Narrative: III. a. 2. B.

The activities listed in the chart below identify the required and optional activities that will be carried out by the Workforce System. In order to align the activities, the State Board approved the Service Integration Policy. This policy requires that both required and optional partners work collaboratively and seamlessly in the delivery of services available under multiple workforce service programs. The Workforce System strives for a rigorous implementation of business sector strategies, jobseeker universal access to labor exchange services; streamlined business services teams, linked assessments, and referrals, and targeted training and placements. This implementation will be achieved through the close integration of Wagner-Peyser, WIOA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth, Adult Education, and other partners in the AJC.

Figure 2: Programs outside of State Plan

CTE

Tennessee’s Career & Technical Education consists of 16 nationally recognized career clusters with the ultimate goal of preparing students for success at the postsecondary level and in their chosen careers. More information detailing program specifics is outlined in Section II: State Strategy, specifically Career Pathways, and also addressed in Section III: State Strategy Implementation, specifically regarding Partner Engagement with Educational Institutions.

SCSEP

Targets subsidized temporary employment for workers over age 55 and contract management. More information detailing program specifics is outlined in Section VII regarding SCSEP.

SNAP Employment & Training Program

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) is the direct grantee of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) Funds. TDHS and the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) have partnered through an Interagency Grant Agreement to administer the SNAP E&T program. TDLWD will be responsible for serving the E&T participants through a vast array of employment and support services to promote workforce development in Tennessee. TDLWD will partner with the Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDB) and several Third Party Partners (TPPs) to accomplish this task. DHS makes the eligibility determination for SNAP benefits and refers participants through an automated interface. Communication is maintained throughout each individual’s participation to ensure their status is accurately tracked by both departments.

Participants are required to observe a program orientation that explains the work requirements, components offered, component requirements, and assistance provided for each component. We hope to implement an Online Orientation during Fiscal Year 2018. After the Orientation has been completed, program participants are assessed during a one-on-one meeting to develop an Individual Employment Plan (IEP). The assessment will review the individual’s background, education, work history, hobbies, and any barriers to employment. The plan can include education and/or training activities, but the overall goal is obtaining employment with a gainful wage that significantly reduces or eliminates the need for governmental assistance. After the IEP is developed, participants will immediately begin their participation in their most suitable component.

TDLWD has a number of divisions and programs that provide a vast array of services that combine to support jobs and workforce development in Tennessee. The Workforce Services Division is responsible for delivering the Department’s employment and educational services to employers and job seekers in the local AJC, partner agencies and online at Job4TN.

SNAP E&T is fully integrated within that structure offering all training and educational opportunities to SNAP E&T participants. The AJC Workforce Services structure also allows the leverage of Non- Federal funds of Partner Programs/Agencies to create 50/50 partnerships to expand services and move more SNAP E&T participants to self-sufficiency. There are currently two 50/50 partners in the State of Tennessee (Goodwill Industries-Knoxville and University of Tennessee Extension) and we plan to expand to more partners in 2018.

The Governor of Tennessee, Bill Haslam, has challenged our State with a “Drive to 55” mission for Tennessee’s future workforce and economic development. The drive is to get 55% of Tennesseans equipped with a college degree or certificate by the year 2025.

SNAP E&T will utilize the TN Reconnect initiative to assist adults with their training needs. Reconnect will cover tuition/ fees, so there is no cost to the program, other than supportive services. We plan to explore Reconnect as a potential Third Party Partnership during this Fiscal year.

Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) 2015 was a transition year for Tennessee’s SNAP E&T Program. New staff members were hired, an automated referral process was implemented, and reviews were completed in all TDLWD offices to identify deficiencies and address them in all offices. Training and technical visits were completed to ensure that the new vision of the program was clearly relayed and understood by all staff assigned to the program. We feel a solid foundation has been established and we are ready to take full advantage of being integrated into Tennessee’s Workforce System and begin pursuing Third Party Partnership opportunities.

There are currently no Tribal Organizations in the State of Tennessee, so there are no specific plans for this population at this time.

SNAP E&T Program Changes

As of October 1, 2016, SNAP E&T has moved to a voluntary, statewide program serving all 95 counties in Tennessee. This expansion has allowed access to training and educational opportunities to all Tennessee’s SNAP recipients who wish to volunteer for SNAP E&T. As of February 1, 2018, Tennessee has removed the ABAWD waivers for 79 counties. This will require any participant determined to be an Able-Bodied Adult Without Dependent (ABAWD) to meet their work requirements on a monthly basis to maintain their SNAP benefits. SNAP E&T will serve as a system to help serve these ABAWDs in meeting their requirements and connecting them to employment and training.

To ensure all SNAP E&T participants in all 95 counties have access to qualifying components, Career Specialists will become mobile and travel to surrounding counties within their Local Workforce Development Area (LWDA).Contact with each participant will be required on a monthly basis.

WIOA legislation requires recipients of public assistance, other low-income individuals, and individuals who are basic skills deficient be given priority of service for adult career and training services. This makes SNAP E&T participants a priority to all programs offered under WIOA youth and adult/dislocated workers. SNAP E&T participants can take full advantage of this opportunity since we are housed within the AJC with the WIOA as a partner. We plan to refer a majority of participants to WIOA for training programs. Our partnership with TCAT’s and Community Colleges will allow us to select several short-term training programs to quickly train participants interested in attending school. WIOA can then move them to On-the-Job (OJT) opportunities that would not be available to participants, outside of our partnership.

TDLWD plans to identify and partner with a Community Based Organization (CBO) in West, Middle, and East Tennessee during the FFY 2018. CBO’s could possibly provide soft-skills training, assist with case management functions, and provide specialized services. TDLWD will seek to amend the plan when those Organizations have been identified, along with their Non-Federal match funding and the establishment of an MOU.

We expect to amend this plan as MOU’s are established with training institutions and CBOs since their matching funds will need to be allocated. Once the MOUs are established, we will have the capacity to expand to additional areas/counties within Tennessee.

SNAP E&T PROGRAM COMPONENTS

TDLWD will offer the following Four Components during FFY 2016:

• Basic Adult Education

• Work Experience

• Job Search Training

• Career/Technical Education/Training

• Work Readiness

SEQUENCING OF COMPONENTS

Participants will be advised of all component options at Orientation. Any participant who has not attained a Diploma or a High school equivalency certificate will be required to enroll in the Adult Education component. Once the participant has passed the HiSET, he or she will be allowed to enroll in another component that best suits the participant’s employment goals. Other participants may request to be placed in a different component. The request will only be approved if funds are available and if it’s a qualifying component based on the participant’s type. If approved, that participant will be placed in the new component on the first of the following month.

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)

Upon the notification of a WARN notice and/or the receipt of a Certified Trade Petition, the Rapid Response Unit, and TAA Unit coordinates with WIOA partners to provide a seamless path from dislocation to gainful employment for trade-affected workers and their employers. As detailed in Section VI (2)(b), the Rapid Response Unit acts as a first responder to engage trade affected companies and their employees to the Workforce System. This early intervention ensures that workers are fully informed and able to request assistance sooner, which will ultimately lead to gainful employment more quickly.

To keep TAA-affected workers engaged in AJC services across the State, the collaborative effort between the TAA program and WIOA partners is paramount in providing a continuum of career services (Basic, Individual, and Follow Up Services). These services include early assessment, labor exchange services, employment counseling, the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) assessment or the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS), subsistence/transportation cost, and other services deemed appropriate. Through colocation and co-enrollment efforts, we work to provide the trade affected worker with the services necessary to obtain skills and credentials that will lead to gainful employment.

The TAA program utilizes the Jobs4TN system to promote a more consistent framework for maintaining and reporting data collected from the partners. This system allows for linking between all partners, provides a common ground for storage of documentation, reduces duplication of services, and fiscal integrity and undergirds reliable performance reporting. TDLWD Fiscal Division continually tracks TAA funding to ensure compliance with all program financial mandates. Program information stored in the VOS system is utilized to create the Participant Integrated Reporting Layout (PIRL) which indicates if performance goals have been obtained. Further, the TAA Data Integrity (TAADI) scorecard, which identifies areas of questionable or non-compliant data, is utilized on a quarterly basis to evaluate the effectiveness of the program and to ensure that participants are being served in accordance with TAA laws.

TAA Activity Alignment

The TAA program has aligned its service delivery structure to engage and leverage a partnership with WIOA partners and by also to expanding opportunities to educate and empower trade-impacted workers. The following activities are aligned to accomplish the State’s strategies:

1. EARLY ASSESSMENT OF TRADE AFFECTED WORKERS. Early assessment is a priority for TAA affected workers. It is important to determine whether the worker has the skills necessary to re-enter the workforce or is in need of further training to assist with future employment. TAA relies on WIOA partners to assist with the assessment and recommendation of training. Training may include occupational, customized, or On-the-Job (OJT) training. These assessments are always conducted in the local AJC. Co-location of the partners prevents the workers from traveling from one location to another to obtain services. All workers recommended for training are further evaluated by merit staff, in the TAA Unit, against the six TAA training criteria as identified in Federal Regulations 20 CFR 617.22 to ensure eligibility.

2. CROSS-TRAINING OF ALL STAFF. It is imperative that these workers get needed aid to regain employment more quickly. The cross-training of partner staff, in all programs, assists in better counseling of the TAA-affected workers concerning their needs and where services are available to meet the needs.

3. SHARED RESOURCES. Funding is essential to provide services to workers involved in the seamless Career Center System; and, leverage funding, when possible, can better ensure that workers receive necessary assistance. Case Management Funds, along with WIOA Partner funds enables a full assessment of trade-dislocated workers and also can ensure re-employment services for gainful employment.

4. EXPERTS WITHIN THE PROGRAM. It is essential that TAA and TRA use trade experts because of their program knowledge. Such expertise continues to ensure consistency and accuracy and thus ensures higher outcomes in re-employment for program participants.

5. CO-LOCATION OF PARTNERS. Co-location of partners is essential for a successful program. Trade is a complicated program with four different programs operating “under one umbrella.” Workers should never be expected to know all program details or even all service deliverers. With co-location, workers may obtain necessary services in one place where teamwork presents a seamless and competent organization.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

Coordination across programs generally aims to improve efficiency in service delivery and increase the effectiveness of the provided services. TDHS has worked with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development and implemented a standard referral or co-enrollment process of Families First/TANF clients to the WIOA program. In addition, an automatic WIOA referral policy was developed for the enrollment of Families First/TANF clients after a specific timeframe or for specific purpose to provide a seamless transition between programs, which affords clients easy access to an extended menu of services. TDHS continues to work with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development in determining guidelines for co-enrolled clients and guidance for clear communication in order to track participation and coordinate funding for support services. The Families First/TANF program’s presence in the American Job Centers (AJCs) is provided through our contracted partners, the ECMS Providers. ECMS Providers are physically located in several of the AJCs in the Labor and Workforce Development Areas (LWDAs). In areas where co-location does not exist, there is an electronic or appointment referral process in place between the ECMS Provider and AJCs (e.g. refer TANF customers to WIOA for training assistance when a TANF recipient has a demonstrated need for a private education program; refer TANF customers to WIOA counselors if their participation in job search and job readiness activities does not lead to employment after two (2) weeks). TDHS continues to collaborate with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development to explore the use of a common employment or service plan across both programs to increase communication on the client’s status in terms of his or her service plan and/or employment needs.

Infrastructure agreements have been established between Families First/TANF and other core partners in order to maximize the resources available to support common services when clients are co-enrolled. The commingling of these funds allows both programs to establish informal efforts to assemble a package of services that best meets the needs of co-enrolled clients (e.g. co-enrolled client takes the nursing board examination and WIOA pays for the initial exam; if they fail the examination the first time, the Families First/TANF program pays for the second examination, and then the two programs split costs associated with the licensure; client receives tuition assistance from WIOA to participate in a certified nursing program and the Families First/TANF program pays for associated certification fees).

The co-enrollment processes that have been implemented amongst the Families First/TANF and WIOA core programs will be periodically evaluated on the local and state level for purposes of strengthening and improving access and coordination of services for a seamless process.

TN Jobs for Veterans State Grant (VETS)

Tennessee Veterans are a valuable part of our state’s success and safety on a daily basis. Congruently, the success of our Veterans is an asset in our Workforce System and as a result, employment and training are always a priority for these for these respected individuals. Services provided at the AJC are focused on assisting Veterans and other eligible persons with Significant Barriers to Employment (SBE), in receiving quality training, if needed, and in obtaining gainful employment. In accordance with the Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG), these individuals receive personalized coaching to help them obtain and keep jobs that promote self-sufficiency.

During the integration of WIOA and W/P, Veterans will continue to receive the established preferences (as identified in the Priority of Service section below) and will be included among the populations targeted for outreach. Tennessee has developed a coordinated intake form, Veteran Service Form, to facilitate services for Veterans.

TARGETING SERVICES TO VETERANS

The primary objective of the JVSG is to develop and support activities to increase employment and job training opportunities for Veterans and eligible persons. AJC staff provide job search and placement services for Veterans including counseling, testing, occupational and labor market information and skill evaluations. These services assist Veterans in making an educated and up-to-date decision about their training and employment needs. Veterans are introduced to local resources that offer career exploration, education, and job tools to the best career decision. These services include:

• Assessment of personal marketability

• Use of skills translators to assess strengths

• Researching occupations on a national, State or local level

• Researching employers for job searches

• Tracking labor market trends

• Learning how to network in various career fields using professional associations and Career

• Resource links

• Researching training options by occupation such as certifications, schools, programs, and licenses

• Exploring credentialing options

• Finding financial aid resources

Integration of the DVOP and LVER into the WIOA Service Delivery system is accomplished by utilizing in-place procedures for servicing Veterans with SBEs and combining them with the new policies and processes that will support the law. Per US Dept. of Veterans Affairs, there are 501,907 Veterans in Tennessee. Those between ages 18-64 are 450,313kii.

INCREASING VETERANS TRANSITION SERVICES

Tennessee has developed a partnership with the Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) and the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) at Fort Campbell Army base. This partnership is to provide production line training (Mechatronics) and certification to transitioning service members, allowing veteran participants to obtain the necessary skills required by manufacturing. This pilot program has been extremely successful in the advocacy and placement of Veterans within local manufacturers.

As an added benefit to employers, Veterans are mentioned when describing WOTC eligible population groups. These benefits are becoming increasingly attractive to eligible applicants. Strategies for partner coordination are also in place to optimize employment outcomes for these special populations. Strategies include the collaboration of services providers and coordination of resources to serve the military facilities, service members, Veterans and their families, located throughout Tennessee.

Veterans Referral Process

One Stop partners are included in the intake process for JVSG DVOP services. Upon entering the AJC, Veterans are met by a front desk staff member, who asks several questions to help identify veterans and their needs. After identifying the veteran’s purpose for visiting the AJC, a staff member will conduct an intake assessment using the Veterans Service Form (VSF) to identify any significant barriers preventing employment. Upon identifying SBEs, partner staff members refer the veteran to the DVOP. Those veterans who do not have SBEs, however still require employment services and are provided services by our AJC staff, but not from a DVOP. Furthermore, when necessary, JVSG staff is often consulted with by AJC staff regarding military, DD-214, and other language translation in addition to other employment/ service related questions, as needed.

JVSG, DVOP/ LVER, integration into the One Stop extends beyond co-location. Veterans seeking services at affiliate centers, that do not have DVOP within that facility, still receive priority of service. After the staff identifies a veteran, an initial needs assessment will be conducted, and a determination of services will be made at that time. In addition, the VSF form is completed to help identify SBEs and additional barriers that may require intensive services from a DVOP. Upon identifying that the veteran has SBEs, the DVOP assigned to that county will be notified. Within 24 hours, the DVOP makes contact and schedules an appointment to meet with the veteran and proceeds with the subsequent intensive services.

Individuals entering the American Job Center are met with signage and are encouraged to identify themselves as Veterans. In addition, a front-desk American Job Center representative provides an appropriate greeting and inquires by asking, “Have you or your spouse ever served in the Military?”

When a Veteran is recognized, that Veteran will receive an initial intake assessment, performed by Wagner-Peyser staff; upon determining eligibility (disabled veteran or with an SBE), that Veteran is immediately referred to the DVOP specialist to receive intensive services, based on the veteran’s needs. All Veterans will receive Veteran Priority of Service and subsequent staff-assisted services.