| THE DIRECTOR’S CORNER
Since the 2014 reversion of TAA
law, we at DEED have found we cannot file petitions for hundreds of laid off
workers who would have been eligible under 2011 law. There is an increased risk
over time, that some counselors and providers may hear from job seeker
customers who may compare themselves to workers they know were laid off in the
past, who got more generous benefits.
We advise counselors and
partners to explain the facts of the 2014 reversion in this way: The more
generous 2011 version of the law expired on December 31, 2013. Congress let the
program expire; therefore, current law is as it was in 2002, when large groups,
such as service sector or trade with China, weren’t covered.
We appreciate everyone’s
patience and partnership, and we know there’s still plenty of work ahead. This
issue of MinnesoTAA highlights key work we are doing to make the summer school
experience easier on more job-seeker customers (and their counselors), as well
as an important trend and call to action in reducing error rates for entering a
credential. Thanks for all you do!
SAVE THE DATE!!
2014
Joint Counselors Training
When:
June 11-12, 2014
Where:
Mayo Civic Center, Rochester, MN
After last year’s success in joining
the MFIP/DWP and the Job Seeker Counselor Conference, we have decided to do it
again. We will host a collaborative two-day event on June 11-12. Program directors
and coordinators of the affiliated programs at DEED and DHS found common ground
between the topics and issues covered at both conferences.
UPDATE: TAA REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPUTERS AND TOOLS
- TAA-eligible participants who received tools or a
computer through TAA funds and don’t successfully complete their TAA
training program are required to either return the items to DEED or repay
DEED for the total amount of items purchased. Please contact your TAA
specialist to work out a return or payment plan.
- We ask TAA-eligible participants who are submitting
training plans for this fall semester to wait until summer to submit a
request for computer reimbursement approval and make the purchase.
SMART GOALS - PART III
INCREASING THE
REPORTED EMPLOYMENT AND CREDENTIAL RATE FOR TAA TRAINING RECIPIENTS
SMART goal objective: Increase
the positive employment and credential exits of TAA-eligible training
participants to 65 percent by
investigating the Trade Adjustment Assistance Program Report. DEED submits the
report to the USDOL quarterly.
Issue:
Reporting dropout rates conflict with the performance numbers received from the
field.
Finding #1 ~ Data Collection Error
In cases of different DW
program funding streams over time, WF1 reports only capture data from the
funding stream in which a TAA participant was last enrolled. Meaning, if a
customer earned a credential during their enrollment in the WIA DW program, but
then had an enrollment within 90 days in the MN DW program and earned no
credential, it appeared the customer earned no credential at all. WF1 reports
also showed large spikes of false negatives as mass layoff projects ended. WF1
reports showed an 80 percent false negative rate before corrective action. With
corrections, reported false negatives dropped to 35 percent.
Finding #2 ~ Counselors Not Capturing Credentials in WorkForce One
In many instances, DW
counselors have not captured credentials in WF1. TAA staff plan to provide
additional training to stress the importance of capturing credentials as counselors
close activities and cases.
Reminder: Only case managers
may capture a credential in WorkForce One. If you do not capture the
credential, it will count as a negative in program performance.
SUMMER CREDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR CUSTOMERS IN TAA APPROVED
TRAINING
To comply with federal TAA law,
the following applies effective for the summer of 2014:
- Summer training is considered full-time if the sum of
all credits taken during the summer term meets the definition of full-time,
as defined by the training institution and set out in TAA policy.
- DEED staff determines eligibility for TRA benefits
weekly. If students experience a break between spring and summer terms, a
break during summer term, or a break between summer and fall terms, the
participant is eligible for TRA benefits during the break only if it is
less than 30 days (not counting weekends or holidays).
For more details and examples,
refer to the document “How Trade Readjustment
Allowance (TRA) determines eligibility for benefits during summer breaks”
effective summer 2014.
*TRA realizes that TAA
participants in training during the 2013 summer term received TRA benefits as
long as they took a total of six credits during the entire summer term. However,
this practice did not meet federal regulations in two ways. First, this practice
assumed that six credits qualified as full-time for all training
institutions. Second, DEED staff paid TRA benefits for breaks that exceeded
30 days in duration. Those participants will not have to pay back any benefits.
We strive for the information in this newsletter to be relevant and
useful, and we encourage you to provide feedback and suggestions for future TAA
Topics or TAA Success Stories. To contact the TAA team regarding this
newsletter, please e-mail: cynthia.boyle@state.mn.us and type “TAA
Newsletter” in the subject line.
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