Located in:
- III. Operational Planning Elements
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include an Operational Planning Elements section that supports the State’s strategy and the system-wide vision described in Section II(c) above. Unless otherwise noted, all Operational Planning Elements apply to Combined State Plan partner programs included in the plan as well as to core programs. This section must include—
- b. State Operating Systems and Policies
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include a description of the State operating systems and policies that will support the implementation of the State strategy described in section II Strategic Elements. This includes—
- b. State Operating Systems and Policies
III. b. 6. C. Use of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Wage Record Data
Explain how the State will meet the requirements to utilize quarterly UI wage records for performance accountability, evaluations, and as a source for workforce and labor market information, consistent with Federal and State law. (This Operational Planning element applies to core programs.)
Current Narrative:
(C) Use of UI Wage Record Data. Explain how the state will meet the requirements to utilize quarterly UI wage records for performance accountability, evaluations, and as a source for workforce and Labor Market Information, consistent with federal and state law. (This Operational Planning element applies to core programs.)
Use of UI Data
Under WIOA, UI wage records will continue to serve as the primary source for all employment related performance measures. To obtain UI Data, WIOA partners must (1) enter into an approved data sharing agreement with DUI, (2) submit and keep current the required confidentiality forms, and (3) recognize access to UI Data pursuant to a data sharing agreement as an in-kind contribution in a Resource Sharing Agreement or provide DUI an annual fee for access to the information. These requirements imposed on WIOA partners are necessary to demonstrate compliance with federal and state UI information confidentiality rules and allow the State to maintain its good standing with USDOL.
To guarantee that Maryland is seeing a full and accurate picture of the impact its WIOA programs have on participants’ employment outcomes, the state plans to use supplemental wage record data to document participants’ entry and retention in employment when wage records are unavailable. Although a majority of employment situations will be covered by wage records, certain other types of employment, particularly self-employment, are either excluded from UI wage records, or remain difficult to gain access to due to restrictions related to confidentiality. WIOA partners take the responsibilities of privacy and confidentiality very seriously. Therefore, the WIOA partners are dedicated to ensuring that staff who access and review UI wage records sign appropriate confidentiality and ethical disclosures every six months.
Fiscal Management and Accountability System
All of Maryland’s WIOA programs use the Financial Management Information System (FMIS) for fiscal and management accountability information. FMIS is an integrated database system with purchasing and accounting components. FMIS runs on the Comptroller of Maryland’s Annapolis Data Center’s computers, and supports individual agency and statewide purchasing and accounting operations.
FMIS supports purchasing functions through the Advanced Purchasing and Inventory Control System (ADPICS) component, and supports the accounting operations through the Relational Standard Accounting and Reporting System (R*STARS) component. The integration of procurement and accounting processing within FMIS results in two primary agencies, the Department of Information Technology (DoIT) and the Comptroller of Maryland, having responsibility for separate aspects of FMIS. Specifically, DoIT is responsible for daily FMIS administration, including maintenance, operation, security, and backup of related database records and the computer programs that perform online and overnight processing. The Comptroller of Maryland’s General Accounting Division (GAD) is primarily responsible for R*STARS operations, security, and reporting.