TAA Updates:
TAA and the IRS
- Participants involved in TAA approved training in which TAA
pays all qualified tuition and related expenses (transportation, books,
required items, exam fees, etc.), do not
have to report this on their taxes.
This is considered an exception to requirements for form 1098-T as the expenses
are covered by a formal billing arrangement between the training institution
and a government entity (TAA).
-
Only RTAA, UI, and
TRA are taxable as they are considered income. UI/TRA will send the
appropriate IRS-required documents to each participant as needed.
IEPs and TAA Training Plan Approval
TAA has a new requirement in order to approve TAA Training
applications. As DW counselors know, an IEP is one of the required documents to
accompany a TAA Training application. In order for TAA to approve the
application, the IEP must be captured within the “Plan” tab on the WF1 record
at the time the TAA training application is submitted to TAA. Some DW Counselors wait to capture this upon
exiting a participant, but due to federal performance requirements, this has to
be captured at the time of plan submission.
The date listed on the IEP cannot be prior to the date
listed in the WF1 Plan Summary. It should be either the same or a later date.
Funding Streams for TAA
USDOL requires at least 55% of all TAA participants be
co-enrolled in the WIOA funded Dislocated Worker program, DEED highly
encourages local areas to have at least one WIOA funded activity on every TAA
participant’s record. DEED understands WIOA funds are limited so it is
recommended that a WIOA funded individualized career service activity be used.
Examples of individualized career service activities are Staff Assisted
Assessment, Career Counseling, Individualized Plan Development, Job search
assistance, etc. Currently Minnesota is showing 13.5% of TAA participants as
co-enrolled because USDOL performance metrics do not capture participants
enrolled in state formula only.
Reminder: Summer Credits for TAA Participants
MnSCU institutions define full-time
for TAA during the summer as six credits. The University of MN and
private institutions have different criteria. DW Counselors, please have TAA
participants check full- time requirements of their learning institutions if
not attending a MnSCU school.
Summer Credits and TRA Eligibility
In order to remain TRA
eligible through summer, TAA participants must be full-time students (as
defined by the school) and not have a break greater than 30 business days
between classes. So, what happens when the school doesn’t provide degree
focused classes during the summer? TAA asks students to explore options that
will enhance their education or career. This may require taking an online
course or taking a course from another institution that will transfer to the
primary institution. TAA will pay tuition, books, and required fees of
non-required classes but reserves the right to limit reimbursements for
coursework that is merely satisfying the full time credit requirement but not
enhancing student education or career. For example, TAA will not pay for a
digital camera for a Digital Photography class or athletic shoes for a walking
class. Requests will be handled on a case-by-case basis.
New TAA Training Progress Report – effective March 1, 2018
Federal Monitoring has
had findings because states have not verified school attendance for TAA
training participants.
Federal regulation 20 617.20(b)(12) states “the
responsibilities of cooperating State agencies…include…. monitoring the
progress of workers in approved training programs.” Further, TEGL 10-11,
Section C.3 requires the State to ensure “the worker is participating in
training each week; and, whether the worker has substantially met the
performance benchmarks established in the approved training plan.”
In order for Minnesota TAA to be in compliance, the new
progress report now includes information about attendance. The
form no longer has a section A and an optional section B. The entire form needs
to be filled out as advisors are aware of the participant’s overall training
plan and individual professors can remark on participant progress and
attendance.
As before, the progress report needs to be submitted every
60 days.
Performance Updates:
Performance Training
Phase 2 Postponed
Training phase 2
has been postponed due to the release of TEGL 9-17.
You can find this
new TEGL entitled “Negotiating
Performance Goals for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title
I Programs and the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service as amended by Title III
of WIOA, for Program Years (PYs) 2018 and PY 2019” by clicking on this link https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=5196
DEED is currently reviewing this new guidance and awaiting DOL’s
updated statistical model. The expected release date for the new model is
mid-March.
Upcoming Events
Open to the Public
Minnesota Job
Skills Partnership Board meeting on March 12 from 10am to 2:30pm.
This meeting will include
Minnesota’s Annual Labor Market Update
 Corner On The Market
With Cameron Macht
Regional Analysis & Outreach Manager
Minnesota Dept. of Employment & Economic Development
cameron.macht@state.mn.us
320-441-6596
As detailed in the most
recent issue of Minnesota
Economic Trends, increasingly tight
labor markets and a growing scarcity of workers are now recognized as two of
Minnesota’s most significant barriers to sustained economic growth. In the face
of these constraints, it has become increasingly evident that immigration has
been and will continue to be a vital source of the workforce that employers
need to succeed in the state.
After averaging a net
gain of just over 40,000 additional labor force participants per year between
1976 and 2000, Minnesota employers could easily tap into a large and growing
pool of talented workers. From 2000 to 2016, however, our growth in available
workers dropped to less than one-third that, at just over 11,000 new workers
per year (see Chart 1).
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 Recently released labor
force projections from the Minnesota
State Demographic Center suggest this growth will
fall further in the years ahead, to an annual average of just over 7,000
additional labor force participants per year between now and 2030. This will
make it more challenging for employers to grow, but will also shine a light on
the importance of immigration.
Immigrants have become
critical to Minnesota’s economy, providing a rapid stream of new workers in the
face of an aging native-born workforce. Foreign-born workers now account for 10
percent of the total available labor force in Minnesota, up from 7.5 percent
just one decade earlier. In sum, the number of foreign workers jumped from
216,409 in 2006 to 302,879 in 2016.
While labor force
participation rates were declining for native-born workers, they were
increasing for foreign-born workers. Participation rates were around 71 percent
for both groups in 2006, but dropped to 69.1 percent for native-born workers by
2016 and rose to 72.7 percent for foreign-born workers.
Every region of the state
has seen an increase in the importance of immigration in recent years, as
described in a set of regional handouts on DEED’s
Labor Market Information site:
Success Story
This month we're highlighting some of the great work that our other ETP programs do.
Thomas-WIOA OSY, Ramsey County Workforce Solutions
Thomas
started U LEAD in the MYP Program and then enrolled in the WIOA OSY program
without a high school diploma. It had been Thomas' long-time dream to be a
Barber, but he was struggling to maintain regular attendance at Harmony
Learning Center where he was studying for his GED. After many months he passed
each of his GED exams.
Thomas
was interested in Barbering school, but cost was a barrier. In early 2017, his
U LEAD Counselor was able to put him in touch with Townsend Barbering School
who awarded him a scholarship and allowed him to start school with a much lower
down payment with the agreement that he make monthly payments. With
tuition assistance and paid work experience through U LEAD, Thomas was making
about $840 a month and is consistently making his required $800 monthly tuition
payments.
He
says that it is hard to attend school all day and then to work most evenings
and ‘only end up with $40 a month in my pocket” but he is making it work with
help from his family and with the monthly bus passes supported by the U LEAD
program to get to school and work. His Mom observes that she has not seen him
so happy in a long time and that he is even “making some new buddies” at
school.
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UNIT DIRECTORY
May Thao Schuck, Interim
Director, 651-259-7563
Dislocated Worker General Information, 651-259-7537
Rapid Response
Marla Beaty (TAA Liaison), 218-259-1380
Mo Malin, 651-259-7535
Lis McLoone (Labor Liaison), 651-259-7145
Jason Wadell, 651-259-7552
Mee Yang, 651-259-7548
Grants
Chelsea Georgesen (Grants & Policy Coordinator), 651-259-7508
Monica Weber, 651-259-7560
Amy Carlson (Performance), 651-259-7542
TAA
General
TAA Contact, 651-259-7543 or 888-234-1330
Jennifer Anderson, 651-259-7690
Cindy Boyle (Co-Coordinator), 651-259-7551
Mary Garcia, 651-259-7553
Laurie Larson, 651-259-7681
Sarah Saito (Co-Coordinator), 651-259-7546
Thomas Sommer, 651-259-7585
Jackie Umlauf, 218-739-7560
Olajide Williams, 651-259-7431
Trade
Readjustment Allowance, 651-296-3644 or 877-898-9090 (ask for
TRA Specialist)
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Find past issues of Partner's Express here.
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