- WIOA Policy

Calendar Quarter

One fourth of the calendar year. The quarters are: January 1 - March 31, April 1 - June 30, July 1 - September 30, and October 1 - December 31.
Calendar Year (CY) Projects

Those projects that begin on a calendar year basis beginning January 1.
Capacity Building

Activities designed to enhance program delivery and resource networking for improved effectiveness and sustainability.
Career and Technical Education (CTE)

Career and Technical Education (CTE) prepares individuals for high-skill, high-wage, in-demand employment and provides learners with the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to thrive in college and careers. All students benefit from career-connected learning that emphasizes real-world skills within a selected career focus. Students gain practical knowledge while discovering and preparing for success in potential careers.
Career Awareness

The process by which students broaden their scope of potential careers and gain a deeper understanding of the different paths they can take toward a fulfilling future. Career awareness is a valuable opportunity to connect an individual’s interests and values to related college and career opportunities. It helps expose students to various industry areas and education pathways.
Career Development Experience
A supervised work experience relating to an individual’s career area of interest that:

Occurs in a workplace or under other authentic working conditions, including virtual and/or hybrid environments;

Is co-developed by an education provider and at least one employer in the relevant field.

Provides compensation or educational credit to the participant.

Reinforces foundational professional skills, including, at a minimum, those outlined in the Recommended Technical and Essential Employability Competencies framework.

Includes a professional skills assessment that assesses skill development and is utilized as a participant feedback tool.

Takes place for a minimum of 60 total hours. A single career development experience must be a minimum of 30 consecutive hours, and two distinct experiences can be combined to fulfill this requirement.
IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE

Career development experiences may include any of the following, provided the experience meets the definitional criteria: internship, school-based enterprise, supervised agricultural experience, workplace learning education, research apprenticeship, remote work for a client or employer, student-led enterprise, or youth apprenticeship. However, a career development experience may not consist solely of technical training by an education provider.
Career Exploration

An activity such as a job shadow, attendance at a career exposition, or employer site visit that provides an individual with the ability to engage directly with employers for the purpose of gaining knowledge of one or more industry sectors or occupations.

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE

While related, a career exploration activity in and of itself does not constitute a career development experience.
Career Pathways
A combination of rigorous and high-quality education, training, and other services that aligns both vertically and horizontally across secondary education, adult education, workforce training and development, career and technical education, and postsecondary education systems, pathways, and programs. Collaborative partnerships with these entities and business and industry, along with human service agencies, corrections, and other community stakeholders, serve as the foundational structure for high-quality and sustainable career pathways. A career pathway also includes multiple entry and exit points to facilitate individuals to build their skills as they progress along a continuum of education and training and advance in sector-specific employment.
IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE

The following guidance should help policymakers and practitioners implement state, regional, and local career pathways. The guidance is meant to clarify how a successful pathway—often comprised of one or more career pathway programs—should operate. This guidance also addresses the career pathway system, which sets the policies and procedures that shape career pathways and can assist with strong pathway development and sustainability. Items A through G below represent elements of the WIOA Career Pathways definition, with added guidance to clarify and provide additional detail for each element.

(A) Aligns with the skill needs of industries in the economy of the state or regional economy involved.

Career pathways should:

Use labor market data, informed by state, regional, and local employers, to design sector-focused programs that meet the needs of the employers in the state, regional, and local economies.

Regularly and meaningfully engage employers at every stage of pathway development in an interactive, ongoing relationship and encourage employers to assume leadership roles.

Identify the certifications, licenses, and industry-recognized credentials that state, regional, and local employers require and craft programs leading to them.

(B) Prepares an individual to be successful in any of a full range of secondary or postsecondary education options, including apprenticeships registered under the National Apprenticeship Act.

Career pathways should:

Enable lifelong learning that ensures youth and adult participants can gain entry to and advance, as desired, through successive education and training programs, leading to stackable credentials in a given occupational cluster.

Lead to jobs in increasingly high-skill, high-wage, and/or high-demand industries.

Ensure access and appropriate services for the targeted populations included in the State of Illinois Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Unified State Plan.

(C) Includes counseling to support an individual in achieving the individual’s education and career goals.

Career pathways should:

Ensure participants have access to career exploration, academic advising, support with transitions through the pathway, and comprehensive individualized support services, such as, but not limited to, childcare, transportation, and financial aid (where appropriate).

Involve partnerships among K-12, postsecondary educational institutions, workforce training and development agencies, public and private employers, workforce boards, human services providers, and other partners to ensure participant access to the above services.

(D) Includes, as appropriate, education offered concurrently with and in the same context as workforce preparation activities and training for a specific occupation or occupational cluster.

Career pathways should:

Include career-focused instruction that integrates academic and technical content with foundational professional skills, which are skills needed for success in education, and training, career, and life.

Offer opportunities for work-based learning experiences.

Offer job placement assistant services that are tailored to participant needs at different points along the pathway.

(E) Organizes education, training, and other services to meet the particular needs of an individual in a manner that accelerates the educational and career advancement of the individual to the extent practicable.

Career pathways should:

Offer quality, non-duplicative training, coursework, assignments, and assessments to accelerate progress, maximize credit and credential attainment, and increase student success.

Encourage concurrent enrollment and early college credit opportunities that support progression through the pathway.

Offer participant-focused education and training that incorporates flexible class formats, locations, and times that makes learning accessible and achievable for all populations. Strategies include, but are not limited to, modularized curriculum, contextualized curriculum and instruction, and virtual learning.

(F) Enables an individual to attain a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent, and at least one recognized postsecondary credential.

Career pathways should:

Create partnerships between programs that serve youth and adults of all skill levels to ensure that participants can in time earn a recognized postsecondary credential as desired.

Enable participants to gain entry to or advance within a given sector or occupational cluster, facilitate efficient transitions to continuing education, and incorporate stackable and portable industry-recognized credentials.

Facilitate co-enrollment in programs administered by the core and required partners (as defined by WIOA), in addition to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment & Training (SNAP E&T).

(G) Helps an individual enter or advance within a specific occupation or occupational cluster.

Career pathways should:

Involve partnerships with employers to support participant educational and career advancement through on-the-job training, customized training, corporate training, incumbent worker training, and other work-based training strategies.

Overcome barriers to entry to ensure that participants with diverse backgrounds and experience have the opportunity to enroll and succeed in a pathway.

An effective and efficient career pathway will also commit to equity for all participants and potential participants and continuous improvement. To ensure that is possible, the system will:

Collect, share, and use evidence to identify and eliminate barriers to participant access and success.

Include shared qualitative and quantitative evaluation of participant outcomes, with a focus on equity of access and services across participant groups, to inform the improvement of all programs within the pathway as well as the pathway itself.

Disaggregate participant-level data to identify inequities in performance among participant groups and improve the outcomes of different participant groups.

Include shared qualitative and quantitative evaluation of effectiveness in serving employers (the business community) in order to inform strategies for improvement.
Career Pathways Program

A combination of rigorous and high-quality education, training, and other services that aligns both vertically and horizontally across Secondary Education, Adult Education, Workforce Training and Development, Career and Technical Education, and Postsecondary Education systems, pathways and programs. It includes collaborative partnerships with these entities, business and industry, along with human services agencies, corrections and other community stakeholders, as a foundational structure for sustainability and high quality. Multiple entry and exit points are included to facilitate individuals building their skills as they progress along a continuum of education and training and advance in sector-specific employment.

Ten Elements

The Illinois Workforce Innovation Board envisions ten success elements for serving opportunity youth. These elements demonstrate the principles, strategies, and criteria in the Illinois' Unified State Plan and how various funding sources may be blended for full regional ownership and sustainability:

1.       Partnerships with education, employers, and workforce boards to plan and leverage resources;

2.       Business engagement in developing and managing career pathway programs;

3.       Credentials, certifications, and/or postsecondary access that result from career pathway programs;

4.       High-demand industries and higher skill occupations that meet youth earnings and career goals;

5.       Work-based learning opportunities to experience the work-place;

6.       Individual career/employment plans for each youth participant;

7.       Individual supports available to meet the unique needs of each participant;

8.       Contextualized learning and work-based skills that prepare youth for employment;

9.       Measurement of results and continuous improvement methodology to enhance program quality; and

10.    Sustainability plans that connect the program to broader, long-term employment strategies.
Career Planner

The State policy uses the term “Career Planner” as a general term. The term refers to anyone at the local service provider level who provides direct WIOA workforce services to a participant.
Career Planning

The term ‘‘career planning’’ means the provision of a client-centered approach in the delivery of services, designed—
(A) to prepare and coordinate comprehensive employment plans, such as service strategies, for participants to ensure access to necessary workforce investment activities and supportive services, using, where feasible, computer- based technologies; and
(B) to provide job, education, and career counseling, as appropriate during program participation and after job placement.
Career Services

Services available to individuals who are adults or dislocated workers through the one-stop delivery system and shall, at a minimum include –
(i) determination of whether the individuals are eligible to receive assistance under WIOA, Title IB;
(ii) outreach, intake (which may include worker profiling), and orientation to the information and other services available through the one-stop delivery system;
(iii) initial assessment of skill levels (including literacy, numeracy, and English language proficiency), aptitudes, abilities (including skills gaps), and supportive service needs;
(iv) labor exchange services, including— (I) job search and placement assistance and, in appropriate cases, career counseling, including— (aa) provision of information on in-demand industry sectors and occupations; and (bb) provision of information on nontraditional employment; and (II) appropriate recruitment and other business services on behalf of employers, including small employers, in the local area, which services may include services described in this subsection, such as providing information and referral to specialized business services not traditionally offered through the one-stop delivery system;
(v) provision of referrals to and coordination of activities with other programs and services, including programs and services within the one-stop delivery system and, in appropriate cases, other workforce development programs;
(vi) provision of workforce and labor market employment statistics information, including the provision of accurate information relating to local, regional, and national labor market areas, including— (I) job vacancy listings in such labor market areas; (II) information on job skills necessary to obtain the jobs described in subclause (I); and (III) information relating to local occupations in demand and the earnings, skill requirements, and opportunities for advancement for such occupations; and
(vii) provision of performance information and program cost information on eligible providers of training services as described in section 122, provided by program, and eligible providers of youth workforce investment activities described in section 123, providers of adult education described in title II, providers of career and technical education activities at the postsecondary level, and career and technical education activities available to school dropouts, under the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (20 U.S.C. 2301 et seq.), and providers of vocational rehabilitation services described in title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.);
(viii) provision of information, in formats that are usable by and understandable to one-stop center customers, regarding how the local area is performing on the local performance accountability measures described in section 116(c) and any additional performance information with respect to the one-stop delivery system in the local area;
(ix) (I) provision of information, in formats that are usable by and understandable to one-stop center customers, relating to the availability of supportive services or assistance, including child care, child support, medical or child health assistance under title XIX or XXI of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 et seq. and 1397aa et seq.), benefits under the supplemental nutrition assistance program established under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.), assistance through the earned income tax credit under section 32 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and assistance under a State program for temporary assistance for needy families funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and other supportive services and transportation provided through funds made available under such part, available in the local area; and (II) referral to the services or assistance described in subclause (I), as appropriate;
(x) provision of information and assistance regarding filing claims for unemployment compensation;
(xi) assistance in establishing eligibility for programs of financial aid assistance for training and education programs that are not funded under this Act;
(xii) services, if determined to be appropriate in order for an individual to obtain or retain employment, that consist of –
(xiii) (I) comprehensive and specialized assessments of the skill levels and service needs of adults and dislocated workers, which may include— (aa) diagnostic testing and use of other assessment tools; and (bb) in-depth interviewing and evaluation to identify employment barriers and appropriate employment goals; (II) development of an individual employment plan, to identify the employment goals, appropriate achievement objectives, and appropriate combination of services for the participant to achieve the employment goals, including providing information on eligible providers of training services pursuant to paragraph (3)(F)(ii), and career pathways to attain career objectives; (III) group counseling; (IV) individual counseling; (V) career planning; (VI) short-term prevocational services, including development of learning skills, communication skills, interviewing skills, punctuality, personal maintenance skills, and professional conduct, to prepare individuals for unsubsidized employment or training; (VII) internships and work experiences that are linked to careers; (VIII) workforce preparation activities; (IX) financial literacy services, such as the activities described in section 129(b)(2)(D); (X) out-of-area job search assistance and relocation assistance; or (XI) English language acquisition and integrated education and training programs; and
(xiv) follow-up services, including counseling regarding the workplace, for participants in workforce investment activities authorized under this subtitle who are placed in unsubsidized employment, for not less than 12 months after the first day of the employment, as appropriate.
Carry-Over

Participants funded by 1S in the previous program year who are currently enrolled in training or who completed training in the last quarter of the previous program year.
Case Notes

Case notes refer to either paper or online statements by the career planner that identify a participant’s status for a specific data element, the date on which the information was obtained, and the career planner who obtained the information.
CBLN

Chicagoland Business Leadership Network
CCC

Chicago Chamber of Commerce
CCWP

Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership
Certificate

An award that requires completion of an organized program of study at the post secondary level. Certificates are classified by the amount of time required to complete the program of study.
Certification

A voluntary process by which an institution and/or a program is identified as meeting pre-determined criteria recognized as an industry/trade standard by a non-governmental agency.
CFDA

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
Chief Elected Official

The chief elected official is:

a) The chief elected executive officer of a unit of general local government in a local area; and b) in a case in which a local area includes more than one unit of general local government, the individuals designated under the agreement described in section 107(c)(1)(B).
Civil Rights Center

The Civil Rights Center (CRC) develops, administers, and enforces Departmental policies, practices, and procedures pursuant to Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended; Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), as amended; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended; the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, as amended; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended; Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended; the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978; the Civil Rights Act of 1991; the Notification and Federal Employee Antidiscrimination and Retaliation (No FEAR) Act; and related statutes and Executive Orders.
Classification of Instructional Programs

The purpose of the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is to provide a taxonomic scheme that will support the accurate tracking, assessment, and reporting of fields of study and program completions activity. Visit the CIP website to learn more http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2002/ cip2000/
Class-Size Training Contracts

Class-size training contracts are groups of WIOA registrants receiving occupational skills training in a demand occupation. Training services include the full range of occupational skills training, adult education and literacy services, and customized training as described in WIOA Section 134 (c)(3)(D). (The training may be comprised solely of WIOA registrants or may be combined with customers of other programs such as TANF, Trade, etc.)
Clock Hour
A period of time consisting of -
1. A 50- to 60-minute class, lecture, or recitation in a 60-minute period;
2. A 50- to 60-minute faculty-supervised laboratory, shop training, or internship in a 60-minute period; or
3. Sixty minutes of preparation in a correspondence course.
CMA

Certified Manufacturing Assistant
Co-enrollment

Enrollment in more than one workforce program at a time to allow for coordination of funds for training and services.
Community-Based Organization

A Community-Based Organization is a private nonprofit organization (which may include a faith-based organization), that is representative of a community or a significant segment of a community and that has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in the field of workforce investment.
Competency-Based Education (CBE)

An educational approach that focuses on learning (and the application of that learning) in contrast to more traditional instructional time-based models. This approach allows individuals to advance based on their ability to master a skill or competency, typically at their own pace. Definitions for CBE vary based on context (secondary, postsecondary, workforce, etc.) and often include different ways of considering mastery, competency definition, pacing, instruction, and support.

NOTE

This definition combines the language of the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois State Board of Education from their respective competency-based programming.
Competitive Procurement

Also referred to as “competitive solicitation” means the process of requesting and receiving two or more sealed bids, proposals, or replies submitted by responsive vendors (bidders or offerors) in accordance with the terms of a competitive process, regardless of the method of procurement.
Completion

(See Program Completion)
Comprehensive Center

1. Each one-stop delivery system must include at least one designated comprehensive center where job seekers and employer customers can access the programs, services, and activities of all required one-stop partners (Section 121(b)(l)(B) of WIOA), along with any additional partners as determined by the LWIB. Additionally, a comprehensive one-stop center must:

a. Have at least one WIOA Title I staff person physically present;

b. Provide the career services listed in 20 CFR 678.430, 34 CFR 361.430, and 34 CFR 463.430;

c. Provide access to training services described in 20 CFR 680.200;

d. Provide access to any employment and training activities carried out under Section 134(d) of WIOA;

e. Provide access to programs and activities carried out by one-stop partners listed in 20 CFR 678.400 through 678.410, 34 CFR 361.400 through 361.410, and 34 CFR 463.400 through 463.410, including the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Services (ES) program; and

f. Make available workforce and labor market information.

2. Customers must have access to these programs, services, and activities during regular business days and hours (20 CFR 678.305(c), 34 CFR 361.305(c), and 34 CFR 463.305(c)). The LWIB may establish other service days and hours to accommodate individuals unable to access the one-stop center during regular business hours.

3. One-stop partner programs may deliver career services at a comprehensive one-stop in one of three ways (20 CFR 678.305(d), 34 CFR 361.305(d), and 34 CFR 463.305(d)):

a. By a program staff member physically present at the one-stop center;

b. By a staff member from a different partner program physically present and appropriately trained to provide information to customers about the resources available through all partner programs; or

c. By using technology to provide a direct linkage to a program staff member who can provide meaningful information or services. The "Governor's Guidelines to State and Local Program Partners Negotiating Costs and Services" details Illinois' requirements concerning direct linkage under WIOA.
Computing Devices

Means machines used to acquire, store, analyze, process, and publish data and other information electronically, including accessories (or “peripherals”) for printing, transmitting and receiving, or storing electronic information. (See Equipment, Information Technology Systems, and Supplies)
Consumer Reporting

In order to empower customer choice and provide opportunities for providers certified under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) to effectively provide program performance and cost information to the public, the Act requires that the state develop a method to make this consumer reporting information available. This performance and cost information that training providers submit with their applications is also used to make up the consumer reporting system upon certification. Illinois' consumer reporting information can be found and is intended to provide understandable, accurate, and unbiased information about the performance of various WIA-certified training providers that facilitates customer's decision-making process in the selection of a training provider.
Contract Funded Training

Local areas can provide training through a contract for services rather than Individual Training Accounts in order to maintain consumer choice.
Core Program

Means a program authorized under a core program provision.
Core Program Provision

Means—
(A) chapters 2 and 3 of subtitle B of title I (relating to youth workforce investment activities and adult and dislocated worker employment and training activities);
(B) title II (relating to adult education and literacy activities);
(C) sections 1 through 13 of the Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.) (relating to employment services); and
(D) title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 720 et seq.), other than section 112 or part C of that title (29 U.S.C. 732, 741) (relating to vocational rehabilitation services)
Cost Analysis

The review and evaluation of any separate cost elements and profit or fee in an offeror’s or contractor’s proposal, as needed to determine a fair and reasonable price or to determine cost realism, and the application of judgment to determine how well the proposed costs represent what the cost of the contract should be, assuming reasonable economy and efficiency.
Cost Realism Analysis

The process of independently reviewing and evaluating specific elements of each offeror’s proposed cost estimate to determine whether the estimated proposed cost elements are realistic for the work to be performed, reflect a clear understanding of the requirements, and are consistent with the unique methods of performance and materials described in the offeror’s technical proposal.
Course

A series of instructional sessions or activities that is a required component of a program of study.
CPLN

Chicagoland Provider Leadership Network
Credentials

Within the context of education, workforce development, and employment and training for the labor market, the term credential refers to a verification of qualification or competence issued to an individual by a third party with the relevant authority or jurisdiction to issue such credentials (such as an accredited educational institution, an industry recognized association, or an occupational association or professional society).

The range of different types of credentials includes:

1.         Educational diplomas, certificates and degrees;

2.         Registered apprenticeship certificates;

3.         Occupational licenses (typically awarded by State government agencies);

4.         Personnel certifications from industry or professional associations; and

5.         Other skill certificates for specific skill sets or competencies within one or more industries or occupations (e.g. writing, leadership, etc.).

These categories of credentials are further defined and described in Attachment 2 of TEGL 15-10.
Credit Hour
A credit hour is an amount of work represented in intended learning outcomes and verified by evidence of student achievement that is an institutionally established equivalency that reasonably approximates not less than -
1. One hour of classroom or direct faculty instruction and a minimum of two hours of out-of-class student work each week for approximately fifteen weeks for one semester or trimester hour of credit, or ten to twelve weeks for one-quarter hour of credit, or the equivalent amount of work over a different amount of time; or
2. At least an equivalent amount of work as required in paragraph (1) of this definition for other academic activities as established by the institution, including laboratory work, internships, practicals, studio work, and other academic work leading to the award of credit hours. (34 CFR 668.8(k) and (l).
Customer

Any person seeking assistance to find employment or training, whether employed or unemployed, and employers who need qualified workers for their company or training for the workers who are already employed with them.
Customized Training

Training a) that is designed to meet the special requirements of an employer (including a group of employers); b) that is conducted with a commitment by the employer to employ an individual on successful completion of the training; and c) for which the employer pays for
(i) a significant portion of the cost of training, as determined by the local board involved, taking into account the size of the employer and such other factors as the local board determines to be appropriate, which may include the number of employees participating in training, wage and benefit levels of those employees (at present and anticipated upon completion of the training), relation of the training to the competitiveness of a participant, and other employer-provided training and advancement opportunities; and
(ii) in the case of customized training (as defined in subparagraphs (A) and (B)) involving an employer located in multiple local areas in the State, a significant portion of the cost of the training, as determined by the Governor of the State, taking into account the size of the employer and such other factors as the Governor determines to be appropriate.
CYS

Children and Youth Services

Glossary

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE

IMPLEMENTATION GUIDANCE

NOTE