Narrative: e. 1.

The state shall request no more than 1 percent of its annual allocation for each year’s JVSG grant as performance incentive awards for eligible staff. This award shall be used in accordance with the most recent guidance from USDOL-VETS. The objective of the LWC incentive award program is to recognize, promote and reward superlative and exceptional performance in the provision of service to veterans within the context of statutes and regulations. The basic objective of the awards program is to create an awareness and continuous level of interest in the importance of priority of service for veterans and an environment that engenders continuous improvement in serving veterans across the spectrum of service. The award system shall continue to operate as defined in the applicable State Policy and as approved by USDOL. The state anticipates that individuals and teams will recognize the value and process of the awards program and will, as a result, develop a competitive attitude within the agency that supports esprit de corps within the team while sharpening the focus on service to other eligible persons.

An email request for team details and recommendations shall be sent to all Workforce Development Boards, local area coordinators, site supervisors, senior field leadership and JVSG-funded staff during August. Recommendations may come from anyone in the system, coworkers, supervisors, managers, coordinators, directors and JVSG staff.

Determination of the award shall be by a combination of objective and subjective data. Data compilation, analysis and award determination shall be by a team comprised of the veteran’s state coordinator and members of the management of information systems (MIS) staff. The final award approval shall be by the appointing authority, director of the Office of Workforce Development who is also the signatory authority for the JVSG grant relationship with USDOL.

Incentive awards shall be expended up to no more than 1 percent of the total grant amount for the fiscal year, which is set aside strictly for this purpose in the annual grant budget. Awards shall be determined based on a percentage of total award available for that fiscal year but shall not (in total) exceed no more than 1 percent of the total available funds for a given fiscal year or the most current USDOL guidance on grant-funded incentive award amounts.

Exceptional merit is based on a number of factors, with the overriding concept being the value of the process. In essence this is determining both a quantitative and qualitative rating and merit based on the following factors:

• Total veterans served and total services rendered to those veterans within the parameters of these areas; Among the veterans served how many entered career employment.
• Outreach to veterans and subsequent flow of basic services that result in veterans becoming job ready, or the need for individualized career services;
• Outreach to and the comprehensive assessment of special target groups within the veteran community;
• Individualized career services through the case management framework and outcomes of those efforts;

• Job placements, in particular job developments, for veterans and disabled veterans;
• Outreach to and partner development with employers and federal contractors in the support of creating job opportunities for veterans;
• Outreach to and partner development with community service agencies, other state and;
• federal programs and internal agency components in creating a supportive service network for veterans with barriers to employment and who may need case management;
• Organization of, participation in and success in job fairs and other veteran center community activities;
• Any other innovative veteran-related activity.

Winners shall be publicly recognized locally by their peers, local dignitaries and leadership for their exceptional performance on behalf of veterans. Winners shall also be recognized at a statewide conference or other similar large-scale event forum that provides the greatest positive publicity for the program.

Tie breakers: If two or more individuals or offices (teams) score equally for their category, then those ties shall be broken by selecting the office that had the highest ratings on customer service reports during the review period, taken from the JVSG Customer Service Surveys, or for the individual by selecting the individual who had the most successful outcomes or the most successful job developments for the period.

Documentation: Documentation used for the award nominee selections shall be taken from the state proprietary employment system HiRE, veteran staff reports and job fair records. Data shall encompass the period of the first three federal fiscal quarters of the fiscal year. Credit for activities and services shall not be awarded without back-up documentation.