WIOA State Plan Common Elements

Veteran and other eligible persons entitled to Priority of Service will be referred to U.S. DOL funded programs immediately. Veteran and eligible spouse customers are identified upon entry at a WorkOne and allowed to move to the front of the waiting line. To assist with identifying veterans and eligible spouses, Priority of Service signs have been developed and are posted in all WorkOne offices. Signs are framed and displayed in a manner where the public, especially veteran and eligible spouse customers, can easily see them. In accordance with the priority of service sign, eligible veterans and eligible spouses should notify staff upon entry into the facility. Typically, this will be near the entry point. Customers with visual impairments must be asked if they are a veteran or eligible spouse.

Under normal operating circumstances, all WorkOne customers are greeted by the welcome team and moved on to the appropriate staff for assistance. The majority of veterans should be served by Wagner-Peyser or WIOA staff rather than the Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) Veterans’ staff. This allows JVSG Veterans’ staff efforts to focus on veteran customers with Significant Barriers to Employment (SBE) in accordance with VPL 03-14 and 03-14, change 1. The six significant barriers to employment, as identified by the Department of Labor are:

• A special disabled or disabled veteran, as those terms are defined in 38 U.S.C § 4211(1) and (3); Special disabled and disabled veterans are those: who are entitled to compensation (or who but for the receipt of military retired pay would be entitled to compensation) under laws administered by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; or, were discharged or released from active duty because of a service connected disability;
• Homeless, as defined in Section 103(a) and (b) of the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act
• (42 U.S.C. 11302(a) and (b));
• A recently-separated service member, as defined in 38 U.S.C § 4211(6), who has been unemployed for 27 or more weeks in the previous 12 months, i.e. the term of unemployment over the previous 12 months remains 27 weeks; however, the requirement of 27 consecutive weeks is eliminated;
• An offender, as defined by WIOA Section 3 (38) who is currently incarcerated or who has been released from incarceration;
• Lacking a high school diploma or equivalent certificate; or
• Low-income individual, as defined by WIOA Section 3 (36).

The following additional populations, as identified by the Secretary of Labor, also meet the criteria to receive services from a DVOP specialist:

• A Veteran between the ages of 18-24;
• A Veteran Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation Chapter 31 Veteran;
• A Transitioning Service Member in need of intensive services;
• Wounded, ill, or injured Service Members receiving treatment at military facilities, or Warrior Transition Unit; and
• The Spouses and family care-givers of such wounded, ill, or injured service members.

Welcome team staff identify those veterans with SBE’s and direct those veterans to the Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program specialist for assistance, intensive services and case management. In the event that a DVOP is not available, the veteran or spouse should be referred to the appropriate Wagner-Peyser or WIOA staff and not held up until a DVOP is available.

In accordance with Veteran Program Letter (VPL) 07-09, for a service such as classroom training, priority of service applies to the selection procedure, as follows:

• First, if there is a waiting list for the formation of a training class, priority of service is intended to require a veteran or eligible spouse to go to the top of that list.
• Second, priority of service applies up to the point at which an individual is both: (a) approved for funding; and, (b) accepted or enrolled in a training class. Therefore, once a non-covered person has been both approved for funding an accepted/ enrolled in a training class, priority of service is not intended to allow a veteran or eligible spouse who is identified subsequently to “bump” the non-covered person from that training class.

The application of priority of service varies by program depending on the eligibility requirements of the particular program. Qualified job training programs fall into two basic categories: (1) universal access programs and (2) programs that require prospective participants to meet specified eligibility criteria.

The two subsections below describe how priority of service applies to these two basic types of programs:

1. Universal access programs: For workforce programs that operate or deliver services to the public as a whole without targeting specific groups, veterans and eligible spouses must receive priority of service over all other program participants.
2. Programs with Eligibility Criteria: Eligibility criteria identify basic conditions that each and every participant in a specific program is required to meet. A veteran or eligible spouse must first meet any and all of the statutory eligibility criteria in order to be considered eligible for:

a) enrollment in the program;

b) receipt of priority for enrollment in the program; and

c) priority for receipt of services.

In addition to the eligibility criteria that all participants are required to meet, some programs also have priorities that establish a rank order to be observed in enrolling or serving participants. These priorities can be of two types: (1) Statutory; or, (2) Discretionary.

The following two subsections provide guidance on how priority of service interacts with these two types of priorities:

1. Programs with Statutory Priorities: Some programs are required by law to provide a priority or preference for a particular group of individuals or require the program to spend a certain portion of program funds on a particular group of persons. For programs with this type of mandatory priority, program operators must determine the status of each individual veteran or eligible spouse and apply priority of service as described below:

i. Veterans and eligible spouses who meet the mandatory priorities or spending requirement or limitation must receive the highest level of priority for the program or service;

ii. Non-covered persons who meet the program’s mandatory priority or spending requirement or limitation then receive the second level of priority for the program or service;

iii. Veterans and eligible spouses outside the program-specific mandatory priority or spending requirement or limitation then receive the third level of priority for the program or service; and

iv. Non-covered persons outside the program-specific mandatory priority or spending requirement or limitation then receive the fourth level of priority for the program or service.

2. Programs with Discretionary Priorities: Some qualified job training programs may include a focus on a particular group or make efforts to provide a certain level of service to a particular group without the authorizing law specifically mandating that the target group be served before other eligible individuals. Because a discretionary focus of this type is not a statutorily mandated priority or targeting requirement, veterans and eligible spouses must receive the highest priority for programs or services with a discretionary targeting requirement. Non-covered persons within the discretionary targeting group then receive the second level of priority. Non-covered persons outside the discretionary targeting group receive the third level of priority. With respect to priority of service, the only feature that distinguishes discretionary targeting programs from universal access programs is the additional application of the discretionary targeting criterion to the non-covered persons.

Priority of Service is the responsibility of each staff member with the WorkOne with oversight and compliance provided by the JVSG staff and Regional Operator. Reports and on-site reviews ensure adherence to mandated legislative requirements. These reviews also focus on activities to evaluate processes aimed at achieving the State’s program goals and objectives, expenditure of grant funds on allowable activities, integration and coordination with other resources and service providers in the local area, and overall progress in achieving negotiated performance outcomes.

JVSG staff work closely with all WIOA partners to provide the most effective service to Veterans and other eligible persons possible. The overall priority of service is monitored by the State Veteran Coordinator, or other state veteran staff assigned, who examines: statewide, regional and local policies and procedure. In addition, JVSG staff review reports produced by the current client tracking system and state job board, conduct on-site monitoring, and checks all websites developed with funding from impacted programs or grants ensure priority of service is provided to Veterans