WIOA State Plan Common Elements

In accordance with Federal regulations, Iowa has developed One-Stop Certification Standards in three areas, all of which are in alignment with Federal requirements and guidance:

1. Physical and Programmatic Accessibility
2. Effectiveness; and
3. Continuous Improvement.

The developed process sets standard expectations for a minimum level of quality and consistency of customer-focused services provided by partners in the Iowa workforce delivery system and through IowaWORKS centers across the state. The certification standards in these three areas were developed by the core partners, in consultation with local partner representatives who participated in the development process. To ensure compliance and support, the WIOA core partners and local partner representatives also developed a certification process guide, recorded training, as well as related tools, to support the official launch of the process.

Three types of certification can be awarded from the One-Stop Center certification review team:

• Full Certification
• Provisional Certification
• Not Certified/ Decertified

A scoring approach was developed that allows each evaluation team member to individually determine if a standard has been met. The final determination for each category will be based on the number of standards successfully achieved. The evaluation team must reach a consensus on the category decision for determination of certification status. If the recommendation is provisional certification or not certified, the team must clearly describe the specific issues identified for corrective action.

A center that has received provisional certification must be re-evaluated within six months of the initial review. At the six-month review, a decision can be made to remain provisionally certified for no more than an additional six months or to fully certify or de-certify the center. The local area is encouraged to re-evaluate a provisionally certified center as soon as the issues identified by the review team have been resolved.

If a center is not certified or is de-certified, a three-month corrective action plan to either achieve provisional certification or to close/transition services to another center location must be submitted to the State Workforce Development Board. The center must then achieve full certification within six months of being not certified/decertified. State core partners are available to consult on correction action and provide technical assistance throughout the process.

In addition to the process identified, local areas conduct accessibility and assistive technology assessments at the local level.

While all standards are critical, the core partner team has made a commitment to ensuring that all future hardware/software within Centers are accessible and are a specific focus of the partners.

Partner staff are cross-trained on Windmills Disability Awareness training to ensure staff understand the culture of disability in the workplace. Additionally, partner staff are offered ADA training where they can become certified ADA trainers.  All AJCs are equipped with screen reader technology, and interpretation services are available on-demand for any spoken language and sign language. As feedback is received from customers or center staff on accessibility issues, the IWD IT and premises teams work to resolve accessibility issues as quickly and effectively as possible.  The IWD Business Engagement division recently created a team of business engagement staff specifically to work with employers to identify employers that are accommodation-friendly and work with other employers to educate them on the benefits of hiring Iowans with disabilities, working with those employers to implement accommodations when needed.  This team regularly communicates with career planners in the AJCs to share information on job opportunities with accommodation-friendly employers.