is part of the integrated services team in the Colorado Workforce Centers. TAA provides enhanced reemployment benefits designed to help workers adversely affected by foreign trade obtain suitable employment. Benefits include occupational training, job search and relocation allowances, Reemployment Trade Adjustment Assistance (RTAA), reemployment case management services, Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA), and extended unemployment insurance benefits. TAA customers are co-enrolled into Title I-B programs and are referred to other workforce system activities as needed.

Jobs for Veterans State Grant

Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) programs are administered by CDLE, and are co-located and fully integrated within the Colorado Workforce Centers. JVSG funds two positions: Disabled Veterans Outreach Specialist (DVOP) and Local Veterans Employer Representative (LVER). Customers entering the career center are screened for eligibility and referred to JVSG staff as appropriate. In most cases, JVSG participants are co-enrolled in Title I-B programs. DVOPs are charged with providing case management and careers services to young veterans aged 18-24, eligible spouses, and veterans with Significant Barriers to Employment (SBEs) as outlined in Veterans Program Letter (VPL) 03-14 and 04-14, which include:

• A special disabled or disabled veteran, as those terms are defined in 38 U.S.C § 4211(1) and (3); special disabled and disabled veterans are those: 1) who are entitled to compensation (or who, but for the receipt of military retired pay, would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or, 2) were discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability;
• A homeless person, as defined in Sections 103(a) and (b) of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. I 1302(a) and (b)), as amended;
• A recently-separated service member, as defined in 38 U.S.C § 4211(6), who has been unemployed for 27 or more weeks in the previous 12 months;
• An offender, as defined by WIOA Section 3 (38), who is currently incarcerated or who has been released from incarceration;
• A veteran lacking a high school diploma or equivalent certificate; or
• A low-income individual (as defined by WIOA Section 3 (36)).

DVOPs provide a range of services including career planning and counseling, comprehensive assessments, individual employment plan development, short-term pre-vocational services, and other career services within the Colorado Workforce Centers. LVERs operate on the local area business service team providing an array of business services such as planning and participating in job fairs, employer outreach, job development, and assisting in the education of workforce system partners on veterans programs.

JVSG grant staff also serve other populations of veterans in the State through MOUs. Those populations include:

National Guard and Reserve members returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF). In particular, Virtual Job Fair Technology is being utilized to assist this group with veterans resource sites, accessed while they are still overseas, and actual virtual job fairs when they return to this country;

Service-connected disabled veterans, who are targeted and identified through various Veterans Service Organizations (VSO), as well as outreach activities at Veteran Centers and Veterans Administration Medical centers;

Recently separated service member, who are targeted through Colorado’s College Campus Outreach pilot program and through job fairs and hiring events;

Wounded and injured veterans, who are identified through the REALifelines program that staff coordinates, and through relationships established with the Wounded Warrior Program located at Fort Carson, Colorado;

Incarcerated veterans, who are identified and contacted through “in-reach” activities conducted within correctional facilities managed by the Colorado Department of Corrections. Veteran representatives will also work in partnership with the Veteran Offender initiatives described in detail below under Ex-Offenders; and

Homeless Veterans - Veteran Employment Specialists work with the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program (HVRP), providing one-on-one employment assistance and supportive services to homeless veterans to include, but not limited to, resume and interviewing preparation, employment workshops, job search assistance and job referrals.

Unemployment Compensation Programs

Unemployment Insurance Division (UI) programs are operated by CDLE and work with both Workforce Development Program staff and Colorado Workforce Center staff. UI provides benefits to qualified dislocated workers to assist them with their financial needs during their work search. UI staff have partnered with system leaders to cross train workforce staff on the UI benefits systems, which allows for better distribution of information to jobseekers. In addition, UI operates the Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) and Links to Reemployment which focuses on engaging UI claimants within the first 5 weeks of their first UI Benefit payment by getting them physically into the workforce centers. This proactive strategy provides earlier workforce engagement and increased services to help expedite workforce reentry.

[1] https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdle/wfc