WIA Program - EXIT POLICY

Background                                                                                 

Under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), customers exit from the system after they have not received a service for 90 days, and no future service is planned.  They may continue to receive services after entering employment; there is no requirement to “terminate” activities upon job placement.  Career advancement is the goal of WIA, and services should be designed to assist customers to enter employment, then to maintain employment and achieve the highest possible earnings.  Case management and job placement providers are encouraged to continue services to enrolled customers for as long as necessary to ensure that career advancement goals are met.  Under WIA, the sequence of intensive service delivery, job placement, follow-up and exit is designed to support the goal of career advancement.

 

Placement and Retention  Services

 

Each enrolled Adult, Dislocated Worker and Older Youth customer has an earnings target based on his/her individual career advancement goal and on the WIA performance standards.  Certain customers also have goals for credential and skill attainment.  When the customer has achieved those goals and becomes employed at the earnings target, the case manager will record the completion of WIA activities in the Individual Employment Plan (IEP) and initiate retention activity designed to demonstrate that the Employment Specialist is truly interested in the customer’s progress, to ensure that the customer’s employment is stable and satisfactory, and to encourage the customer to return to the One-Stop for services if he/she needs further assistance, and to ensure a high customer satisfaction rating,. This retention service will occur during the 90 days that follows the customer’s placement into employment at the earnings target.  During this 90-day period, the customer may receive additional services to help retain the job, maintain or increase earnings, or to obtain a new job for any reason.  The full array of WIA and One-Stop partner services are available to the customer during this 90-day period, which precedes exit.  Any service provided during the retention period must be recorded in CTWBS.  Some of the possible services are:

• Skills Upgrading and Retraining
• Staff Assisted Job Development
• Job Coaching
• Staff Assisted Job Referrals
• Counseling in the Workplace
• Staff Assisted Workshops/Job Clubs
• Continued Career Planning
• Supportive Services
• Intervention To Eliminate Employee-Employer Conflict

Any service provided beyond the 90 days, including retention services, will extend the period of enrollment and affect the timing of exit.  If no additional service is provided, exit will occur on the 90th day, and only limited services will be available thereafter. 

 

Credential and Diploma Attainment, Skill Gains, and Diploma Rate

The WIA performance goals that are not directly related to job placement should be addressed through the service strategies in each customer’s IEP, which should be designed to ensure that these goals are achieved while the customer is enrolled in WIA.  Adults and Dislocated Workers who receive training services, and all older youth who are placed into employment, higher education or advanced training, must earn a recognized credential by the third quarter after exit.  It is CWP policy that, to the greatest extent possible, Case Management providers continue to provide WIA services until the credential is earned to ensure that customers exit after the credential is attained.

Younger youth who enter WIA without a high school diploma must earn their diploma or GED by the end of the first quarter after exit, unless they are enrolled in regular secondary education at the time of exit.  It is CWP policy that, to the greatest extent possible, Younger youth continue to receive services until they earn their diploma or GED to ensure that this goal is achieved by the time of exit.  Younger youth must also attain skills during each year of participation; these skill gains must be measured while the youth is enrolled in WIA and recorded in CTWBS prior to exit.

 

Exit

Exit from WIA and the One-Stop system is effective as of the date of the last WIA or One-Stop partner service received by the customer.  Case management providers must record actual beginning and ending dates of each WIA activity in CTWBS in a timely, accurate manner to avoid unallowable gaps in service.  If Employment Specialists record activity end dates in a timely manner, CTWBS will trigger automated notifications that will assist them in monitoring customers who are approaching exit.

Exits are automatically recorded by the CTWBS system when no service has been received or recorded for 90 days, and no future service is planned or scheduled.  Planned services include workshops and individual activities, such as training, that are scheduled to begin in the future,   Exits can occur for customers regardless of whether or not they have completed all services and goals outlined in their Individual Employment Plan (IEP). However, because all customers who are registered under WIA Title I will count toward performance measures, it is important to develop a strategy for retaining and engaging customers in active programming until they enter employment at their earnings target and appear likely to retain employment and maintain earnings for at least three quarters after completing services. Post-placement service is just one element of such a retention strategy.

Exit is determined in one of two ways:

• Soft Exit – Most customers exit 90 days after receiving their last One-Stop System service.  A customer who does not receive any One-Stop system services for 90 days and is not scheduled for future services, except follow-up services, will “soft-exit”.  This is an automatic process through CTWBS. The “Soft Exit “ date is the last day a customer received a One-Stop System service.

• Hard Exit - A customer may be immediately exited if he/she is unable to continue in the program for the following specific reasons:

• death
• medical condition that will last 90 days or longer
• institutionalization that will last 90 days or longer
• family care obligation that will last 90 days or longer
• retirement
• relocation to a mandated residential program that will last 90 days or longer (Youth only)
• called to active duty for 90 days of longer (military reservist only)

The hard exit is recorded manually in CTWBS by the Employment Specialist, and a supporting general or private case note is written to explain the circumstances requiring the hard exit.  In cases where a customer has a medical condition, the case file should contain supporting documentation that indicates that the individual will be unable to work or participate in activities.  The specific medical condition should not be identified; however, for privacy reasons.

When a customer ceases participation for any reason not listed above, all activities must be closed in CTWBS and a soft exit will occur after the last activity ended. 

 

Post-Exit Follow-Up

 

All of the WIA performance standards are measured after exit, with the exception of Younger Youth Skill Attainment.  Post exit follow-up is critical to maximizing WIA performance, and the provision of one year of follow-up after exit is a requirement under WIA.

 

Post exit follow-up occurs during each quarter following the exit quarter. The last quarter of retention service will serve as the first quarter of post exit follow-up, and must be recorded in CTWBS on the First Quarter Follow-Up screen.  At minimum, post exit follow-up contact must be made during each of the four quarters after exit.  In cases where the Case Manager determines that the customer needs additional support, contact may be more frequent.

An exited customer may continue to receive non-WIA funded (Post Exit) services for up to 12 months after exit, but is not eligible for Supportive Services. All follow-up information must be entered into the CTWBS system.

 

This policy also sets forth as a general rule that customers exited within the previous 12 months or who are still in follow-up, cannot be re-enrolled into WIA services during the follow-up period.

---

CWP Policy/Procedure

Topic:  WIA Placement, Retention, Exit and Follow-Up Activities (Replaces 04-03)

Number: 07-03             Effective Date:  Original: 2/1/2004; Update 04/1/2007

Applies to: CWP Service Providers

Approved by: CWP Chief Operating Officer

Definitions: Process by which exiting of WIA customers is conducted

Other Policy references: USDOL TEGL 17-05; CTDOL AP-06-24; AP 07-05