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.
- e. Agricultural Outreach Plan (AOP). Each State agency must develop an AOP every four years as part of the Unified or Combined State Plan required under sections 102 or 103 of WIOA. The AOP must include an assessment of need. An assessment need describes the unique needs of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited to: employment, training, and housing.
- 4. Outreach Activities
The local offices outreach activities must be designed to meet the needs of MSFWs in the State and to locate and contact MSFWs who are not being reached through normal intake activities. Describe the State agency's proposed strategies for:
- 4. Outreach Activities
- e. Agricultural Outreach Plan (AOP). Each State agency must develop an AOP every four years as part of the Unified or Combined State Plan required under sections 102 or 103 of WIOA. The AOP must include an assessment of need. An assessment need describes the unique needs of farmworkers in the area based on past and projected agricultural and farmworker activity in the State. Such needs may include but are not limited to: employment, training, and housing.
e. 4. D. Providing State merit staff outreach workers professional development activities to ensure they are able to provide high quality services to both jobseekers and employers
Current Narrative:
The Outreach Worker also has knowledge of the Unemployment Compensation Program and has full access to the state’s unemployment system, ReEmployCT. The Outreach Worker can be the first point-of-contact with a farmworker if they have a problem with their unemployment benefits. The Outreach Worker will identify the problem and make a referral to an appropriate unemployment representative who can fix the problem. The Outreach Worker also will assist some farmworkers with the data entry of their initial claim if necessary. There are provisions and protocols in place for assisting farmworkers at the local one-stop centers with their unemployment issues as well.
In addition, the Outreach Worker is familiar with job seeker services and is in contact with both Wagner-Peyser and WIOA staff in each American Job Center office across the state. The Outreach Worker is also stationed, on a weekly basis, to work in one of the busiest American Job Center locations in the state. This one-stop center generally assists many of our farmworkers in CT. The Outreach Worker has been trained in CTDOL’s comprehensive workforce development case management system or CTHires (Connecticut Helping Individuals and Employers Reach Employment Success) and utilizes this website to register the farmworkers as Wagner Peyser participants in order for them to be eligible to receive services. CTHires is utilized by our jobseekers to search for work and training and to create a resume. Our employers utilize CTHires to both seek and hire their workforce.
CTDOL will continue to offer UI and core program training on a periodic basis to the Outreach Worker, including training on identification of UI eligibility issues. The Outreach Worker has access to core program managers and receives ETA notifications regarding program updates and/or changes.