SAWDB
POLICY 05-004
SOUTHWESTERN
AREA WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Board
INDIVIDUAL
TRAINING ACCOUNT (ITA) POLICY
DATE OF ISSUE:
EFFECTIVE DATE:
APPLICABILTY:
Southwestern Area Workforce Development Board (SAWDB) providers of
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) dislocated worker and adult employment and
training services.
OBJECTIVE:
To establish policy for
local workforce development boards regarding individual
training accounts.
BACKGROUND:
The individual training
account (ITA) is established on behalf of a participant
to finance training
services. Adult and dislocated workers purchase training services from eligible
providers
selected from the single statewide list of
approved providers and in consultation with the case manager.
ACTION:
References include the
following: Public Law 105-220, Workforce Investment Act
(WIA), Section 134
(d)(4)(G), 20 CFR Part 652 et al., Section 663.400, Section 663.410, Section
663.420, Section 663.430 and Section 663.440.
A. Individual Training Accounts (ITA)
provide a mechanism for the payment of training expenses to eligible training
providers for individuals using funds from the Workforce Investment Act. (WIA)
(1)
ITAs shall be limited to
individuals unable to obtain other grant assistance or require assistance beyond
that available from other grant assistance programs; the SAWDB or its designee,
at each training enrollment period (i.e., semester, quarter), shall document
the unavailability of other funding sources such as pell grants, TAA, TANF or
other federal grants; Participant must apply for other forms of financial
assistance prior to receiving an ITA and throughout WIA funded training as
appropriate. Documentation of
application, receipt or denial of financial aid must be maintained in the
participant file.
(2) ITAs shall only be issued to individuals who
have been determined to need training services to obtain employment; ITAs are
not considered an entitlement;
(3)
ITAs shall be developed
jointly by the individual and case manager using the results of the assessment and
an Employment Development Plan. The case
manager shall verify that the participant meets the provider’s enrollment
criteria for admission to the training program or course of study as well as
coordinate the provider’s acceptance of the participant into the program and
coordination of case management.
B. Training programs may only be selected
from the approved single
statewide
list and must lead to an “occupation in demand” in the local area or area where
the participant is willing to relocate. The participant will have access to the
list of eligible training providers through the One Stop System. Participants must be able to use their ITA to
procure services from any eligible training provider on the local /state list.
(1) An “occupation in demand” is defined by the SAWDB as those
assessed by the New Mexico Department of Labor Economic Research and Analysis
Bureau as having an expected growth rate of 23% or more and annual job openings
of 50 or more for the year as described in the most current Long-Term
Employment Projection publication for all training
available through the NM Department of Labor website that can be accessed
at: www.dol.state.nm.us/dol_lmif.html
(2) SAWDB may approve training services for occupations
determined by the Board to be in sectors of the economy that have a high
potential for sustained demand or growth in the local area and/or those
designated as priority industries within the region.
(3) Exceptions to the “occupation in demand” criteria are not
allowed unless a participant provides a letter from a bona fide employer
stating they will employ the participant as a full time employee upon
successful completion of the training program.
Employment is defined as any service, including service in interstate
commerce, performed for wages or under any contract of hire, written or oral,
expressed or implied.
(4) Occupational demand or letter of intent to hire must be
documented by the service provider for all participants receiving an ITA and
maintained in the participant folder.
C. The SAWDB or its designee shall establish
a mechanism for payment to an approved training provider. This process shall
include tracking expenditures of all resources paying for the participant’s
training, including WIA Title I funds of the ITA.
(1)
Participants shall be
able to use their ITAs to acquire training from any eligible training provider
on
the state list or training provider lists of other states where the state of
(2) When an individual is approved for
training and an eligible provider is selected, an application/agreement for an
ITA must be completed by the individual. The application/agreement should
contain a commitment to complete training, to provide attendance information,
grades or progress reports, and credentials, to utilize the provider’s
resources for placement, and when hired, to provide placement and follow-up
information to the case manager. Provisions should also be included for
follow-up activities to determine employment retention and wages after
employment, to include authorization for access to unemployment insurance (UI)
wage records.
(3)
The allowable
amount of training costs applicable to all Individual Training Accounts (ITAs)
is dependent upon the type of occupational skill training and the range of
costs for such training. The maximum
cost per individual using ITAs shall not exceed $7000.00 Full payment at the beginning of each semester,
quarter or other training period will be allowed only if the provider has a
published prorated refund policy applicable for all students who may drop out
of that training institution. Full payments for entire programs beyond each
training period are not allowed.
(4)
The durational
limit of an ITA for an individual participant is based on the needs identified
in the Employment Development Plan (EDP) but cannot exceed 104 training
weeks. Once participants complete the
training designated in the EDP, they are not eligible for additional ITA
training for a five-year period that begins at the time the participant exists
from the ITA activity.
(5) Exceptions to the duration and cost
limitations may be allowed under extenuating circumstances following the SAWDB
waiver policy and must be documented in the participant’s record.
D.
SAWDB may develop
reciprocal agreements with other LWDBs, one-stop operators, and service providers,
as necessary to effect seamless training services. Such agreements should
include arrangements for the provision of case management and any fiscal
reimbursement terms and conditions.
F. Use of an ITA is necessary for the
following types of training:
(1) Occupational skills training services,
including training for nontraditional employment; Prerequisite courses required
for acceptance into a vocational/occupational skills training program is allowable
only when the entire program including prerequisites can be completed within
the 104 weeks. In the event the
completion of prerequisites may not result in the acceptance and entrance into
the vocational/occupational skills training program, prerequisites must be
completed and acceptance into program documented prior to enrollment into WIA
funded training.
(2) Programs that combine workplace training
with related instruction, which includes appropriate education programs;
(3) training programs for occupations in
demand operated by the private sector;
(4) skill upgrading and retraining;
(5) entrepreneurial training;
(6) adult basic education/ESL/literacy
provided in
combination with the
above training
(7) post-secondary education for careers in
demand; and
(8)
BAT approved
apprenticeship programs.
G.
An ITA is not used for
short-term prevocational activities. Short-term prevocational activities are
intensive services that prepare individuals for employment, or enable workers
with skills to acquire a necessary occupational credential through short-term
continuing education. Examples include development of (1) basic learning,
communication and interviewing skills, such as punctuality, personal
maintenance and personal conduct skills, (2) employability skills training such
as job preparation and work maturity skills developed in SCANS (secretary’s
committee on achieving necessary skills) and (3) in the development of
occupational literacy skills to complete a training program or class, such as a
basic computer class in Word. Basic skill/academic remediation including
Developmental Math/English, English-as-a-second language, literacy training,
GED preparation, employment skills enhancement and others leading to the
attainment of a high school diploma or equivalent, or attainment of basic and
employment skills competencies are considered to be pre-vocational short-term
training are also funded under Intensive Services but only after exhausting and
documenting the lack of other available resources to provide such training. If taken alone and funded as an Intensive
Service, participants must be able to complete needed academic
remediation/Developmental instruction in preparation for regular curriculum in
12 months or less.
H.
ITAs are not used for
OJT, customized training or a training services program of demonstrated effectiveness
serving special participant populations that face multiple barriers to
employment
provided
in a manner that maximizes customer choice, that sound accounting and payment
procedures are used and that any local limitations are observed.
(1)
Participants will
receive, at a minimum, one core service and one intensive service which must
include the completion of an Employment Development Plan (EDP) prior to
participation in any training activity.
The EDP must document the participant’s ability to succeed in the
selected training program.
(2)
The ITA will cover all
books, fees and educational materials required of all students in additional to
tuition except for those covered by other forms of financial assistance. WIA funds are intended to supplement other
sources of funding for training to participants who are unable to find other
grant assistance or whose financial needs exceed the assistance available from
other sources. ITAs must be coordinated
with other grant assistance to ensure that WIA funds are not used to pay for
the cost of training when grant assistance from other sources are available to pay
the costs.
(3) A WIA participant may enroll in a
training program with WIA funds while application for Pell Grant funds are
pending, but the local Workforce Development Area must be reimbursed for the
amount of the Pell Grant used for training if the application is approved. Only that portion provided for tuition is
subject to reimbursement.
(4) One
Stop Case Managers will make certain tracking mechanisms are in place to ensure
funding caps and training weeks allowed are not exceeded.
(5) One Stop Case Managers will maintain
contact with participants during training to track performance, attendance,
change in status as well as inform participants of account status. All contact will be documented in the participant
file.
J.
SAWDB shall make provisions for the maintenance and
retention of ITA records, including systems of issuance, funding
obligations/expenditures, oversight and completion in accordance with WIA
record retention requirements. Such records shall be retained for a period of
three program years from the date the individual
participant exits unless an unresolved audit is pending. In that case, records
must be retained until final resolution of the audit.
K. SAWDB
or their designee shall ensure that selected training providers are afforded
appropriate training and technical assistance necessary to deliver the required
WIA services.
Inquires:
Questions related to this policy should be directed to
the SAWDB AE at (505) 744-4857 in Elephant Butte.
APPROVED: __________________________ _ _
Linda Smrkovsky, SAWDB Chairman (Date)