Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities

The state does not have a policy with specific language for “requires additional assistance to enter or complete an education program, or to secure and hold employment” for in- or out-of-school youth. WIOA allows states and/or local areas to define the requiring additional assistance criterion that is part of the Out-of-School Youth and In-School Youth eligibility. It clarifies that if this criterion is not defined at the state level and a local area uses this criterion in their Out-of-School Youth or In-School Youth eligibility, the local area must define this criterion in their local plan. Over the next two years, the Governor’s Workforce Cabinet will explore defining standardized criteria at the state level regarding eligibility for youth services. This will create comparability for evaluating these programs across the state. Additionally, DWD and GWC will be issuing Local Planning guidance, which will include assurance from each local area (either within Local Plans or local policy) that these criteria are addressed. Review of local plans and regular monitoring and oversight of policies and procedures will also support compliance with this element.

Some examples of local definitions are below:

Region 5 Examples:

• A youth who has been or is currently underemployed (part-time and/or minimum wage), has been denied employment, and/or unable to obtain employment within six weeks and/or is unable to complete the ICC application;
• Any youth enrolled in an educational program (including alternative schooling) demonstrating a need for one of the fourteen youth services;
• A youth who is at-risk. At-risk is defined by the local school system and/or is a youth who has been suspended or expelled from school. At-risk youth is further defined as living in a household where a parent has a criminal record, or no high school education, or no established paternity for out of wedlock children;
• A youth who has an Individual Education Plan (school issued IEP) that identifies WIOA Youth Services as appropriate;
• A youth involved with the juvenile justice system in which either of the following has been filed: a petition alleging that the child is a Child in Need of Services, a petition alleging that a delinquent act has been committed, or a petition alleging that a status offense violation has occurred;
• A youth who is a victim of sexual misconduct;
• A youth who is in a household where the custodial parent is not receiving regular child support;
• A youth with a disability including ADD, ADHD, Learning Disability and/or other diagnosed or identified mental, emotional, behavioral, hidden or physical disability;
• A youth who is a single parent.

Region 7 Examples:

• Limited or no work experience;
• One or more parents have been incarcerated in the last twelve months;
• One or more parents dropped out of school;
• Mother or father is not employed;
• No one in the household is currently employed;
• Lacks transportation to and from work or school; or
• Lacks marketable skills that are in demand in the local labor market.

 Region 9 Examples:

• Has poor attendance patterns in an educational program during the last 12 calendar months;
• Has been expelled from school within the last 12 calendar months;
• Has been suspended from school at least once within the last 12 calendar months;
• Has below average grades; or a GPA at or below 2.5;
• A member of a household with a parent/guardian that has a criminal record;
• Living in a household where a parent has no High School Diploma or its equivalent;
• Has poor work history, to include no work history, or has been fired from a job in the last 6 calendar months;
• Has dropped out of a postsecondary educational program during the past 12 calendar months; or
• Not receiving regular child support-youth resides in a household where the non-custodial parent has not paid child support on a timely basis as established by the support holder.