As outlined on the portal homepage, each U.S. State and Territory submits a Unified or Combined State Plan to the U.S. Department of Labor and Department of Education that outlines its workforce development system's four-year strategy. States update the plan as required after two years.
The WIOA State Plan Common Elements Section is where the state user establishes whether the plan is Unified or Combined, and what partner program(s) to include. This section is open to anyone with permission to edit the Common Elements according to an individual state’s process.
To establish the type of plan and the partner programs, follow the steps below.
- In the ‘Sections’ area of the Plan Content, open the WIOA State Plan Common Elements section one of the following ways:
- Select the name to expand the section in the current view.
- Select the arrow to open the section in a separate view.
- Select to open the section titled I. WIOA State Plan Type.
- Select ‘Edit.’ A content lock message is displayed inside a colored bar. Remember, no other person can edit while you are editing.
- Under Choose an Option, select ‘This is a combined plan’ or ‘This is a unified plan.’
- Select the ‘Save’ button. A confirmation message is displayed in a colored bar.
Return to the state dashboard by selecting ‘My Plans’ in the top left menu.
To add partner programs to a combined plan, do the following.
- In the ‘Sections’ area of the Plan Content, open the WIOA State Plan Common Elements section one of the following ways:
- Select the name to expand the section in the current view.
- Select the arrow to the right to open the section in a separate view.
- Scroll to the Combined Plan Partner Program(s) under the section titled I. WIOA State Plan Type. For each partner program you want to add, select to open the partner program link.
- Select ‘Edit.’ A content lock message is displayed inside a colored bar. Remember, no other person can edit while you are editing.
- Under Choose an Option, select ‘Yes.’
- Select the ‘Save’ button. A confirmation message is displayed in a colored bar.
- Change the narrative status from ‘Draft’ to ‘Complete.’
Return to the state dashboard by selecting ‘My Plan’ in the top left menu.
To remove a partner program from a combined plan, follow the steps above and in step 4, choose the option ‘No’ from the Narrative Content edit area.
If you see the status ‘Editorial disallowed’ for a partner program, you did not include this partner program in your Combined plan, within the Common Elements section, under WIOA State Plan Type. Follow the steps above if you want to add program(s) to your plan.
Once a plan is changed to a Combined plan, all of the partner programs listed will change from ‘Editorial Disallowed’ to ‘Draft’ status. Even if only one partner program is added to the plan, all the other partner programs must have the status changed from ‘Draft’ to ‘Complete’ because all partner programs listed must be marked ‘Complete’ in order for the Common Elements to be marked ‘Complete.’
Only a Big Submitter can complete the WIOA State Plan Common Elements section. State Program Directors complete all other program sections to which they’ve been assigned. The Big Submitter submits the entire plan for Federal Review.