§ 846 — Substate level activities

§ 846. Substate level activities. 1. (a) Grantees shall use funds\nallotted to them pursuant to section eight hundred forty-eight of this\narticle to provide to eligible dislocated workers the core functions of\nthe worker adjustment program, which include intake, assessment and\ncounseling, as well as basic readjustment and retraining services as\ndefined in section eight hundred thirty-five of this article, directly\nor by contract. Provided, however, that such grantees shall not be\nrequired by the department to contract with any specific provider for\nthe provision of such services.\n (b) Each substate grantee shall provide intake, counseling and\nassessment directly or by contract on an ongoing basis at a site or\nsites designated by the substate grantee to which all dislocated workers\nin the area have access. In addition, the substate grantee may make such\nservices available at the location of a plant closing or substantial\nlayoff.\n (c) Substate grantees shall require that all service providers\nselected by the substate grantee to receive funds allocated pursuant to\nsection eight hundred forty-eight of this article, other than vouchers\nfor training services given to program participants pursuant to\nsubdivision four of this section, shall provide a written plan which\nincludes: (i) the amount and purposes for which funding is requested;\n(ii) a description of the services to be provided, including the\nduration of service and the estimated service cost per recipient; (iii)\nprocedures for identifying and selecting participants and for\neligibility determination and verification; (iv) evidence that the\nproposed service program will provide appropriate assistance to\nrecipients seeking available private sector employment; (v) a\ndescription of other funding sources which may be used for such\nprograms; (vi) a description of steps the provider will take to avoid\nduplication of services available through existing resources; (vii) a\ndescription of the provider's coordination with programs and activities\nfunded through the job training partnership act or other state\nresources; (viii) procedures for advising the local private industry\ncouncil of the provider's proposal, including ways in which the provider\nintends to cooperate with the local private industry council; and (ix)\nsuch other information as may be required by the grantee.\n (d) The grantee shall select training providers and determine the\namount of monies available for each program. Selection considerations\nshall include: the provider's past effectiveness in delivering\nemployment or vocational training programs or other readjustment\nservices based on demonstrated performance; for training providers,\nability to provide participants with the skills necessary to fill\navailable jobs in the private sector; cost of the proposed program; the\nadministrative capability to operate such a program; fiscal\nresponsibility; for training providers, a record of job placement for\ncompleters which meets standards of acceptability established by the\ncommissioner for this purpose; the degree to which the provider has made\nprovisions for coordination with other services available under the job\ntraining partnership act and other state and federal programs; and such\nother factors as the grantee may determine. Funds provided pursuant to\nthis article shall not be used to duplicate facilities or services\navailable to the substate area from other federal, state or local\nsources.\n (e) Appropriate vocational and educational institutions in the\nsubstate area shall be accorded the initial opportunity to provide\neducational services unless the grantee determines that alternative\nentities would be more effective or would have greater potential to\nenhance participants' continued occupational and career growth.\n (f) Funds shall be made available to service providers through direct\ncontract between each such service provider and the grantee. The\ngrantee shall notify the department of the award of each contract and\nshall certify that the requirements of this article have been met.\n (g) After March first of each year, the department shall reapportion\nan amount of unexpended funds from each substate area's allocation that\nthe department has determined cannot be expended as planned. The\nsubstate area shall be provided with no less than thirty days advance\nnotice and an opportunity to appeal the reallocation. The department\nshall reallocate those funds to the substate areas in a manner\nconsistent with the purposes of this section and with applicable federal\nlaw and regulations. Funds shall be reallocated to substate areas that\nhave demonstrated an ability to expend funds at a rate in keeping with\nor exceeding planned levels and where existing resources are\ninsufficient to provide needed services, to be determined in\nconsultation with interested parties. At any time after December\nthirty-first, a substate area may volunteer to deobligate funds. Such\nfunds may be reallocated immediately by the department to the substate\ngrantees consistent with the purposes of this article.\n 2. Opportunities may be offered for on-the-job training with the\nfollowing conditions:\n (a) preference will be given for jobs which exceed the minimum wage\nand which have the capacity for growth and advancement;\n (b) the employer will be responsible for at least fifty percent of the\nwages and fringe benefits paid to a worker in training.\n 3. Needs-related payments may be provided under this section pursuant\nto subparagraph (e) of section three hundred fourteen of the act for\neligible participants upon demonstration of need after considering all\nof the sources of income available to the participant or the\nparticipant's family. However, such payment shall not be made unless\nthe participant's unemployment compensation, including any extended\nbenefits, will expire prior to their completion of the program.\n 4. Alternative methods of providing retraining services may be\napproved such as:\n (a) A substate grantee may defer the delivery of retraining services\nby providing the program participant with a certificate of continuing\neligibility:\n (i) such certificates may be effective for periods not to exceed one\nhundred four weeks;\n (ii) certificates will not include references to any specific amounts\nof funds;\n (iii) certificates shall state that they are subject to availability\nof funds at the time that the services are to be provided; and\n (iv) acceptance of a certificate shall not be deemed as enrollment in\ntraining.\n (b) A substate grantee may provide the program participants with\nvouchers for training services whereby the participants may seek out and\narrange their own retraining with the following limitations:\n (i) service providers must be approved by the grantee pursuant to the\nprovisions of subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph;\n (ii) the commissioner of education shall prepare a list of programs\napproved for funding and shall submit such list to the commissioner by\nJuly first, nineteen hundred eighty-nine, and shall thereafter from time\nto time as he or she determines necessary update such list. The\ncommissioner shall include on such list only non-degree programs which\nare at least three hundred twenty clock hours in length, and which\nprovide skills for employment based on current requirements of business\nand industry in an occupational field for which favorable employment\nopportunities are anticipated in the state and which meet standards of\ninstructional quality established in regulations by the commissioner of\neducation. These standards shall include, but are not limited to,\nqualifications of administrative and instructional personnel, quality of\nthe curricula, quality of facilities and equipment, record keeping,\nadmission, grading, attendance and record of placement of completers\nwhich meets standards of acceptability as established by the\ncommissioner of education in conjunction with the commissioner;\n (iii) such services shall be conducted under a grant, contract or\nother arrangement between the grantee and the service provider; and\n (iv) substate grantees shall provide vouchers to program participants\nonly upon demonstration that such program participant has been accepted\nfor and is proposing to undertake an occupational retraining program\nwhich has been approved by the commissioner of education pursuant to\nthis section.\n 5. Substate grantees shall establish linkages with all involved state\nagencies, including local and regional offices of the department of\nlabor, the department of education and the department of economic\ndevelopment.\n