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—
b. 4. Describe how the State will implement and monitor for the Adult Priority of Service requirement in WIOA section 134 (c)(3)(E) that requires American Job Center staff, when using WIOA Adult program funds to provide individualized career services and training services, to give priority of service to recipients of public assistance, low-income individuals, and individuals who are basic skills deficient (including English language learners).
Current Narrative:
Colorado issued Policy Guidance Letter WIOA-2015-07: Priority of Service for Title I Adult Programs that provides detailed guidance to local areas regarding implementation of Adult priority of services. This guidance includes definitions of the priority groups, identifies how veterans priority of service interfaces with adult priority of service, sets a minimum goal of adult enrollments meeting priority definitions, and requires local boards to create local policies that must include:
- Local procedures for determining priority during the eligibility process and enrollment;
- How the local area will define “low income” (it may be more stringent than the state definition in this PGL) and the relevant data used to establish the definition;
- What criteria and procedures will be used to assess priority for basic skills deficient individuals;
- Any local requirements, such as residency, that will be established in relation to the statutory priority groups;
- Any local discretionary priorities that will be established in addition to the statutory priority groups, the data to support the need for the local priority, and the documentation that will be required from an individual for the local priority; and
- Local procedures for internal monitoring of the goal of Adult participants from the priority targeted groups.
Under the Governor’s authority, Colorado has added the “Governor’s Priority” for “individuals with barriers to employment” as identified in WIOA Sec. 3, as well as New Americans.
The Colorado Department of Labor and Employment includes the Adult Priority of Service requirements into its annual compliance monitoring review of each local area within the state.
USDOL expects that giving priority of service means ensuring that at least 75 percent of the state’s participants receiving individualized career and training services in the Adult program are from the statutory priority groups (public assistance recipients, other low-income individuals including underemployed, and basic skills deficient including English language learners), and expects this rate will be no lower than 50.1 percent in the state.
Local areas’ success in achieving priority of service for the targeted groups within the Adult program will be monitored by a formula comparing the percentage of individuals from at least one statutory priority group (public assistance recipients, other low-income individuals including underemployed, and basic skills deficient) receiving individualized career or training services who exited the Adult program versus the percentage of all other individuals receiving individualized career or training services who exited the program. This aligns with federal monitoring.