Participant Policies for In-School Youth

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Foreword

A. – The Local Workforce Vision...... 1

B. – Overarching Local Strategies...... 1

C. –Strategy for In-School Youth Program Services...... 2

D. – Purpose of This Handbook...... 2

Section One: Performance Goals...... 4

A. – Placements...... 4

B. – Credentials...... 4

C. – Additional Goals...... 4

Section Two: Eligibility & Registration...... 5

A. – Eligibility and School Status...... 5

B. – Income Requirements...... 5

TABLE: Low Income Criteria...... 5

C. – Required Barriers...... 6

Section Three: Program Design, Elements, and Parameters...... 7

A. – Initial Service Enrollment: Case Management...... 7

B. – Subsequent Enrollments...... 7

1. Leadership Development...... 8

2. Paid and Unpaid Work Experiences, including

Internships and Job Shadowing...... 9

A. Work Experience...... 9

B. Job Shadowing...... 10

3. Summer Employment ...... 11

4. Occupational Skills Training...... 13

5. Supportive Services...... 14

6. Tutoring, Study Skills Training, and Instruction

Leading to Secondary School Completion...... 15

7. Alternative Secondary School Offerings...... 15

8. Adult Mentoring...... 16

9. Comprehensive Guidance and Counseling...... 16

10. Follow-Up Services...... 16

Section Four: Record Keeping and Reporting ...... 18

A. – Case Notes ...... 18

1. Case Note Contents ...... 18

2. Types of Case Notes ...... 19

B. – Data Entry into EKOS ...... 26

C. – Client File Folder Contents ...... 27

FORM: File Folder Content Checklist ...... 29

D. – EKCEP Reporting Requirements ...... 30

1

Eastern Kentucky CEP, Inc.In-School Youth

Program PoliciesJuly 1, 2011

In-School Youth Client Policies

Foreword

A. – The Local Workforce Vision

Stated in the simplest terms, the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program, Inc., (EKCEP) sees its mission as twofold: to find jobs for people and to find people for jobs.

EKCEP accomplishes these two objectives through a solutions-based approach, in which it constantly evaluates the needs of eastern Kentucky’s job seekers and employers and redesigns and adapts its services to meet those needs. EKCEP is committed to using the full flexibility provided by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to develop and customize services to best meet the specific and unique needs of eastern Kentucky’s workers and businesses.

EKCEP also sees itself as a broker that provides access to other workforce, training, and supportive services, and as a catalyst for partnerships within the workforce development system and between workforce development and private industry. EKCEP’s JobSight network of one-stop workforce centers and affiliated sites serve as the hub for many of these brokering and partnership activities throughout the EKCEP region.

B. – Overarching Local Strategies

The overarching strategies that EKCEP has adopted to help fully realize its vision include:

  • To be a solutions-based organization that responds to workforce needs as they arise by adapting, brokering services, leveraging resources and providing creative responses to the specific and unique needs of eastern Kentucky job seekers and employers as they are identified.
  • To use the full flexibility provided by the legislation to adapt EKCEP services, programs, and partnerships to best meet the specific and unique needs of eastern Kentucky job seekers and employers.
  • To be the single point of contact for eastern Kentucky employers seeking workforce-related services anywhere in the region.
  • To communicate a clear and focused explanation of the workforce system to the public.
  • To increase the “workforce intelligence” of employers, job seekers, and workforce staff.
  • To administer the JobSight network of workforce centers in a way that will “strengthen our communities by providing workforce-relevant services for businesses and workers by creating partnerships that ultimately contribute to regional education, and a better quality of life for the citizens of eastern Kentucky.”

C. –Strategy for In-School Youth Services

Although the young people served by EKCEP’s WIA In-School Youth Program may be struggling to complete high school and decide what comes after graduation, they are still engaged with the educational system and therefore able to make use of its many resources and the guidance and assistance of teachers and administrators. Because these education professionals are already engaged with EKCEP’s young clients, it makes sense for the WIA In-School Youth program to focus its limited resources on providing these clients with the kind of specialized workforce services and career guidancethat the workforce system is uniquely qualified to provide — services the schools are less equipped to deliver.

EKCEP’s new design for In-School Youth services deals less with general educational advancement and more intensely with helping its young clients understandthe working world, evaluate career alternatives, and developa path that will lead to a successful career.

D. – Purpose of This Handbook

This handbook was written to provide guidance about program design and operation to contractors and staff throughout the EKCEP local area and to communicate to EKCEP’s contractors the parameters and decisions set forth by the Eastern Kentucky C.E.P. Workforce Investment Board.

While contractors have agreed to abide by the policies contained in this handbook, this handbook is not intended to cover the full breadth of regulations contained in the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and applicable federal regulations, with which contractors are equally responsible to comply.

This handbook contains five sections:

  • Section One explains performance goals.
  • Section Two explainseligibility and registration requirements.
  • Section Three describes program design elements and parameters.
  • Section Four provides information related to contractors’ client record-keeping and data-reporting requirements.

Section One: Performance Goals

A. – Placements

Goal: Every young person enrolled as a client in the In-School Youth Program must be placed into one of the following by the end of their enrollment:

  • Unsubsidized employment. (This applies only to youth who were not employed as of the date they were enrolled.)
  • Postsecondary education. (This applies only to youth who were not in postsecondary education as of the date they were enrolled.)
  • Military service.

Every In-School Youth Program client who is not placed in employment, postsecondary education, or military service counts as a negative outcome.

B. – Credentials

Goal: Every young person who was enrolled in or attending school or training at any time during their WIA In-School Youth Program enrollment must earn the degree, diploma, or certificate that indicates that the training or course of study was successfully completed.

Every In-School Youth Program client who was enrolled in or attending school or trainingduring their WIA enrollment and does not earn a degree, diploma, or certificate counts as a negative outcome.

C. – Additional Goals

Additional goals for WIA In-School Youth Program clients may be included in contract language by EKCEP.

Section Two: Eligibility & Registration

A. – Eligibility and School Status

To be eligible for WA services as an In-School Youth, a young person must:

  • Be 16 to 21 years of age.
  • Be attending secondary school as a junior or senior, or be between their a junior and seniorschool terms and intending to return. (Youth who are attending alternative schoolare consideredIn-School Youth.)
  • Meet the low-income requirements defined in WIA. (See “B. – Income Requirements” below.)
  • Have a barrier to employment or entry into postsecondary education (See “C. – Required Barriers” below.)

NOTE: Youth who do not meet the In-School Youth definition may be eligible to be served by the WIA Out-of-School Youth program. The policies and services forthe WIA Out-of-School Youth program are explained in EKCEP’s Participant Policies Manual for Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Out-of-School Youth.

A youth’s age and school status do not change after registration into WIA. For example, a high school student who drops out of high school after WIA registration is considered an In-School Youththroughoutthe entire period he/she is being served.

B. – Income Requirements

All youth must meet the low-income requirements as defined in WIA section 101(13) to be eligible. The income requirements are documented using the WIA-20.

Low Income Criteria Table
Non-Metro Areas
(All counties except Carter) / Metro Area
(Carter County)
Family Size / Income / Income
1 / $10,830 / $10,830
2 / $14,570 / $14,570
3 / $18,326 / $18,736
4 / $22,623 / $23,130
5 / $26,697 / $27,299
6 / $31,222 / $31,928
7 / $35,747 / $36,557
For each additional member, add: / $4,525 / $4,629

C. – Required Barriers

To be eligible, youth must also have one or more of the barriers to employment or entry into postsecondary education listed below:

Qualifying Barriers to Employment andPostsecondary Education

  • Homeless.
  • Runaway.
  • Foster child.
  • Pregnant or parenting.
  • Offender.
  • Needs additional assistance to complete an educational program or to secure and hold employment. A youth may be considered in need of additional assistance if it has been documented that he/she has one or more of the following characteristics:

-Is an individual with a disability.

-Is enrolled in an alternative school program.

-Is a secondary school student who is referred by a school counselor because of poor academic performance or other circumstances that cause the student to be at-risk of not graduating from high school.

-Is a secondary school student who receives, or is a member of a family that receives welfare including food stamps.

-Neither parent of the client has obtained a postsecondary degree.

-Has a barrier that is not listed here but has been identified and approved as a qualifying barrier by signature in a contract with EKCEP.

  • Deficient in basic literacy skills.

NOTE: The basic skills deficiency barrier should be used only in cases where there is no other qualifying barrier.

Section Three: Program Design, Elements,

and Parameters

A. – Initial Service Enrollment: Case Management

The first enrollment for every Youth client is the WIA-funded service called “case management.” Case management is the basic service that indicates that the client is interacting with and receiving assistance and guidance from a WIA career advisor. Because interaction with a career advisor is the basic component of WIA services, a client should remain in case management as long as he/she is receiving any WIA services or assistance

One of the main purposes of the case management serviceis to develop a partnership with the young client based on trust, mutual respect, and information gleaned from a variety of activities that ultimately results in an individual service strategy. The service strategy has a single purpose: to help prepare the youth for employment that leads to self-sufficiency. This strategy may involve many steps and address a variety of issues over a substantial period of time.

The case management service includes assessments, both formal and informal. In order to advise and guide young clientstoward effective career decisions, the career advisor must understand eachclient’s:

  • Basic skill levels.
  • Academic achievements.
  • Occupational skills.
  • Employability.
  • Work history.
  • Interests, aptitudes, and career compatibility.

The case management service also includes the development of a career plan. Career advisors will work with each client to develop a career plan that includes:

  • The client’s career interests and goals, based in part upon assessment results.
  • Activities that will help the client explore those careers, including job shadowing and work experience.
  • Academic and training requirements for those careers, including steps that the client musttake to get the required academic degrees or training.
  • Plans to overcome any barriers faced by the client.
  • A timeline showing the sequence and duration of the identified activities, education, training, and barrier alleviation.

NOTE: The timeline of client’s career plan may extend beyond his/her involvement in WIA, especially if the career path involves postsecondary education. A well-designed career plan should give the client direction and steps to follow after he/she has been completed from WIA into postsecondary education and even after the end of the WIA follow-up period.

A career plan may be updated several times between enrollment and termination as the client’s understanding of specific career and educational opportunities grows, leading to changes or refinements in objectives and the steps that the client will take to achieve them.

B. – Subsequent Enrollments

Youth clients may be enrolled in any one or more of the program elements listed below that will help them reach the goals of attainment of a diploma, degree, or certificate, and placement in employment, postsecondary education, or military service.

Although the In-School Youth program is required to make each of theseprogram elements available to any client who needs them, it is not required to provide all 10 elements to every client. Use of these elements is based on each client’s needs and circumstances. It is anticipated that most clients will be engaged primarily in:

  • Leadership development activities.
  • Work experience and job shadowing.
  • Summer employment opportunities.
  • Occupational skills training.
  • Follow-up services.

Any of the required program elements may be provided directly by contractor staff or provided through referrals or arrangements with other service providers.

The required program elements are:

1. Leadership Development

Youth workforce programs must include opportunities for youth to explore and understand their career options, make informed decisions, and develop the skills and behaviors that will help them succeed in their educations and careers.

Examples of activities that can be provided to help clients reach these goals include:

  • Workshops, seminars, work projects, or other learning opportunities designed to teach and provide hands-on experience with:

-Work readiness skills.

-Effective communication.

-Conflict management.

-Financial responsibility.

-Planning, organization, and time management.

-Job interviewing skills.

-Job search skills.

  • Exposure to work and career opportunities, including details about:

-Wages.

-Work environment.

-Educational requirements.

-Demand.

  • Exposure to postsecondary educational opportunities, including financial aidresources.
  • Activities designed to teach teamwork and team leadership.

2. Paid and Unpaid Work Experiences, including Internships and Job Shadowing

Work experience and job shadowing may be used to help young clients develop career goals, understand the working world, and acquire basic workplace skills that will make them more attractive to employers.

It is almost always appropriate to enroll In-School Youth clients into work experience and job shadowing because they characteristically:

  • Have little or no work history.
  • Need workplace experience to compete effectively for employment.
  • Can use the placement to get workplace experience and develop general workplace skills and specific skills relating to a career of interest.
  • Can build a relationship with and demonstrate abilities and work ethic to an employer who is hiring or may be hiring soon.

Youth clients may be placed with employers in the public, private, for-profit, or non-profit sectors for work experience or job shadowing.

Career advisors must ensure that work experience or job shadowing placements during the school year do not hinder any client’s academic performance.

A. Work Experience

Work Experience Service —Work experience is a service that provides clients an opportunity to learn basic work skills and workplace behaviors through a subsidized work placement with an employer. A work experience placement is a planned, structured learning experience that occurs in a real working environment. In addition to the opportunity to earn wages while learning valuable skills, this service also provides a client with an opportunity to connect with an employer in the community — an opportunity which can result in unsubsidized employment for the client after the work experience placement ends.

WIA funds pay the youth clients’ wages and related benefits during work experience. Fair labor standards apply in any work experience placement where there is an employee/employer relationship, as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Work experienceduring the school year may not exceed 10 hours per weekand may not exceed a total of 180 hours per school year.

Prerequisites for Work Experience — To ensure that work experience placements are as effective and productive as possible for both youth clients and employers, EKCEP requires that before entering a work experience placement a youth client must complete:

  • At least eight hours of job shadowing at the prospective work site. This helps ensure that the client’s expectations are reasonable and prevents aborted placements.
  • At least eight hours of work readiness training. This work readiness training should include workshops and seminars addressing workplace behaviors, communications skills, personal financial planning, and other topics that will prepare the clients for their work experience. Curricula for this work readiness training must be approved by EKCEP. Youth may be paid the minimum wage while participating in this work readiness training.

NOTE: Youth who have already completed work readiness training for a previous successful work experience placement are not required to re-take the curriculum before entering subsequent work experience placements.

  • Aresume tailored to the job.
  • A job application for the position. This application may be the actual application used by the employer or a generic application provided by the career advisor.
  • An interview with the employer.

B. Job Shadowing

Job Shadowing Service — Job shadowing is a service that allows a young client to observe a worker performing all aspects of his/her job for at least one full day, preferably longer. Job shadowing allows a client to more fully understand the nature of the tasks and working environment of the shadowed job, helping the client make informed career decisions.

Job shadowing is not a paid activity and does not have to be associated with a work experience placement.

Job shadowing during the school year may not exceed 10 hours per week.

Prerequisites for Job Shadowing — Before arranging a job shadowing placement for a client, the career advisorshould ensure that the client:

  • Has at least a curiosity-level interest in the job to be shadowed.
  • Is capable of functioning safely in the work environment, in terms of physical ability and safe behavior. Safety training may be required before some job shadowing placements.

3. Summer Employment

Summer Employment Service — Summer employment opportunities may be provided to In-School Youth clients to give them opportunities to explore careers, learn appropriate workplace behaviors, develop skills, and gain exposure to important workplace experiences and real employers. These opportunities for summer work experience are especially effective when they are linked to the clients’ academic and occupationalinterests.