20 C.F.R. Subpart D—State Formula Grants Administration
Title 20 - Employees' Benefits
(a)(1) The Governor may include in the State's WtW Plan a waiver request to select an agency other than the local board or PIC to administer the program for one or more local areas or SDA's in a State; or (2) When the Governor determines the local board or alternate administering agency has not coordinated its expenditures with the expenditure of funds provided to the State under TANF, pursuant to section 403(a)(5)(A)(vii)(II) of the Act, the Governor must request a waiver. (b) The Governor shall bear the burden of proving that the designated alternate administering agency, rather than the local board or other alternate administering agency, would improve the effectiveness or efficiency of the administration of WtW funds in the SDA. The Governor's waiver request shall include information to meet that burden. The Governor shall provide a copy of the waiver request and any supporting information submitted to the Secretary to the local board and CEO of the local area for which an alternative administering agency is requested. (c) The local board and CEO shall have fifteen (15) days in which to submit his or her written response to the Department. The local board and CEO shall provide a copy of such response to the Governor. (d) The Secretary will assess the waiver information submitted by the Governor, including input from the local board and CEO in reaching the decision whether to permit the use of an alternate administering agency. (e) The Secretary shall approve a waiver request if she determines that the Governor has established that the designated alternate administering agency, rather than the local board or other administering agency, will improve the effectiveness or efficiency of the administration of WtW funds provided for the benefit of the local area. (f) Where an alternate administering agency is approved by the Secretary, such administrative entity shall coordinate with the CEO for the applicable local area(s) regarding the expenditure of WtW grant funds in the local area(s). (g) The decision of the Secretary to approve or deny a waiver request will be issued promptly and shall constitute final agency action. (a) Of the WtW funds allotted to the State, not less than 85 percent of the State allotment must be distributed to the local areas or SDA's in the State. (1) The State shall prescribe a formula for determining the amount of funds to be distributed to each local area or SDA in the State using no factors other than the three factors described in paragraphs (2) and (3) of this paragraph; (2) The formula prescribed by the Governor must include as one of the formula factors for distributing funds the provision at section 403(a)(5)(A)(vi)(I)(aa) of the Act. The Governor is to distribute funds to a local area or SDA based on the number by which the population of the area with an income that is less than the poverty line exceeds 7.5 percent of the total population of the area, compared to all such numbers in all such areas in the State. The Governor must assign a weight of not less than 50 percent to this factor; (3) The Governor shall distribute the remaining funds, if any, to the local area or SDA's utilizing only one or both of the following factors: (i) the local area or SDA's share of the number of adults receiving assistance under TANF or the predecessor program in the local area or SDA for 30 months or more (whether consecutive or not), relative to the number of such adults residing in the State; (ii) the local area or SDA's share of the number of unemployed individuals residing in the local area or SDA, relative to the number of such individuals residing in the State. (4) If the amount to be distributed to a local area or SDA by the Governor's formula is less than $100,000, the funds shall be available to be used by the Governor to fund projects described at paragraph (b) of this section. (5) States shall use the guidance provided at section 403(a)(5)(D) of the Act in determining the number of individuals with an income that is less than the poverty line. (6) Local Boards (or alternate administering agency) shall determine, pursuant to section 403(a)(5)(A)(vii)(I) of the Act, on which individual(s) and on which allowable activities to expend its WtW fund allocation. (7) The State must distribute the local boards' or SDAs' allocations in a timely manner, but not longer than 30 days from receipt of the State's fund allotment. (b) Of the funds allocated to the State, up to 15 percent of the funds may be retained at the State level to fund projects that appear likely to help long-term recipients of assistance enter unsubsidized employment. Any additional funds available as a result of the process described at paragraph (a)(4) of this section, shall also be available to be used to fund projects to help long-term recipients of assistance enter unsubsidized jobs. (c) The Governors may distribute the funds retained pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section to a variety of workforce organizations, in addition to local boards or alternate administering agencies, and other entities such as One-Stop systems, private sector employers, labor organizations, business and trade associations, education agencies, housing agencies, community development corporations, transportation agencies, community-based and faith-based organizations, disability community organizations, community action agencies, and colleges and universities which provide some of the assistance needed by the targeted population. (a) Each State seeking financial assistance under the formula grant portion of the WtW legislation must submit an annual plan meeting the requirements prescribed by the Secretary. This plan shall be in the form of an addendum to the TANF State plan and shall be submitted to the Secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services. (b) The Secretary shall review the State plan for compliance with the statutory and regulatory provisions of the WtW program. The Secretary's decision whether to accept a State plan as in compliance with the Act shall constitute final agency action. (c) If the Governor has requested a waiver to permit the selection of an alternate administering agency in the State plan, the provisions of §645.400 of this part shall apply (section 403(a)(5)(A)(ii)). (a) The Department will use the following factors to measure State performance: (1) Job entry rate as measured by the proportion of WtW participants who enter either subsidized employment or unsubsidized employment, (2) Substantive job entry rate as measured by the proportion of WtW participants who are placed in or who have moved into subsidized or unsubsidized employment of 30 hours or more per week, (3) Retention as measured by the proportion of WtW participants who remain in unsubsidized employment six months in the second subsequent quarter after the quarter in which placement occurred after initial placement, and (4) Measured earnings gains of WtW participants who remain in unsubsidized employment six months after initial placement. (b) The formula for calculating the performance bonus is weighted as follows: (1) 30 percent on job entry rate, (2) 30 percent on substantive job entry rate, (3) 20 percent on retention in unsubsidized employment, (4) 20 percent on earnings gains in unsubsidized employment. The formula will reflect general economic conditions on a State-by-State basis. (c) The formula shall serve as the basis for the award of FY 2000 bonus grants based on successful performance to be made in FY 2001 (section 403(a)(5)(E)). (a) State roles and responsibilities. A State: (1) Designates State WtW administering agency; (2) Provides overall administration of WtW funds, consistent with the WtW statute, WtW regulations and the State's WtW Plan; (3) Develops the State WtW Plan in consultation and coordination with appropriate entities in substate areas, such as One-Stop systems, private sector employers, labor organizations, business and trade associations, education agencies, housing agencies, community development corporations, transportation agencies, community-based and faith-based organizations, disability community organizations, community action agencies, and colleges and universities which provide some of the assistance needed by the targeted population (section 403(a)(5)(A)(ii)(I)(cc)); (4) Distributes funds to SDAs, consistent with the provisions described at §645.410(a) (section 403(a)(5)(A)(ii)(I)(bb)); (5) Conducts oversight and monitoring of WtW activities and fund expenditures at the State and local levels for compliance with applicable laws and regulations, consistent with the provisions at §645.245 and provides technical assistance as appropriate; (6) Ensures coordination of local board or alternate administering agency fund expenditures with the State TANF expenditures and other programs (section 403(a)(5)(A)(ii)(I)(dd)); (7) Determines whether to request waivers to select an alternate administering agency consistent with the provisions described at §645.400 of this part (sections 403(a)(5)(A)(ii)(I)(ee) and 403(a)(5)(A)(vii)(III)); (8) Manages and distributes State level WtW funds (15 percent), consistent with the provisions at §645.410(b) and (c) (section 403(a)(5)(A)(vi)(III)); (9) Ensures that the 15 percent administration limitation and the match requirement are met; (10) Ensures that worker protections provisions are observed and establishes an appropriate grievance process, consistent with §§645.255 through 645.270 of this part (section 403(a)(5)(J)); (11) Provides comments on Competitive Grant Application(s) from eligible entities within the State, consistent with §645.510 of this part (section 403(a)(5)(B)(ii)); (12) Cooperates with the Department of Health and Human Services on the evaluation of WtW programs (section 403(a)(5)(A)(ii)(III)); (13) Provides technical assistance to PIC's, local boards or alternate administering agencies; and (14) Establishes internal reporting requirements to ensure Federal reports are accurate, complete and are submitted on a timely basis, consistent with §645.240 of this part. (b) Local Boards (or alternate administering agency) roles and responsibilities. A local board: (1) Has sole authority, in coordination with CEOs, to expend formula funds (section 403(a)(5)(A)(vii)(I)); (2) Has authority to determine the individuals to be served in the local area (section 403(a)(5)(A)(vii)(I)); (3) Has authority to determine the services to be provided in the local area (section 403(a)(5)(A)(vii)(I)); (4) Ensures funds are expended on eligible recipients and on allowable activities, consistent with §645.410(a)(5) of this part; (5) Coordinates WtW fund expenditures with State TANF expenditures and other programs (section 403(a)(5)(A)(ii)(dd)); (6) Ensures that there is an assessment and an individual service strategy in place for each WtW participant, consistent with §645.225(a) and (b) of this part; (7) Conducts oversight and monitoring of subrecipients, consistent with the provisions at §645.245 of this part; (8) Ensures worker protection provisions and grievance process are observed, consistent with State guidelines (section 403(a)(5)(J)); and (9) Consults with and provides comments on private entity Competitive Grant Application(s), consistent with the provisions at §645.500(b)(1)(i) of this part. (a) As provided in the Workforce Investment Act regulations at 20 CFR 663.620, the local WtW formula grant program operator is a required partner in the One-Stop system. 20 CFR part 662 describes the roles of such partners in the One-Stop system and applies to the WtW formula grant program operators. A Memorandum of Understanding must be developed between the Local Workforce Investment Board and the WtW program that meets the requirements of 20 CFR 662.300, such as containing provisions relating to the services to be provided through the One-Stop system and methods for referring individuals between the One-Stop operator and the partner WtW program. (b) WtW participants may also be served by the WIA programs and, through appropriate linkages and referrals, these individuals will have access to a broader range of activities and services through the cooperation of the WtW and WIA programs in the One-Stop system. For example, WtW participants, who are also determined eligible for WIA, and who need occupational skills training, may be referred through the One-Stop system to receive WIA training. These participants are also eligible to receive services available under WtW, such as transportation and child care while participating in the WIA activity. (c) WIA participants, who are determined to be eligible for WtW, may also be served by the WtW programs through cooperation with the WIA programs in the One-Stop system. For example, WIA participants, who are also determined eligible for WtW, may be referred to the WtW program for job placement and other WtW assistance. (d) 29 CFR part 37 applies to recipients of WtW financial assistance who operate programs that are part of the One-Stop system established under WIA to the extent that the WtW programs and activities are being conducted as part of the One-Stop delivery system.
Title 20: Employees' Benefits
PART 645—PROVISIONS GOVERNING WELFARE-TO-WORK GRANTS
Subpart D—State Formula Grants Administration
§ 645.400 Under what conditions may the Governor request a waiver to designate an alternate local administering agency?
§ 645.410 What elements will the State use in distributing funds within the State?
§ 645.415 What planning information must a State submit in order to receive a formula grant?
§ 645.420 What factors will be used in measuring State performance?
§ 645.425 What are the roles and responsibilities of the State(s) and local boards or alternate administering agencies?
§ 645.430 How does the Welfare-to-Work program relate to the One-Stop system and Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs?
