New York StateWorkforce Development System New York State
Technical Advisory

 

May 25, 2006

Workforce Development System Technical Advisory #06-7

 

TO:

Chairpersons of Local Workforce Investment Boards
Chief Elected Officials
WIA Grant Recipients
WIA Fiscal Agents
WIA Local Area Contact Persons

Subject:

State Policy Guidelines for Local Workforce Investment Areas (LWIAs) Regarding the Determination of Eligibility of Training Offerings and the Establishment of the Eligible Training Provider List (ETP)

Purpose:

To provide guidance and clarification to LWIAs on State policy regarding the initial and subsequent eligibility processes for the determination of training provider offerings as appropriate for inclusion on the statewide ETP

Background:

Section 122 of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and its associated regulations require the designated State agency to compile and disseminate a single list of training providers identified by the Local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIBs) in New York State (NYS). The law further requires that this list be made widely available to eligible participants engaged in employment and training activities through the One-Stop Delivery System; individuals eligible to receive training services using an approved Individual Training Account (ITA) may, through guided customer choice, select an eligible provider offering that is included on the list.

The State meets this statutory requirement through the establishment of the New York State (NYS) Eligible Training Provider List which may be found at https://applications.labor.ny.gov/ETPL/

Initial Eligibility Review Process

Policy: Section 122 of WIA and its associated regulations require that the LWIB accept applications and determine the initial eligibility of training providers and their offerings and submit the local list to the State agency. Training provider offerings should align with local labor market demands and emerging/targeted occupations. The State’s current policy that a Local Board submit providers and offerings determined initially eligible for inclusion on the ETP list remains in effect.

Automatic eligibility: Postsecondary and educational institutions carrying out programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and entities carrying out Apprenticeship programs under the National Apprenticeship Act are automatically granted initially eligible upon receipt of a completed application.

Local Board role: In identifying public or private eligible training providers, LWIBs must comply with Section 122 and are responsible for:

  • Notifying training entities in the area of the opportunity to apply for initial eligibility status
  • Creating an initial eligibility application for their area, ensuring that providers have access to the initial eligibility application and to a list of demand occupations for their area
  • Setting levels of expected program-specific performance
  • Ensuring that providers submit performance and cost information for each provider offering to the appropriate LWIB for consideration
  • Requiring that training providers are in compliance with State laws and have the license, certification, registration or approval from the appropriate State and/or Federal oversight agency to provide the training
  • Evaluating the experience and reputation of the provider and the schedule of offerings
  • Assuring that the course offerings are in line with the training needs of the local area based upon demand and targeted occupations
  • Considering other information that may be locally relevant to making a determination of eligibility
  • Acting on a provider’s offering application within 30 days of receipt

State role: Section 122 requires the designated State agency to compile and disseminate a single list of provider offerings identified by the LWIBs. The NYS Department of Labor (DOL) has met this statutory requirement by adding training provider offerings recommended by the LWIBs to the State ETP list within 30 days of receipt of the LWIB approval.

Initial Eligibility Application Process: Since initial eligibility applications are used to populate the State list, NYSDOL established core statewide data elements. These core elements were identified on the initial eligibility application available on the website. The application includes a detailed description of the basic process that must be used by the Local Board and the training provider to determine whether a provider’s offerings should be recommended for inclusion on the ETP list. (Please see Attachment A, Initial Eligibility Review Process for the Eligible Training Provider List.)

Local customization of the application process and establishment of additional requirements have been allowed and encouraged in order to meet the needs of the local area.

The LWIB Management web page, which is a listing of all offerings pending review, has a direct link to the State Education Department (SED) Bureau of Proprietary School Supervision Division (BPSS). This link is included as a tool for local areas to verify the approval status of a provider by NYSED BPSS. It is the training provider’s responsibility to ensure and the local board’s or its delegate’s responsibility to verify that providers are licensed, registered and/or approved to operate by the appropriate State and/or Federal oversight agency before submitting the provider’s identity and offerings for inclusion on the State list.

Notification of Local Policy Statements: LWIBs are expected to post their initial and subsequent eligibility ETP policies in local area documents, on local area websites and on the ETP website as an announcement. Policies may be posted by signing onto the website using the LWIB login, clicking on the “Announcements” tab and then selecting the “Create Announcement” button.

Use of the ETP list: Inclusion of a provider’s offerings on the ETP list is neither an entitlement to, nor an assurance of, receipt of training funds by eligible providers from the Local Workforce Investment Area. It is merely the vehicle through which eligible customers access the training providers that have met the criteria established by the local boards. WIA requires that customers make informed and guided choices regarding a program of training. Therefore, a customer awarded an ITA chooses a training offering with the assistance of appropriate staff to ensure that the training offering selected meets the needs of the customer identified in the Individual Employment Plan (IEP).

Subsequent Eligibility Review Process

Policy: As required by Section 122 of WIA and its associated regulations, the State established a procedure for Local Board use in determining the subsequent eligibility of a training provider to remain on the State ETP list after the period of initial eligibility. During the subsequent eligibility process, providers must submit, via the web-based application, performance and program cost information for offerings that have been on the state list for at least 18 months. The Local Board may retain provider offerings on the ETP list that they determine have met minimum levels of performance as established by their local area.

Local Board role: When recommending a training provider and its offerings remain on the ETP list the local Board must consider the following:

  • Specific economic, geographic and demographic factors in the local area and the characteristics of the population to be served
  • Program-specific performance information and attainment submitted by the provider
  • Program-specific cost information per WIA Section 122
  • Compliance with the license, certification, registration or approval required by the appropriate State and/or Federal oversight agency to provide the training
  • LWIB experience and customer satisfaction with provider
  • Training needs of the local area
  • Evaluation criteria identified on Attachment C, Subsequent Eligibility Evaluation Checklist.
  • Any other information that may be relevant in determining subsequent eligibility status.

State role: Within two weeks of the release date of this Technical Advisory, all training providers with offerings due for review will be notified via email from NYSDOL’s Research and Statistics Division that their offering is due for subsequent eligibility review by the LWIB. Providers will be directed to the ETP website where they must provide required data for each offering. When the subsequent eligibility application has been completed by the provider, the LWIB will be notified to review the offering information.

An email notification will alert the LWIB that the provider offerings are subject to a subsequent eligibility review. Additional information may be requested from providers as deemed necessary by the LWIB.

When the LWIB makes the determination of subsequent eligibility regarding the offering, the training provider will be notified of the status via email. The ETP website will update the status of the offering to note that it has met the subsequent eligibility criteria established by the Local Board.

Subsequent Eligibility Application Process: Attached are instructions for implementing the subsequent eligibility review process. Attachment B, Subsequent Eligibility Review Process for the Eligible Training Provider List, offers a starting point for LWIB review. It should not be considered all-inclusive; LWIBs are encouraged to consider any and all information that may be available to them about a provider and its offerings when completing the subsequent eligibility review. Attachment B is also the vehicle through which the LWIB must record its decision regarding the suitability of the provider and its offerings to remain on the ETP list. Attachment C, ETP Subsequent Eligibility Evaluation Checklist, includes suggested elements for the LWIB to consider during the subsequent eligibility reviews.

LWIB Initial and Subsequent Eligibility Status

LWIBs may use four designations when reviewing an application:

  1. Approve – Offering has met all local requirements and may be added to, or retained on, the State list and is eligible for WIA ITA funds
  2. Deny – Offering has not met all local requirements and will not be added to, or will be deleted from, the State list
  3. Pending – LWIB has requested and is awaiting additional information on the provider or its offering
  4. N/A – Offering will be submitted to the State for inclusion on the State list but is determined to be not applicable to WIA funding

In accordance with NYS’s Two Years of the Strategic Five Year State Plan for Title 1 of the Workforce Investment Act and Wagner-Peyser Act, the recommendation to deny the eligibility of an offering may originate from either the LWIB or NYSDOL. Training providers must be notified in writing of a decision to deny eligibility status to an offering. Eligibility may be denied/terminated for the following reasons:

  • The training provider does not have appropriate State and/or Federal approval to operate.
  • The application is not complete or is not submitted in a timely manner.
  • The offering does not meet the definition of WIA training services.
  • Required performance data is not included with the application or the performance data does not meet established performance levels.
  • The training provider is delinquent in delivery of reports, payment of debt, or otherwise out of compliance with the Act, regulations, or any agreement executed under WIA.
  • The training provider is not current in the payment of unemployment insurance contributions or reimbursements, or is in violation of State Labor Law, or any other requirement for training program under the Act is not met.
  • The training provider intentionally supplied inaccurate information.
  • The training provider substantially violated any requirement under the Act.
  • Failure to demonstrate the business capacity or integrity to successfully deliver training.

Action:

LWIBs must assure that the local area has:

  • initial and subsequent eligibility policies in place;
  • made those policies accessible to One Stop staff and the general public through inclusion in their Comprehensive Three Year Local Plan and posting on the ETP and local area websites; and
  • fully implemented the initial and subsequent eligibility review processes outlined in this Technical Advisory.

Questions regarding this Technical Advisory may be directed to:
Christine Steenburgh, (518) 457-1321, for website assistance
Shelley Minahan, (518) 457-0505 for programmatic assistance

Attachments:

ETPL Training Provider Guide