Narrative: III. a. 2. B.

To assist in carrying out Missouri’s vision and goals, the state has established teams to focus on aligning the activities described in Section A. These teams include Service Design and Delivery; Business Engagement; Youth Services; Technology, Data, and Outcomes; and One-Stop Certification. Core, combined state plan, and required partners as well as additional partners such as the USDOL Registered Apprenticeship Program, Department of Corrections, the Department of Mental Health, and United Way are represented. WIOA partners were awarded the Apprenticeship USA grant, which necessitated participation at both the state and local levels. Additional partners include Missouri Chambers of Commerce, AFL-CIO, Missouri Community College Association, United Way, Missouri Department of Corrections, and various unions and businesses. 

The local regions also extended their partnerships beyond core, combined state plan, and required partner involvement. More than half of the local workforce development boards (WDB) established standing committees to address disability and/or special populations. Several local WDBs sponsored specific hiring and employer events, such as reverse job fairs targeted to the hiring of persons with disabilities.

The St. Louis region developed a unique partnership focused on serving youth. The St. Louis Youth Interagency team incorporated many agencies that assist youth including VR, Job Corps, the Division of Youth Services, the Office of Workforce Development, the Department of Mental Health, Youth Build, and the local Center for Independent Living. The new strategic framework for Missouri’s workforce system includes the following:

Activity 1: Engage More Businesses, Improve Business Services, and Link with Economic Development

Local WDBs work with partners to:  

• develop strategies to actively engage businesses and seek workforce information needed to develop effective, demand-driven services for workforce system customers;

• customize and disseminate labor market information that will contribute to the employment planning for businesses and information needs of economic development partners;

• coordinate with state, regional, and local economic development partners in recruiting, retaining, and expanding businesses for vibrant local economies;

• ensure that job centers offer customized comprehensive recruitment services that help businesses find the workers they need through easy access to the full range of workforce system talent, services, and partners;

• support entrepreneurial skill development to help individuals start and grow businesses assisting local economies to thrive;

• target key regional economic sectors, convene those sectors, map talent pipelines, and develop career pathways to ensure businesses have the qualified workforce they need to grow and prosper; and

• continuously seek alignment of the workforce system and job center services with the identified needs of the targeted sectors.

Activity 2: Creating Effective Referral Activities 

Missouri aligns with partners outside of WIOA by using an integrated service delivery model.

Each partner holds their staff accountable for knowing enough about each available service in order to give an individual the information they need to make an informed choice. Each local region, in collaboration with their partners, developed a local resource guide. The Service Design and Delivery Team used this information in developing an interactive web-based system, known as the Services Navigator, to assist agencies in providing effective referrals. The Services Navigator is targeted to partner staff to help them provide guidance to customers that need additional assistance provided by other agencies. 

Missouri Job Center (MJC) staff are required to document every referral including the method of referral and subsequent follow-up. Each referral must include an initial assessment (to the degree information can be shared), listing of services already planned, and the service requested of the organization receiving the referral. Any applicable partnerships that are created between local partners that are not in the local resource guide or in the Services Navigator will be reported to the nearest job center or website gatekeeper for inclusion as a resource.

• Title I has dedicated phone lines for Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants to file a claim and/or resolve issues related to a claim that provides the individual expedited/priority service from UI claims specialists.

• The Department of Social Services (DSS) staff trains job center and local WDB staff statewide to assist customers in completing child care subsidy applications. The applications are electronically submitted to a dedicated processing unit within the Family Support Division (FSD) to expedite applications.

• The FSD Information Centers (Call Centers) and Resource Centers discuss employment and training programs when completing outbound and inbound interviews with clients. The referrals are then sent to the appropriate SkillUP or Missouri Work Assistance (MWA) provider, including Office of Workforce Development. A formalized referral form was developed allowing DSS Work and Community Programs staff to make appropriate referrals to SkillUP and MWA providers. The DSS added partners that can utilize the form for referrals, including Fatherhood Support Centers that are TANF funded with the goal of increasing self-sufficiency and child support collections. In addition, the referral form is now available to the Child Support Call Center and Vocational Rehabilitation. The DSS Work and Community Programs created educational slides that are played in FSD call centers that offer reminders and information on employment, training, and support programs to current FSD staff.  These slides focus on Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG), SkillUP, the Excel Centers, MWA, and Jobs League.  Resource Centers throughout Missouri that have the capability to play these slides offer this information as a resource to clients, as well.

• The DSS implemented a Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) waiver, which allows SNAP applications to be accepted in correctional facilities pre-release. This process allows clients to receive benefits faster so they have the supports necessary as they transition into society. This will also allow these clients to quickly enroll in the SkillUP program, which provides job coaching, supportive services, training, and employer connections. In addition to SNAP benefits, applications will be taken for Child Care and TANF when justice-involved individuals are being reunited with their child(ren).

• The DSS Work and Community Programs and Department of Corrections (DOC) share data. This data shows that the majority of clients have been on FSD benefits for an extended period of time. DOC added the length of incarceration so agencies can determine approximate usage of state benefits. This guides future discussions on program development and justifies the investment of funds into programs that provide the highest return on investment and ensures the programs are good stewards of taxpayers’ dollars.
• The DSS Work and Community Programs and DOC continue to collaborate on a variety of programs to ensure that eligible clients, many of which are shared, are afforded opportunities to gain family supporting employment. These programs are TANF funded and include supporting the Kansas City Reentry Center pre-release, providing Microsoft Office classes through State Technical College that will result in certifications, and purchasing a truck simulator in southeast Missouri to be trained pre-release. The DOC projects will continue to form and be analyzed for effectiveness.
• The DSS Work and Community Programs shares information on the SkillUP program with a variety of agencies to ensure Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients are able to benefit from short-term training and other supports. These agencies make referrals and coordinate with the SNAP program. This includes Vocational Rehabilitation, Jobs for America’s Graduates, Missouri Food Bank Association, and DOC probation and parole. The DSS Work and Community Programs continues to create partnerships and collaborations with other agencies such as Boys and Girls Club, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Domestic Violence Coalition, and Independent Living Resource Centers.
• The DSS Work and Community Programs and SkillUP providers continue to provide outreach for the SkillUP program. The program was funded through TANF funds in state FY 2020. Outreach includes email blasts, text messages, various events, and success stories. In addition, the DSS Work and Community Programs provide materials including window clings that will be displayed in provider offices as well as retailers that accept SNAP and stickers to be used in food banks and on materials such as buttons that staff can wear encouraging clients to ask about the program.
• The FSD Resource Centers started allowing various agencies and entities to be represented within the center. They began with SkillUP providers and next had representation from the Department of Revenue, which allowed clients to resolve driving barriers. Probation and Parole, Energy Assistance, and Vocational Rehabilitation began this outreach in the Resource Centers as well.
• The DSS Work and Community Programs attends a multitude of resource fairs such as back to school, veterans, reentry, homeless, hiring events, health, and safety. This allows staff to provide information on benefits and employment and training opportunities. In addition, this affords opportunities to connect with other agencies and partners.
• The DSS Work and Community Programs provides internal and provider staff training on poverty, resources, mental health, safety, overcoming biases, and a variety of other topics to ensure they understand clients’ needs and barriers to obtaining employment while providing the best possible customer service.
• The DSS Work and Community Programs received technical assistance from the Administration for Children and Families through Integrating Innovative Employment and Economic Stability Strategies (IIEESS). IIEESS held various workshops on improving environments to lead to clients’ success, mapping of client processes to determine where job coaching is most appropriate, the difference between case management and coaching, and the importance of empowering participants to make decisions. The DSS Work and Community Programs staff, providers, and other agencies benefited from these workshops. 
• Title IV: To provide services for people with disabilities, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) partners with organizations outside the workforce system such as community rehabilitation providers, Centers for Independent Living, and local education agencies.
• The Office of Workforce Development’s (OWD) Apprenticeship Missouri program is collaborating with the Missouri Department of Mental Health to develop a Registered Apprenticeship program for direct care providers.
• Adult Education and Literacy (AEL) leverages co-location of its programs with other partners for face-to-face referrals. Where programs are not co-located, referrals are given through various technological and in-person methods. Programs track referrals in AEL’s statewide data system, and each program employs a student advocate to ensure appropriate referrals are made to partner agencies.
• AEL relies on partnership agencies that directly serve employers such as Title I and Title IV. This allows for Integrated Education and Training, Workplace Literacy programming, as well as training and education needs once participants have completed their AEL classes. With the support of partner agencies, AEL is now able to serve employers directly, raising the educational functioning level of current employees, thereby providing them with more career opportunities.