WIOA State Plan Common Elements

The State Board has implemented the “Accessibility, Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination Policy” which codified the State’s commitment to universal access and non-discrimination. Going beyond compliance with accessibility requirements, it seeks to provide universally accessible services. 

Ensuring the accessibility of one-stop centers and compliance with disability-related regulations is also included in the “One-Stop Certification Criteria Policy”, including:

• Making reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities;
• Making reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures where necessary to avoid discrimination against individuals with disabilities;
• Administering programs in the most integrated setting appropriate;
• Communicating with persons with disabilities as effectively as with others;
• Providing appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including assistive technology devices and services to afford individuals with disabilities equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, program activities; and
• Providing for the physical and programmatic accessibility of the one-stop center to individuals with disabilities.

The State will continue to enhance its education and outreach capabilities through the duration of this current plan through the ongoing training and support of partners in the implementation of a universally accessible system.

One facet of this is the enhancement of the Accessibility Guide currently available on the Bureau of Rehabilitation’s website. Developed as part of a leadership academy, the site has served as a quick resource on information regarding accessibility and managing some of the potential issues. It provides quick, synthesized information on technical issues for things like documents and presentations, as well as building accessibility and etiquette. The State is working with the Information Technology Accessibility Committee (ITAC) to further develop the website. The site will be updated to ensure current content, re-designed to ensure better usability of the information and moved to provide greater visibility to the content for State agencies and interested partners. The ITAC will take over the monitoring and updating of the content of the site, and the Office of Information Technology web services unit will take over the technical management of the website.

Section 188 Checklist

The WIOA Section 188 Checklist developed by the USDOL Office of Civil Rights will be a guiding document. The checklist is considered a comprehensive overview of requirements and provides reliable advice on achieving and sustaining universal access.

Leveraging existing resources and constituent committees

Maine continues to build and maintain a system that includes access based on language, race, national origin, religion, culture/ethnicity, ability/disability, age, sex/gender identity, and all other protected classes under WIOA, the Americans with Disability Act, applicable state laws, and other federal laws related to public access and civil rights. The working group developed “Priorities for Equal Opportunity/ Non-discrimination/ Accessibility Assessment of One Stops,” user friendly guidance based on the Section 188 Checklist and the policy, to help them meet the standards.

The Maine State Workforce Board has several committees designed to address the workforce needs of specific constituencies, including women, older workers, younger workers, veterans, and people with disabilities. As issues or questions arise, these committees will be asked to advise on programmatic and physical access and to assist with policies and operational guidance to assure that the one-stop system and its partners are accessible and meeting requirements. Other organizations serving and representing job-seeking constituencies, including migrant and seasonal workers, “displaced homemakers,” formerly incarcerated, populations whose identities are based on culture/ethnicity/religion, youth, people with disabilities, and older Mainers will be consulted and invited to participate in planning, policy review, staff training, testing and evaluating programmatic and physical access, including customer service. The State Rehabilitation Councils for the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation and the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired, as well as the Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Late Deafened, State Independent Living Council and the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council, will also be included. Focus groups and surveys of customers and larger affected populations will be used to determine if accessibility goals are being met.

Core priorities

Developing a vision and working definition of universal access is essential. Maine does not have all the human and financial resources to implement and sustain universal access without a commitment to a long-term initiative. Therefore, the initial priority is the development of a five-year strategic initiative, with each year’s efforts building on and refining prior efforts. The system’s vision of universal access will dictate the goal(s) and will provide the destination for the five-year course. Determining how to best inspire system investment will be part of the working group’s charge. Staff training and initial policy development will follow quickly.

Training: Professional development for any major systems or operational change is one of the best guarantors of sustainability. With the goal of sustained competence related to serving diverse populations and with related policies in mind within the workforce development system and among partner agencies, the work group will develop a training plan that is compatible and synchronized with other staff training. The objective of the universal access training efforts is sustained competence related to serving diverse populations and knowledge of related policies across the system and among partner agencies.

Training for employees will include information on locating and providing access to needed resources such as translators and interpreters, transportation services, and alternative formats. The Section 188 Checklist will inform training topics and plans for managers, supervisors, and facility operations staff.

Initial training for staff and partners will include, at a minimum:

• General orientation to universal access, WIOA and other legal requirements
• Customer service-both culturally sensitive service and general customer service
• Resources within the system and in the larger community
• Complaint resolution

A variety of training approaches will be considered and deployed, depending on available financial and human resources, training topics, and other conditions. Co-training with and for partners will be considered to best use resources and help system partners’ staffs to “be on the same page.” Blending and braiding training resources will be a guiding principle.

All one-stop center staff will be trained and required to demonstrate competency in serving diverse populations and knowledge of related policies across the system and among partner agencies. One-stop center certification will depend on demonstrating that employees have achieved the required competencies in universal access.

Managers and supervisors, in collaboration with our WIOA staff development group, will provide training to new hires, and on an annual or biennial basis to all staff. The training will be recorded and some training will be offered through online training providers, such as the New England ADA Technical Assistance Center and other regional ADATACs. The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Maine Department of Education, and other agencies (such as those named above as Universal Access work group members/resources) will provide, or help provide, training.

Examples of other training to be offered, either concurrently or after initial training has been completed:

• Hidden disabilities
• Deaf culture
• Blind culture
• Mental health first aid
• Service animals
• Accessing community resources
• Creating accessible documents

The WIOA implementation steering team will identify a method for documenting compliance with training requirements for implementation by supervisors and managers. Documentation will be a required element of one-stop certification and monitoring.

Policies: During the implementation of the State’s 2016-2020 Unified State Plan, the State Board implemented the Accessibility, Equal Opportunity and Nondiscrimination Policy which codified the State’s commitment to universal access and non-discrimination. Going beyond compliance with accessibility requirements, it seeks to provide universally accessible services.

The policies will also reference procedures for filing complaints, which are already contained in our CareerCenter Customer Complaint Manual. Current staff people are familiar with the manual and it is available on the shared drive for reference. Staff training includes customer complaint protocols and is part of the core training that we plan to provide to required partners.

The policy also requires the State and Local Boards to post required notices, meeting agendas and minutes, and other information and to ensure that their websites, meeting spaces, and documents meet current accessibility standards. The requirements are annually monitored.

Compliance with the policies will be required for one-stop certification. WDBs and operators will develop protocols to assist front-line staff in partner agencies on how to identify appropriate services for individuals and deliver them in an accessible and non-discriminatory fashion.

All front-line staff will be informed/reminded of the procedures for handling customer complaints related to discrimination or lack of access. Customer service training will be provided to all front-line staff within three months of hire, and after that annually. Managers, in collaboration with BES and the WIOA staff development group, will be responsible for providing and documenting this training.

Building on the work of the current state plan, the state will continue to develop policies and supportive training around priorities which include assistive technology and equipment responsibility, website/social media accessibility, programmatic and physical accessibility of workshops and events, service animal protocols, prohibition of automatic referrals to Vocational Rehabilitation, alternative formats for required tests/assessments, and consistent use of equal employment and accommodations tag lines. Program participation rules governing required orientation workshops, the RESEA program, and other mandatory programs will be examined to ensure full accessibility, especially access to alternative formats and accommodations. The feasibility of a central accommodations fund and various ways of ensuring/maintaining its solvency will also be explored.

Domestic violence and other challenges to access

Maine is a leader among states in ensuring that domestic violence victims have legal protections to avoid job loss and loss of unemployment insurance benefits due to domestic violence counseling, treatment, and court appointments. The universal access working group will examine how domestic violence affects physical and programmatic access to services and make any necessary changes to address this situation. Similarly, the working group will explore the potential implications of low literacy, financial hardship, and poor housing/homelessness on access to services. Policies and practices designed to mitigate the most challenging circumstances will be investigated in collaboration with low-income individuals, people who are homeless, and the organizations representing them.

Monitoring progress

The Section 188 checklist, 20 CFR Part 38 and policies will be used to monitor the system’s progress toward universal access. Quantitative outcomes will be used, when practical, to assess system accessibility and utilization by WIOA’s priority populations. Best practice models from other systems and other states will be researched and tailored to Maine whenever possible.

WDBs and operators will be responsible for developing mechanisms to deliver information on local workforce development system resources in an easy-to-access manner. They will conduct outreach to inform the public of these resources. Workforce development system partners and community agencies will also be informed of these resources and how to assist clients and participants in accessing and navigating the workforce system’s resources.

In accordance with §678.800, WDBs will be responsible for ensuring that these provisions are implemented. Monitoring will include compliance with these policies. WDBs will assess their one-stops at least once every three years. They will also review and update any criteria when conducting any program reviews or when updating their local plans.

When monitoring or other activities reveal a need for system-wide technical assistance, policy updates, or concerns related to non-discrimination and accessibility, the Bureau of Employment Services and others may provide or assist with providing the necessary TA.

We will use the Section 188 checklist, Promising Practices In Achieving Universal Access and Equal Opportunity: A Section 188 Disability Reference Guide, other tools and the USDOL’s Integrated Service Delivery Toolkit to assist system partners, providers, and local boards with guidance on developing their own monitoring tools.

Implementing and monitoring compliance with these policies will be overseen by a universal access coordinator and a core Universal Access work group of system stakeholders and subject matter experts from the larger community, including the Alpha One (independent living center), Disability Rights Maine, the state ADA coordinator, Maine CITE (designated adaptive technology provider for the Maine Department of Education), NAMI Maine, and other agencies and entities with relevant expertise in both accessibility and non-discrimination. Members of the state or local workforce boards will be included.

The Bureau of Employment Services has a designated Assistive Technology specialist in each one-stop. The specialists’ responsibilities include routine inventories of equipment. One-stop managers are responsible for ensuring that all assistive technology and adaptive equipment are functioning, and that adequate resources are available to replace/repair equipment, update assistive software, and obtain new equipment when needed.