Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities under Title I-B
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following with respect to activities carried out under subtitle B—
- c. With respect to youth workforce investment activities authorized in section 129 of WIOA—
With respect to youth workforce investment activities authorized in section 129 of WIOA—
- c. With respect to youth workforce investment activities authorized in section 129 of WIOA—
c. 4. Provide the language contained in the State policy for “requiring additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment” criterion for out-of-school youth specified in WIOA section 129(a)(1)(B)(iii)(VIII) and for “requiring additional assistance to complete an education program, or to secure and hold employment” criterion for in-school youth specified in WIOA section 129(a)(1)(C)(iv)(VII). If the state does not have a policy, describe how the state will ensure that local areas will have a policy for these criteria.
Current Narrative:
Criteria for use and documentation of this eligibility component is articulated in policy PY16-05 Youth Requires Additional Assistance. The purpose of the policy is to provide guidance to local boards regarding youth eligibility under the youth barrier for a “Low-income individual who requires additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program or to secure or hold employment” as stated in WIOA. This requires the State or Local Boards to establish definitions for additional youth barriers pertaining to youth most-in-need and places a limitation on the percentage of in-school-youth for which this barrier can be used for eligibility purposes. The policy states eligibility using the locally-defined barrier not to exceed 5% of all ISY enrollments.
For in-school-youth the barrier must pertain to low-income students who require additional assistance to complete an educational program.
For out-of-school-youth the barrier must pertain to low-income youth who require additional assistance to enter or complete an educational program, or to secure and hold employment. To accommodate these WIOA changes, local boards must:
- Rescind or revise existing policy to create a new policy for “Low-Income Youth requires additional assistance…” ensuring that the local definition does not duplicate any youth barriers already identified under WIOA and that it identifies barriers faced by youth in the local area
- Title the policy “Local Definition of Youth Requires Additional Assistance” and not the “sixth barrier” as it is no longer a sixth barrier
- Clearly define the specific barrier(s) and list the documentation to be used to validate the barrier
- Clearly articulate that the local barrier can only be used as an eligibility barrier for up to 5% of all In-School Youth (ISY)
- Establish a method for tracking ISY enrollments under this barrier to ensure that the 5% limitation is not exceeded
- Provide a copy of the new policy to the Maine Department of Labor’s Bureau of Employment Services, once it has been reviewed and approved by the Local Board
- Provide evidence that local area youth service provider staff have been made aware of the new/revised policy, that they understand the limitation on its use for eligibility for in-school-youth, and they are able to implement it accordingly
Each of the three local areas have revised this policy and identified specific criteria that is not duplicative of WIOA, have identified methods for validating the barriers they have identified and have provided assurance that youth staff understand how this barrier is to be used for eligibility purposes and restrictions for use for in-school-youth.