Located in:
- Program-Specific Requirements for Wagner-Peyser Program (Employment Services)
All Program-Specific Requirements provided for the WIOA core programs in this section must be addressed for either a Unified or Combined State Plan.
d. 1. Coordination of and provision of labor exchange services for UI claimants as required by the Wagner-Peyser Act;
Current Narrative:
The Division of Employment Security (DES) and the Office of Workforce Development (OWD) understand that reemploying claimants to reduce the average duration a claimant receives UI benefits is critical to the effective and efficient operation of each agency. To accomplish this task, the DES and OWD will continue to look for opportunities to use Wagner-Peyser funds to improve reemployment services.
The RESEA program is intended to identify UI claimants with a high potential for exhausting their regular UI benefit entitlement and direct them to reemployment services to accelerate their return to work. Claimants selected for RESEA are required to report to a Missouri Job Center (MJC) for one-on-one staff assisted services or by completing a remote RESEA by using person to person technologies such as Skype, Zoom, FaceTime, or other similar products. All RESEA participants receive an orientation to job center services and are assessed for individual skills. While meeting with non-merit state job center staff, in person or remotely, participants are given current labor market information and provided assistance with resume writing, job searching and other critical reemployment services.
Staff members from DES and OWD continue to work together to coordinate and improve efforts to reemploy UI claimants. MJC non-merit state staff members identify potential eligibility issues related to claimants refusing suitable work or a referral to apply for suitable work. An automated process is in place for OWD staff to refer potential issues to the DES for investigation. Claimants may be determined ineligible to receive UI benefits when barriers to reemployment are discovered or they refuse to apply for suitable work as directed by Missouri Job Center staff. This collaboration between DES and OWD helps to ensure the integrity of the UI benefits program.
DES and OWD utilize a collaborative effort to further ensure the integrity of the UI program. With the assistance of enhanced systematic identity proofing at the time of filing, when a claimant fails automated identity proofing or the identity of a claimant is in question, an issue is set preventing payment on the claim and the claimant is required to report in person to a job center with documents to prove identity.