Narrative: b.

In Florida, most RA claimants are registered as job seekers in Employ Florida within 24 hours of filing for unemployment benefits. This is accomplished through an automated interface between the RA claims and benefits management information system (Reconnect) and Employ Florida. Each night, new RA claimant information is sent to Employ Florida where a basic registration is created. This includes the client’s email address and a partial work history, if supplied. The career services skills matching functionality of Employ Florida is used to generate an initial listing of current jobs posted in the system based on the employment information given by claimants when filing claims.

This generates an automatic email to the claimant that:

• Informs the claimant of their Employ Florida login information.
• Provides a link to the initial list of jobs matching the claimant’s employment history.
• Provides a link for the claimant to complete a full résumé and begin active use of the system to search and apply for jobs.

This information is immediately available to staff who use it to contact claimants to provide information about available career center services. The claimant’s skills information automatically becomes available to employers seeking specific candidates to fill job openings.

Florida requires all claimants filing an initial online RA claim to complete a full work registration in Employ Florida prior to receiving benefit payments. The full work registration requires the claimant to create an individual account. This account includes demographic information, an email address attached to the Employ Florida account, and a complete background wizard which collects education, employment and skills information and allows the claimant/job seeker to post a résumé. The full registration process provides LWDBs with integral information with which to target reemployment services to claimants and job seekers. Some claimants elect to complete an online skills assessment available to individuals seeking RA and job services. The skills assessment measures an individual’s skills, abilities, and career aptitude.

LWDBs conduct a skills assessment that measures an individual’s skills, abilities, and career aptitude. LWDBs use results obtained from the assessment to provide a customized and tiered level of service. Results from the assessment may indicate the claimant is equipped with skills to seek jobs and obtain employment before their benefits expire. These individuals require less staff intervention. Conversely, assessment results may also indicate a claimant may require more intensive staff intervention before being job ready.

RESEA Grant
The RESEA program was launched in Florida in 2016 pursuant to the federal change that replaced the Reemployment Assessment program with the RESEA program. In Florida, the target populations are all transitioning veterans receiving unemployment assistance for ex-service members (UCX) and claimants most likely to exhaust RA benefits. UCX claimants receive the highest level of priority in the selection process and an automatic seat in an RESEA event.

A pool consisting of RA claimants is created on a weekly basis from initial RA claims filed during that week. Prior to the transfer into Employ Florida, the following factors are used in the profiling methodology to determine those individuals most likely to exhaust their benefits based on weekly benefit amount, county, occupation, separation reason, education level, and unemployment rate. Excluded from the PREP pool are:

• Claimants whose program identification is other than intrastate claimant.
• Interstate claimants.
• Transitional claimants.
• Claimants on recall status within eight weeks of filing their claim.
• Members of a labor union.
• Claimants who are in approved training; and
• Claimants with a first payment issued more than 42 days after the benefit year beginning date.

The program provides specific intensive services to these populations and helps detect and prevent erroneous Unemployment Insurance (UI) payments. The RESEA program uses a one-on-one intensive appointment process.

Each RESEA participant receives:

• An orientation about the career center’s services.
• An initial assessment to determine the claimant’s strengths, weaknesses, and barriers to employment.
• Labor market information unique to the participant’s past or future occupation and work experience. If the labor market information shows the participant’s occupation to be in decline, they may be referred for training.
• An Employability Development Plan developed jointly by career center staff and the claimant.
• Referral to at least one work-search activity such as résumé writing or an interviewing workshop.
• Referral to training, if needed.

Consistent with Section 443.091, Florida Statutes, failure to appear as directed for reemployment services at the appointed career center may affect a participant’s eligibility for benefits and services. There is a feedback loop to the RA Program for RESEA participants who miss their initial appointment.

RA adjudicators review the reason for the participant’s failure to report to the career center and if there are no extenuating circumstances (such as moved out of state, returned to work, etc.), issue a determination of ineligibility. The determination of ineligibility includes a disqualification for the week in which the claimant failed to report for reemployment services. When an assessment is completed, an automatic notice is generated and sent to the RA Program to conduct an eligibility review questionnaire to determine the claimant’s eligibility for continued RA benefits.

The Bureau for Reemployment Assistance instituted additional resources to assist with providing information and meaningful assistance to claimants via LWDB staff to include:

• Escalated Phone Queue: Escalated phone queues were established to provide a meaningful method of escalated communication for individuals applying for or receiving RA benefits at the local career centers. The queue provides for direct communication with the RA Customer Support Center. All types of calls are handled through this line as a normal process.
• Express Phone Line Functionalities: The express phone line provides CareerSource Center employees the ability to refer RA claimants to contact RA directly (via CareerSource Queue). This line will connect the claimants to the RA Customer Support Center wherein they will receive assistance regarding their RA claim. Designated LWDB staff utilize the designated phone for claimants to be routed to the escalated phone queue for assistance from an RA staff member. Each career center within an LWDB has an express phone line, deemed as a high priority call, programmed to route claimants into the escalated phone queue. Assistance is provided in Florida’s three major languages (Creole, English, and Spanish).
• RA Help Center: FloridaCommerce created the RA Help Center which is an online portal for both claimants and employers. This self-help portal continues to be updated with additional capabilities including reporting fraud or identity theft, uploading documents, contesting monetary determinations, and filing appeal requests. The Help Center provides resources such as step-by-step guides, frequently asked questions, and informational videos to provide information and claim assistance for claimants and employers. The Help Center is available 24 hours a day.
• LWDB staff may also submit an Escalated RA Case through this resource. Upon receipt of the Escalated RA Case, the Bureau of Reemployment Assistance routes the communication quickly to the appropriate team members to review and assist.