Guidance Letter on WIOA State Planning Released

On Oct. 31 the Department of Labor issued a new Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) describing the process to follow as states update their WIOA-required plans for Program Years (PYs) 2024-2027. There are several highlights from the TEGL (HERE) for practitioners and local leaders.

First, DOL strongly encourages state workforce agencies to partner with other agencies related to new federal funding provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act. The TEGL encourages states to review the National Governors Association toolkit on opportunities for workforce funding in these laws and the Administration’s own guide.

Second, DOL reiterates its interest in “no wrong door” programming for young people, which can be achieved through co-enrollment at the program level and better alignment at the state level.

Third, the TEGL underlines the importance of supportive services: “States should continue to partner with state and local entities, such as community-based organizations or social and health agencies, that have deep roots in underserved communities, since they are key to improving outreach and support for an equitable recovery, assisting with access to transportation, referrals to physical and mental health assistance, substance misuse, housing assistance, child and dependent care, and income supports such as Unemployment Insurance (UI), TANF, and SNAP.”

Finally, the TEGL describes the performance-measure negotiation process and notes that DOL still plans to release final guidance on the Effectiveness in Serving Employers Measure in November. For PYs ’24 and ’25 states do not need to negotiate levels of performance, only to continue to report data as they have.