Narrative: III. b. 7.

The state shall provide priority of service for veterans and covered persons per VPL 07-09 and TEGL 10-09. The term "priority of service" means, with respect to any qualified job training program, that a veteran or covered persons shall be given priority over nonveterans for the receipt of employment, training, and placement services provided under that program, notwithstanding any other provision of law. Such priority includes giving access to a service for a veteran or covered person before a non-covered person, or, if resources are limited, giving access to such services to a veteran or covered person instead of a non-covered person.  

Priority starts with the first AJC  member that comes in contact with the veteran or other covered person. During the reception process, a series of questions identifies veteran or eligibility status. Qualified veterans or other covered persons are provided services prior to other customers and an initial assessment is completed by the first available AJC staff member.   If during the initial assessment it is determined that the veteran or other covered person has an SBE, they are immediately referred to a DVOP specialist.   Please note that not all covered persons are eligible for DVOP services.

Priority begins when veterans and eligible spouses are identified at the point of entry, during the registration process. Registration may occur in person or virtual. During registration, questions are asked to identify veterans and eligible spouses. Veterans and eligible spouses are identified during triaged which is beginning of the reception process.

A series of questions identifies veteran or eligibility status. Qualified veterans or other covered persons are provided services prior to other customers and an initial assessment is completed by the first available AJC staff member.   If during the initial assessment it is determined that the veteran or other covered person has an SBE, they are immediately referred to a DVOP specialist. Please note that not all covered persons are eligible for DVOP services.

Veterans may self-attest to their veteran status and are only required to verify their status once they are enrolled in a program and resources are committed that require verification. They are then allowed to follow-up with the required verification of veteran status.

The state provides priority of service in accordance with VPL 07-09 and TEGL 10-09. When a veteran or other covered person is identified as having barriers to employment, they are fast tracked on a priority basis to ensure that those barriers are resolved as expeditiously as possible. The state has memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with U.S. Department of Labor-funded programs covered by 38 U.S.C Section 4215 on veterans' priority and refers veterans to training and supportive services within that network on a priority basis. The state has partnered with educational entities within the state and the vocational/technical institutions, which also provide priority service for veterans and assists them with their educational and literacy needs.

Veterans or other covered persons receive priority for employment and job training opportunities available through WIOA funding, on-the-job training, skills development training and youth training contracts. Veterans or other covered persons can locate training opportunities through the use of the HiRE database and receive training at private facilities, which have been approved through the State Established Training Provider List (ETPL).  Should veterans  or other covered persons meet the eligibility criteria, their training costs are paid by the WIOA program or through individual training accounts. Veterans  or other covered persons always take priority in instances of training as long as eligibility is met. Priority is given by placing the veteran on top of the waiting list, if one exist.  LVER staff and other AJC staff identify jobs and training opportunities specifically tailored for veterans or other covered persons , as they promote them as potential employees. These priority services are made available and provided to veterans, Chapter 31 veterans, Native American veterans and other groups targeted for special consideration, including difficult-to-serve veterans and veterans with barriers to employment.

Relevant to programs with statutory priorities veterans and eligible spouses who meet the mandatory priorities or spending requirements or limitations will receive the highest level of priority for the program or service.

 The state will closely monitor the provision of priority of service. Both JVSG management and local area coordinators shall periodically conduct site checks to ensure all required priority of service signs are present and properly displayed, and that AJC staff understand both the requirement of priority of service and its proper implementation. During these site visits, monitors pay particular attention to the implementation of priority of service beyond core services, particularly in the allocation of training funds. The state shall consider an indicated referral rate in any one of these areas being lower for veterans and other covered persons than for nonveterans to be evidence of a potential priority-of-implementation problem.  The state shall immediately place the affected region under examination and take corrective action measures to include, but not be limited to additional training.  

Louisiana provides employment, training and placement services to all veterans through a network of strategically located AJCs operated by 15 Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDA) and supported by the state’s proprietary HiRE database system. The state, working closely with each AJC and their LWDA, has implemented a standardized framework for customer flow. This flow determines the methodology through which all clients (both jobseeker and employer) are integrated into the system and how they are assessed to identify their service needs. All programs are coordinated through a joint referral process described in each region's memorandum of understanding (MOU) between partners. Each partner performs the services allowed by their authorizing legislation or policy. Inter-staff collaboration is also enforced via program updates and workforce development policies are shared among partners at regularly scheduled staff meetings and training. During those contacts, all staff members share information about new employers and job orders received, AJC scheduled activities and positive recruitment activities taking place in the region. All DVOP specialists are full-time employees, including the DVOP specialist ISC out-stationed with VA VR&E. They are singularly responsibility for locating and providing individualized career services to targeted veterans and other eligible persons in the context of an effective network system. Although DVOP specialists are responsible for facilitating the case management and individualized career services of veterans with significant barriers to employment (SBE), they are not alone in this effort. Providing individualized career services to veterans with SBEs takes a team effort and as such, all services available in any particular AJC are available to veterans on a priority-of-service basis. The state mandates and monitors that non-JVSG funded staff provide individualized career services through the case management framework as appropriate to veterans and other eligible persons when no DVOP specialist is available. All veterans are identified during triage/intake screening. If it is determined the veteran has a significant barrier to employment and they meet eligibility, then the veteran should be referred to a DVOP for individualized career services.

* A mandatory quarterly training program that was specific to the shortfalls and errors

discovered in managerial metrics and performance monitoring. (For JVSG funded staff, sending new staff members to NVTI for their first training session within 45 days of being hired).