WIOA State Plan Common Elements

Unemployed Individuals: Within the Department of Workforce Development, the Division of Employment and Training (DET) and the Unemployment Insurance (UI) Division work collaboratively to provide the Reemployment Services (RES) program, a formalized program for jobseekers required to look for work as a condition of receiving UI benefits.

With this program, online services and information are combined with local resources and services available through the Wisconsin Job Center system, maximizing partnerships between agencies working together to assist job seekers. These partnerships include representatives from Wisconsin Job Service, Local Workforce Development Boards, Veteran organizations, and other federal, state or local agencies working collaboratively.

In accordance with both state and federal directives, the RES program has four purposes:

• Reduce UI duration through improved employment outcomes;
• Strengthen UI program integrity;
• Promote alignment with the vision of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA); and
• Establish RES as an entry point to other workforce system partners.

New requirements and service strategies were implemented in 2018 for Wisconsin's RES program. These changes apply to all UI claimants required to look for work. Claimants go through several compliance steps, including:

• Full registration on the Job Center of Wisconsin website, including development of a current resume.
• Completion of an online Reemployment Services orientation and assessment.
• Additional job search activities as required, which may include self-scheduling and participation in virtual or in-person activities at the job center with job service staff.

Participants are selected for RES after they file a UI claim, are determined as being required to search for work, have successfully registered on JobCenterofWisconsin.com, and have received their first UI payment. Using a triage-based methodology, the program is designed to determine what level of service is appropriate to help a customer become reemployed more quickly. Some customers conduct their job seeking efforts independently and others needing more in-depth assistance will be scheduled to participate with virtual or in-person services to do a more in-depth assessment and overview to help eliminate barriers that may be keeping someone unemployed longer.

Low-Income Individuals: WIOA Adult Priority of Service: The state has an adult priority of service policy for low-income individuals and those who are basic skills deficient. The WIOA Adult Priority of Service policy ensures that Wisconsin's WIOA Adult participants receive priority.

Wisconsin Works (W-2) is Wisconsin's primary Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) work program and was added as a new combined State Plan partner beginning PY2020-2023. State level representatives from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) have been added to the WIOA leadership team and its subcommittees to assist in policy development and the coordination of activities. Work has already begun on the state level to ensure that Title I and W-2 work experience policies are in alignment.

DCF contracts with local non-profit and for-profit agencies to administer the W-2 program, of which two are also local Workforce Development Boards, to administer the W-2 program. W-2 contract agencies collaborate with the WIOA program with services targeting low-income parents. W-2 provides employment preparation services, case management and cash assistance to eligible families. Low-income parents, non-custodial parents, and pregnant women may participate in W-2. W-2 case managers provide direct services and resources to eligible families to help them get a job and provide case management services to help them stay employed and advance in their career. In addition to employment, W-2 has supportive work experience opportunities through supervised worksites where participants can work on their soft skills and learn basic workplace norms. W-2 can also assist participants with vocational education and training resources, as well as with other resources and services such as assistance with housing, child care, and applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) / Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) based on informal and formal assessment outcomes.

DCF also administers two TANF funded subsidized employment programs: Transform Milwaukee Jobs (TMJ) and Transitional Jobs (TJ). DCF contracts with workforce agencies in Wisconsin to provide these services. These programs offer subsidized employment opportunities to low-income parents, including non-custodial parents, and youth between the ages of 18 and 25 who have aged out of out of home care. TJ and TMJ agencies coordinate with a variety of community and business services groups, and regularly participate in job fairs hosted by educational institutions, job centers, or other community groups. TJ and TMJ agencies maintain involvement with affiliated community groups such as the Milwaukee Transitional Jobs collaborative, Tribal Services, workforce development agencies, re-entry programs and fatherhood programs to keep them abreast of employment issues and needs in their regions. Agencies work in partnership with homeless and domestic abuse shelters to provide employment as part of wrap around services, and coordinate with Youth Services and Independent Living programs to connect foster youth with employment options. If a participant does not have the desired skillset for a particular position, agencies will work to co-enroll with other programs such as WIOA, FSET and DVR where they may be able to provide assistance with training, on-the-job training, or other job supports.

FoodShare Employment and Training (FSET) is Wisconsin's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training programs and is a new State Plan partner. Like DCF, state level representation from the DHS is included on the WIOA leadership team and its subcommittees.

Individuals with Disabilities: The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) within DWD is responsible for the management and oversight of Title IV funds. DVR is committed to working with Combined Plan partners in supporting efforts to providing effective services to individuals with disabilities.

DVR has developed and established practical strategies to serve those who have disabilities. The state's WIOA Roundtables have included training sessions on these successful strategies and information sharing by partners, including DVR, available to all attendees. DVR will continue to participate in the development of training for state plan partners such as the WIOA Roundtables.

DVR will also continue to consider collaborative agreements with state agency departments to target and increase paid on-the-job-training (OJT) internship opportunities for DVR job seekers in state positions. This initiative is designed to access state limited term employment (LTE) positions to expand the number of state employment opportunities that contribute to the skills and work experience of persons with disabilities served by DVR. The goal of the OJT LTE paid internship is that upon successful completion, DVR sponsored interns will have valuable experiences and references for their resume and will be prepared to compete for available LTE or permanent state agency positions.

DVR is involved with job center partners in planning and coordinating services to youth and serves on local committees with workforce partners to focus on such areas as services to youth, youth apprenticeship, and transition activities.

DVR will continue to encourage consumer referrals to Title II for improvement of skills. Moreover, DVR will continue to be involved with dual enrollment strategies at the local level, which helps to ensure individuals with disabilities who qualify for veteran or other programs are also co-enrolled in the respective programs. DVR refers individuals to certificate programs offered by Title III, which increase credentialing opportunities for its consumers. These are recognized industry credential programs.

DCF operates Wisconsin’s TANF Work Program (Wisconsin Works (W-2)), child support and child care subsidy programs for low-income individuals and families. DVR and W-2 have established a memorandum of understanding (MOU) and technical assistance guide to ensure that disabled individuals enrolled in both programs have coordinated case management, shared employment goals and overall service coordination. The purpose of the MOU is for DVR and DCF's Division of Family and Economic Security is to establish communication and a common understanding regarding the roles, policies, and procedures to improve services to common customers.

Youth: DVR, in collaboration with schools, serves students beginning as early as age 14 with Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS). The five core services include:

1. Job Exploration Counseling
2. Work Based Learning
3. Counseling on Opportunities for Enrollment in Comprehensive Transition or Postsecondary Educational Programs at Institutions of Higher Education
4. Work Place Readiness Training
5. Instruction on Self-Advocacy including Peer Mentoring

Pre-ETS services available statewide to all students with disabilities in need of such services regardless if they have applied for or have been determined eligible to receive DVR services. A student is defined as someone with a disability who is in high school or in a secondary, postsecondary or other recognized education program and is 14 to 21 years old.

DCF funds Independent Living Services to youth who have aged out of out-of-home care (OHC), including foster care, court-ordered kinship placements, and congregate care settings. All children and youth need to learn basic life skills in order to become successful adults. For adolescents tin OHC, an assessment and plan gets developed to focus on education and career planning, money management, healthy relationships, safe secure housing, transportation, and community resources. Independent living services for youth ages 18-21, who have aged out of OHC, are also provided throughout the state by Transitional Resource Agencies. These services assist youth with obtaining training, education, health insurance, employment services, and housing.

Veterans: The mission of DWD's Office of Veteran Employment Services (OVES) is to "advance veterans into the workforce through targeted business engagement and effective employment services." Local Veteran Employment Representatives (LVERs) engage with Job Service and Local Business Service teams and promote veteran hiring to Wisconsin employers and employing agencies. They assist in the organization of job fairs and hiring events and facilitate employer workshops that highlight the value veterans bring to the workforce.

Wisconsin's Jobs for Veterans State Grant (JVSG) Disabled Veteran Outreach Program (DVOP) staff provide individualized career services to veterans with significant barriers to employment (SBE), eligible spouses, and other eligible individuals. OVES has staff assigned and located in each of the 11 Workforce Development Areas (WDAs) in Wisconsin. DVOPs provide comprehensive assessments, career guidance, individualized employment plans, staff-assisted services, labor market information, referrals to supportive services, and other basic staff-assisted career services. DVOPs conduct outreach and follow-up using a case-managed approach.

Wisconsin job center staff use a triage approach to identify veteran status and/or status of veterans with a significant barrier to employment (SBE). A triage questionnaire is included in the online Job Center of Wisconsin registration process which determines veteran status, status of an eligible spouse of a veteran, or family care giver of wounded, ill or injured service members. The system identifies those determined to have a SBE and notifies the Disabled Veteran Outreach Program (DVOP) staff or the consolidated staff of the individual's registration and eligibility for DVOP services. This process is useful as some individuals register for services without entering the job center. The DVOP completes a comprehensive assessment, develops an individualized employment plan, and conducts necessary follow-up using a case-managed approach to assist the veteran in gaining employment. Once the veteran is job-ready, the LVER works to match the veteran with an employer. LVERs perform a wide range of duties on behalf of our veterans specifically related to outreach to the employer community and facilitation within Wisconsin's employment service delivery system.

LVERs plan and participate in job and career fairs, conduct employer outreach, work with employers on conducting job searches and workshops, establish job search groups, and coordinate with unions, apprenticeship programs, and businesses or business organizations to promote and secure employment and training programs for veterans, inform federal contractors of the process to recruit qualified veterans, and participate with other business outreach efforts.

DVOP staff work with many community partners, such as County Veteran Service Officers, veteran service organizations, Homeless Veteran Rehabilitation Programs, correctional facilities, and other veteran-centric/community entities. The partnership with these agencies creates an all-source environment where a veteran seeking services will have the opportunity to work with DVOP staff and receive other services at the same location. The goal of outreach is to identify veterans seeking other services germane to veterans and providing employment and other services/resources at one location.

JVSG staff work with partner agencies and programs to ensure that priority of service is provided to veterans and eligible spouses. Working closely with partner agencies assures that there is no duplication of services and that veterans receive all services that they are eligible and qualified to receive. JVSG staff partner with numerous state and federal agencies to provide education and workforce training to veterans and certain eligible spouses. Based on comprehensive assessments and the desire and eligibility of the veteran, JVSG staff provide resources and referrals to the Wisconsin Department of Veteran Affairs which offers free education through the Universities of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Technical College System using the Wisconsin GI Bill (state). Referral to the WIOA workforce training program that will provide funding to eligible veterans for specific job-related training to enhance or transfer to new skills required for careers. Referral to Veteran Affairs for enrollment into various training programs using the Montgomery GI Bill, Post 9/11 GI Bill, Chapter 31 – Veteran Employment and Readiness program; or state/federal apprenticeship programs and programs associated with apprenticeships such as – Troops to Teachers, Helmets to Hardhats, Veteran in Piping (VIP), Combat to Construction.

The OVES LVERs will continue to serve as members of the local Business Services Team. LVERs are capacity builders that work with local area employers and community organizations. LVERs promote what veterans bring to the workforce and assist employers by connecting them to qualified veterans. LVERs serve as active participants in each WDA on the business service teams. Additional information on the Jobs for Veterans State Grant plan is detailed under section VII.

Adult Learners: The Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) is responsible for the management and oversight of Title II funds. WTCS will work with the Combined State Plan partners to ensure the effective delivery of career pathways in the state.

WTCS will also continue to participate in professional development activities that bring together Title II providers with workforce. WTCS has actively participated in the planning of all WIOA Roundtable professional development events and encourages adult education faculty and staff to attend. WTCS has provided professional development regarding One Stop Partnerships with DWD and seeks to find ways to partner and increase communication and collaboration.  WTCS will remain an active partner for professional development and training on WIOA in the future.

Ex-Offenders: DWD takes pride in its collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections (DOC) to engage individuals in their care before they are released, and to connect them with DWD job seeker services after release. A crucial component to the success of these efforts is the partnerships with DWD, Wisconsin's 11 local Workforce Development Boards (WDB) and the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS), which help make engaging with and training justice-involved individuals possible.

At the foundation of the collaborative work between DWD, DOC, local WDBs, and WTCS are the job labs DWD maintains in DOC facilities. These job labs function similarly to the job centers DWD operates in communities around the state. The state recognized the need to place additional focus on reaching harder-to-serve populations to meet employers' workforce needs. Among the targeted groups, DWD identified the need to engage justice-involved individuals in advance of their release from DOC care to re-establish connections to the workforce, so these individuals are best prepared to return to their communities.

DWD identified and implemented several strategies for preparing justice-involved individuals for employment upon release, including:

• Development of a pre-apprenticeship programming in correctional institutions.
• Incorporation of employment/training programs in juvenile justice institutions.
• Expansion of registered apprenticeship opportunities within correctional institutions.
• Development of strategies to increase employer education and awareness of hiring justice-involved individuals.
• Increasing employer collaboration with apprenticeships, workforce training, and placements of justice-involved individuals.
• Creation of job labs within DOC facilities to provide job readiness, career assessment, and job service programming for soon-to-be-released justice-involved individuals.

DWD opened its first job lab at Oakhill Correctional Institution in 2018. Since then, DWD has opened 10 more job labs in DOC facilities around the state. Ten of the job labs are classroom-style rooms within correctional facilities and one, at New Lisbon Correctional Institution, is a mobile lab. In 2023, DWD and DOC continue to partner on innovative solutions and partnerships. This includes additional collaboration between the two agencies to create job labs at local probation and parole offices throughout Wisconsin, as well as new partnerships with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services for two new job labs at the Wisconsin Resource Center in Oshkosh, WI.

Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: The Migrant and Seasonal Farmworker program is administered by the DWD's Job Service Bureau (Job Service). Job Service ensures that migrant and seasonal farm workers (MSFW) receive the full range of career and supportive services, benefits and protections, and job and training referral services that are provided to non-MSFWs.

The State Monitor Advocate will continue to provide technical assistance to the local workforce development areas and staff to ensure full program compliance.

Refugee Services: The contracted partners  of the Bureau of Refugee Programs (BRP) provide direct services and supportive resources such as physical health and mental health screenings, health education and health care access services, English as a Second Language instruction, case management, job services and employability skills development, citizenship classes and immigration services, cultural orientation, and services for specific subgroups such as older refugees with specific needs, refugee children enrolled in K-12 school, and refugee youth and young adults. With funding from the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement, the BRP administers income support programs for refugees which provide cash and medical assistance for up to 12 months after a refugee's arrival. The Refugee Cash Assistance program provides cash benefits to refugees who do not qualify for W-2. The Refugee Medical Assistance program provides a basic level of health care to refugees who do not qualify for Medicaid or BadgerCare Plus.

BRP also administers the Wilson-Fish TANF Coordination Project (WFTCP). BRP contracts with four W-2 agencies in nine Wisconsin counties to supplement refugee families’ participation in W-2 and provide them with cultural and language appropriate case management. To help refugee families in the WFTCP address their priority needs (such as employment and language training) and develop a long-term plan to fully adapt to life in the U.S. BRP and Refugee Program Liaisons at the W-2 agencies work in close collaboration with a “CARE Network” that includes resettlement agencies and community-based organizations. In addition to meetings with numerous statewide and regional refugee-focused networks of service providers, BRP engages with employers and attends workforce development meetings including Employ Milwaukee, Inc. (the state-certified Workforce Development Board serving Milwaukee County, also referred to as WDA 2).

BRP also coordinates with the WTCS on how their WIOA Title II (Adult Education and Family Literacy) funded programs can be used to assist refugees and other new arrivals. For example, with input from BRP, in 2022-2023, the WTCS developed an online resource (Resources Available for Immigrants and Refugees) which identifies refugee program contacts at each of the system's 16 campuses across Wisconsin who can assist new arrivals with their adaptation to life in Wisconsin.

Trauma-Informed Care: Wisconsin will also work to increase staff awareness of the lasting impacts of life experiences (e.g., poverty, family illness, addiction, violence) that influence customer success. Bringing Trauma Informed Care practices and methods into Wisconsin's job centers improves the approach for working with the people accessing the programs. Recognizing that educational and economic success requires addressing and interrupting trauma enhances the ability to create services and learning environments that support customers holistically. DWD is making staff training on Trauma-Informed Care available to all frontline partners through the state's virtual enterprise learning management system known as Cornerstone.

The Bureau of Job Service within DWD's Division of Employment and Training is committed to the practice of Trauma Informed Care in the clients and customers utilizing its programs and services throughout the state. The Bureau of Job Service has several staff who participate in ongoing regional Trauma Informed Care meetings in their districts and has dual representation on the State Trauma Informed Care Consortium. Members of the staff who are career counselors have been trained in Trauma Informed Care and continue sharing the knowledge and benefits of Trauma Informed Care by training staff in their districts on Trauma Informed Care.

The Wisconsin Technical College System ensures eligible participants are referred to emergency funds and other resources that assist with transportation challenges, housing insecurity, food insecurity, daycare needs, and assist in navigating community and employer supports to ensure that they achieve their educational and employment goals.

Within DCF, the Bureau of Working Families (BWF) in the Division of Family and Economic Security has encouraged its employment programs, including Wisconsin Works (W-2), Transitional Jobs (TJ), and Transform Milwaukee Jobs (TMJ), to incorporate Trauma Informed Practices into program services. Two W-2 agencies, Workforce Resources Inc. and UMOS, as well as all TJ and TMJ agencies, have been trained on the Trauma Screening, Brief Intervention, Referral to Treatment protocol or T-SBIRT. T-SBIRT is a 10–45-minute protocol that helps those applying for these employment programs generate insight into the extent and effects of their trauma exposure and enhance their motivation to engage in behavioral or mental health services. The goal is to help job seekers face multiple barriers to employment due in part to their history of trauma exposure and address trauma while also promoting job placement and improving program outcomes. T-SBIRT was developed at UW-Milwaukee and the Institute for Child and Family Well-Being.

Protected Groups: One-stop partners coordinate activities and resources through local comprehensive and affiliate job centers and through many outreach locations. WIOA Title I-A and I-B Policy 5.5-Affirmative Outreach requires local Workforce Development Boards (WDBs) and service providers to take appropriate steps to ensure that they are providing equal access to their WIOA Title I programs and activities. These steps should involve reasonable efforts to include members of the various groups protected by these regulations (hereinafter referred to as "protected groups"), including, but not limited to: persons of different sexes, various racial ethnic/national origin groups, various religions, individuals with Limited English proficiency, individuals with disabilities, and individuals in different age groups. Outreach efforts may include, but are not limited to:

• Promoting programs and activities in media outlets (including the Internet) that target protected groups;
• Sharing information about program offerings with schools and community-based organizations and service agencies that serve protected groups; and
• Consulting with appropriate community organizations about ways outreach to protected groups may be improved.

To meet the minimum requirements of affirmative outreach, DWD-DET requires local WDBs to:

• Review Census or other reliable information on an annual basis to determine the protected groups in the area who could potentially use WIOA Title I programs and activities;
• Make efforts to use one-stop partner resources and consult with One-Stop partners about ways to improve outreach and service for protected groups;
• Ensure staff awareness of outreach efforts through training and orientation; and
• Maintain documentation of all outreach efforts, including contacts with One-Stop partners, for monitoring purposes and make such documentation available for review by local, state, or federal EO Officials during monitoring and/or upon request.

Each local workforce development area (WDA) is monitored annually to ensure they and their one-stop partners are providing outreach to diverse populations in their area. If they fail to comply, the local WDB must provide a corrective action plan to address the deficiency.

In Wisconsin, the alignment of services to holistically support WIOA participants also occurs through the one-stop and comprehensive job center partners, which includes statewide community-based organizations and literacy councils. This network of providers and services provides support that include ensuring coordination with employers to communities and individuals that are impacted by un- and under-employment.

The WTCS Office conducts program review with Wisconsin Title II providers to ensure compliance with and improved performance under WIOA and AEFLA. All Wisconsin Title II providers are required to participate in program review. The purposes of the program review process are to:

1. Ensure that Wisconsin AEFLA programs meet AEFLA and WIOA requirements;
2. Improve the quality of AEFLA funded activities;
3. Provide technical assistance in identifying and resolving program challenges; and
4. Ensure the accuracy of data collection and reporting.

The AEFLA program review process is coordinated annually by the WTCS Office and includes virtual and on-site program review with selected Wisconsin AEFLA programs. With an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion, various aspects of the AEFLA program will be reviewed by the WTCS Office team. Below is a list of areas that may be reviewed. Each area reviewed will be assessed to determine if it meets state and federal compliance.

• Program planning and staff management
• Student recruitment and retention
• Student intake, documentation, and policy
• Instruction
• Instructional resources and technology
• Data processes, reporting, and improvement
• Financial management
• Professional development
• External program coordination
• Facilities
• Student accommodations

Wisconsin AEFLA programs will engage in discussion with WTCS Office staff in these areas and be asked to provide supporting evidence to demonstrate successful program implementation that complies with state and federal guidelines and promotes successful outcomes for all populations served within the program.

To leverage the strong partnerships that exist within Wisconsin's workforce development system, Council on Workforce Investment will be incorporating the WIOA Executive Committee into the CWI committee structure to increase efficiencies, transparency, and alignment between the CWI and WIOA program partners. 

The WIOA governance committee under the CWI will lead the collaborative activities and orchestrate several cross-agency teams to coordinate the details and recommendations on WIOA program initiatives. With the implementation of WIOA, specific strategies have been utilized to align the work of core and required partners at both the state and local level. Leadership from the one-stop partner programs will meet regularly in between the quarterly CWI meetings to provide guidance on the work and make commitments to specific actions necessary for moving forward.