A statistical adjustment model (SAM) is an objective regression model used to estimate levels of performance under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

A SAM is utilized during local negotiations and at the end of a program year (PY) to minimize the negative effects of serving those individuals with multiple barriers to employment which might otherwise be viewed as disincentivizing serving those with greater barriers. The SAM accommodates and recognizes those local areas serving a significant number of individuals with barriers to employment who need higher levels of service to achieve positive outcomes.

1. States are provided a state SAM by the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) prior to states entering negotiations with the USDOL.
2. States are to utilize the state SAM provided by the USDOL as the framework to develop a local SAM for use in local negotiations.
3. The local SAM will be shared with the Local Workforce Innovation Board (LWIB)s prior to entering negotiations with the state.
   1. Before each two (2) year negotiation process, the State estimates levels of performance based on participant characteristics and economic conditions using an objective SAM.
   2. After each PY, the State will re-estimate the local area’s performance using the same objective model coefficients updated to reflect the actual characteristics of participants served and the actual economic conditions experienced to determine an adjustment factor.
   3. Future local SAM modeling is contingent on past capturing of actual characteristics of participants served and actual economic conditions, so it is imperative that all characteristics, such as barriers to employment, for all participants are documented.
4. The local SAM is also used to determine adjusted levels of performance after the completion of each PY.
   1. Using the local SAM model, the adjustment factor is identified as a positive or negative difference that is added to the negotiated level of performance to determine the adjusted level of performance of participants who exited from the program(s) during the PY.
   2. The adjustment factor is the difference between the estimated levels of performance predicted by the local SAM prior to the local negotiations and the levels of performance re-estimated by the local SAM at the completion of the PY.
5. The SAM will continue to be refined with each set of data collected from reporting on the WIOA primary indicators of performance and the Participant Individual Record Layout (PIRL) in addition to factoring into capture participant characteristics and economic conditions.