WORKFORCE 3ONE

TRANSCRIPT OF WEBINAR

Transition Planning for SCSEP Participants

THURSDAY, JULY 8, 2010

Transcript by
Federal News Service
Washington, D.C.

GARY GONZALEZ:  I want to welcome everyone to today’s “Transition Planning for SCSEP Participants” webinar.

So with that, I want to turn things over now to Judith Gilbert.  She’s the team leader here at the SCSEP national office.  Or – yes.  For SCSEP at the national office.  Judith?

JUDITH GILBERT:  Thank you so much, Gary.  And welcome to everyone on a very hot day in Washington, D.C., but what is also a very hot topic for all of you. 

We are delighted today to have Joyce Welsh with us to do the bulk of this training.  And Joyce is a very familiar and welcomed trainer for many, many of you for many, many years.

Before I turn it over to Joyce I want to put things in a little bit of context for you.  As you know, we’ve – this is the third in a series of webinars on the durational limits for participants and the aggregate durational limits for grantees. 

The first webinar, which we did on May 6th, was on the limits both for the 27-month and the aggregate for the project and for individual participation, and their effects on organizations and your participants.  

In the second webinar on May 20th we discussed the waiver factors for durational limits and the possibility of extended periods of participation for people who are reaching the 48-month limit, which first kicks in on July 1, 2011, and for people who may be eligible for an extension for more time in the program.

What we’re going to turn to today is more about the strategies for how to deal with the policy that you have developed.  We’re going to do – basically look at this from two perspectives:  the overall grantee perspective for program strategies on how to deal with the 48-month durational limit; and then mostly from the participant view, some very concrete steps for you to take. 

Just a reminder that grantees are going to be submitting to the national office and to their FPOs on July 30th their policy on durational limits for individuals.  This is a grantee-level policy decision.  Any subgrantees will be required to follow whatever the policy is of the grantee. 

And there are basically three choices that the policy can have:  that you could say 48 months with waivers, with one of the extension factors listed in the statute; you could have a policy – a grantee could propose one that was 48 months with no waivers for anyone; and the third is a policy option that’s been available for quite a length of time, which is that you can request an individual grantee durational limit of less than 48 months.  There are very few of those anymore, but that is still a policy option for you to make. 

So I know I sent you an e-mail a month or so ago with more details on the first two items – actually, the first one – about what your options were for the factors and what your policy could look like and what the law required or did not require.  And if you need more information on that, we can get that to you.

So just a couple of things for you to think about in the context of this policy.  And right up there on the screen – and there may be some others – but think about whether your participants be better off if they get an additional year.  What can you accomplish in another year, if you choose to request an extension, that you haven’t been able to do already?  And what are the factors that may be out there that are beyond the participant or the program’s control, for that matter, which would influence your decision about your policy? 

And finally, what impact will multiple extensions have on the average project duration, which is 27 months or a possibility up to 36 (months)?  Because of so many new people in SCSEP as a result of the recovery act, we believe that most grantees will not – at least initially – have any negative impact with extensions.  But it’s something that you need to look at. 

So at this point I want to turn the webinar over to Joyce.  And we’re delighted to have her here and know that this is going to be a very informative and packed webinar for all of you.  Joyce?

JOYCE WELSH:  Okay.  Thank you, Judith.  And greetings, all, from a very warm webinar room.  But we’re going to go quickly through a lot of these steps so you have a lot of time at the end to interact with each other and to question us as well. 

Continuing on with the grantee view – the responsibilities that at the grantee level you have for transition planning – you can see the chart in front of you.  And Judith has just finished with the first box, which is deciding on your grantee-specific durational limit policy. 

And once you’ve decided on that policy, you then need to think through and list out the specific action steps you will take to implement that policy:  when you will begin transitional services, how you’re going to go about it, when and how you will inform the affected participants, and what specific services you’ll be providing. 

From the grantee perspective, this means first – see, I can walk and chew gum at the same time – first, figuring out the scope of your particular challenge on the local level.  This means, how many long-term participants do you have that will be exiting next July?  This, of course, has huge implications for staff effort, host agencies and the services that these participants have been providing, as well as recruitment efforts to ensure immediate replacement of the exiting participants. 

Second, as soon as you have determined your policy – and that’s no later than July 30th – you’ll need to begin the process of training your subgrantee staff on required transition processes and the priority activities they will need to begin undertaking.  At this time you will also need to ensure that your subgrantees understand your policy on extending time for participants who meet your criteria. 

And then third, about six months prior to durational limits hitting you will want to ensure that the required transition policies are being adhered to on the local level and that all waiver factors that have been – have been properly documented in each participant’s file. 

And finally, this is of course just round one in what will be an ongoing process.  With each month after July 2011, another cohort – albeit, most likely a much smaller one – will be reaching their durational limit. 

Now, let’s pick up from here on the transition activities and responsibilities at the subgrantee level, the actual transition steps for each participant as they approach their durational limit on the program. 

So once you have determined your policy, the first issue is to decide when and how to begin the actual process of easing participants off the program.  How precisely will you be preparing participants in this first cohort?  This will be your largest exit cohort, the one that will take the most thought and planning.  These are your carryovers from June 30, 2007, to July 1, 2007, when the clock started ticking.  These are who we have fondly over the years called our “homesteaders.”

Now, this is a process that you begin only after carefully and thoughtfully thinking through all of the possible situations that might arise as a result of implementing what will be – to those impacted participants, anyway – a, quote, “new,” unquote, development.  This despite all the many times you have talked about time limits on participation and all the times you’ve given this cold, hard fact to them in writing. 

Many of these participants who will be first reaching their durational limits are, after all, your long-term participants who have seen multiple program changes but are, after all, still there.  So you shouldn’t delay addressing the situation.  It’s going to take possibly the full year to truly prepare what is likely the oldest and most vulnerable of your participants for life after SCSEP.  So begin now. 

Establishing a quarterly schedule of counseling and IEP follow-ups will enable you to refocus these participants on the reality of exiting the program and help to ensure that the quality of their lives will not deteriorate.  This will also give you time to plan for other programmatic activity, such as recruitment and placement, to compensate for the perhaps negative exits resulting from long-term participants reaching their durational limit. 

Knowing what you have to do for transitioning durational limit participants off the program is really only half the battle.  It will be well-worth your time and effort to think through in some detail exactly how you will go about notifying both participants and host agencies of the imminent exit process. 

A lot depends, needless to say, on the size of this first cohort, whether you will bring the entire group together for an initial informational meeting, following this up with individual meetings and a written notification; or whether you will proceed directly to individual meetings. 

But how are you even going to inform them of a meeting?  What will the actual meeting notice say, other than it’s mandatory to attend, of course?  Do you want to inform all your participants that the durational limit process has begun?  Doing this might avoid the rumor mill from churning too violently. 

And what about host agencies that will be affected?  They will need to plan for loss of participants and the services they provide.  They are, after all, an important partner to you and you don’t want them giving your participants false encouragement or conflicting advice.  And I’m being kind here.  They too have perhaps heard the possibility of time limits over the years but never saw this become reality. 

So think this initial step through very carefully in terms of what you’re going to say, how you will say it and when you will begin the process, and then phase in each subsequent piece of the puzzle.

Once you have informed all affected parties of the transition process, it will be time to begin the actual individual planning process. 

The first step is to get an honest assessment of each participant’s strengths and weaknesses, this from the host agency supervisor as well as any staff that work closely with them through ongoing monitoring and the IEP process. 

Then meet with each participant to start the IEP process over, this time for real, with very real targets and end dates.  This will probably involve, at a minimum, reorienting them to the new reality, reassessing them with a very sharp eye and then redesigning the IEP based on this assessment, with an escalated job readiness and job search component.  And then eventually safety net planning for those less likely to obtain unsubsidized employment in the year they have left on the program. 

The IEP then is your key tool to working with this population.  It’s a process for helping each individual participant accomplish as much as possible on the program with an unsubsidized job and economic security as the end result.  The IEP keeps you and the participant focused and on task. 

This is something that’s especially critical for more vulnerable participants and indeed for everyone with a limited amount of time left on the program.  It’s also likely that everyone will start taking the IEP process more seriously from this point forward, knowing and seeing that durational limit exits are real and are beginning to occur. 

So you have one year to prepare long-term participants for a permanent job before the first 48-month durational limit hits.  But remember, every month thereafter someone will be hitting their 48-month limit.  Transition planning is therefore an ongoing process and from this month forward you will be starting the transition process with a new cohort each succeeding month.  Needless to say, the larger the project – and if yours is a project with a consistent and large participant flow – you will have the biggest job with transition planning. 

A major issue to think about on the local level is whether you have the staffing capacity to deal with this additional work load.  Who will handle the transition planning?  Are there any staff training needs?  Do you have all the referral resources identified?  How will you ensure quality control and appropriate follow-up? 

And at this point I want to just make an additional note on participant staff.  If indeed your participant staff are part of this first cohort, do not wait until next July to recruit and replace them.  Consider doing this about three months out so they can take part in shadowing – the new recruits, that is, can take part in shadowing your current staff.  And then come July, come August, you will have well-trained participant staff ready to take over and your program will continue to function smoothly. 

Essentially, you will be triaging this first cohort into two and possibly three groups of participants.  The first group are those with unsubsidized job potential.  The second is possibly a subset of this first group and that would be those with possible unsubsidized job potential.  And then third, those who will most likely never achieve unsubsidized placement. 

For group one you can focus on job skills and placement from the very beginning and very aggressively.  This would include such strategies as host agency rotation, specialized training, OJE and other escalated job development efforts.  You would reassess them as to their placement potential once again six months later.  At that point you can make the decision that it looks like obtaining a job is a viable option and you can keep them in that intensive job search mode, and then if – begin the actual transition safety net planning if nothing works out. 

For group two, you would reassess their progress again at six months and at this point you would probably find that most of these participants would not get an unsubsidized job, say you would begin the safety net transition planning. 

For group three, you probably should start their transition planning or their safety net planning at month 12, as this will be the most vulnerable group.  This way you will have a basic plan in place that you can keep working on and with them throughout the 12-month period to ensure they leave your program well taken care of with a good safety net in place. 

So for those who will not achieve unsubsidized employment prior to reaching their durational limit, the reassessment process is really critical.  This will most likely trigger a completely new and different type of IEP with markedly different goals and action plan.  This to ensure that they leave the program with a safety net intact.

On the other hand, don’t ignore the possibility of placement.  You should be seeking out host agencies that work with and even hire special populations. 

Now, at this point I want to say that I know lots of people are concerned about the impact multiple exits for reasons other than employment will have on their performance goals.  So since I’m sitting right next to Judith, I’m going to put her on the spot and ask her if she has any words of wisdom around this issue. 

MS. GILBERT:  Yes.  This question has come up and fortunately or unfortunately the answer is the same as it has been. 

There are only four possible exclusions from the performance measures for exits that do not result in an entered employment.  And these are in the common measures definition and they are:  if the person dies, if the person is institutionalized, if they have a severe illness that prevents work, or if they are required to become the caregiver for someone with a severe illness. 

As always, these must be documented.  But they are at this point the only possible exclusions from the performance measures for people who exit the program without an unsubsidized job. 

MS. WELSH:  Okay.  So there you have it.  Stop worrying and just move forward. 

Okay.  So remembering that you now only have a limited amount of time to work with participants, the IEPs that you develop at this point must be realistic in terms of the community’s job market, achievable within the participant’s scope of accomplishments in the period of time addressed, clear enough that all parties understand what is to be accomplished and in what sequence and timeframe, and comprehensive enough to enable the participant to achieve greater economic security and a better quality of life. 

To help with IEPs for participants with fewer options for unsubsidized employment, staff really need to know a great deal about community resources.  You need to know current and indeed potential host agencies that you might recruit that are able to provide a supportive environment for participants with personal barriers or growing frailties.  You will hopefully recruit host agencies that would have the potential to hire some of these, your most vulnerable participants. 

You need to know information on the local job market and qualifications for jobs suitable for the needs of this particular cohort. 

You need to know available training opportunities that could lead to credentialing or certification to help obtain some of the above-noted job opportunities. 

And finally, you need to know lots of information on available social services, support services and other opportunities for your participants who will be leaving you perhaps without an unsubsidized job. 

So if termination is the only option, with the clock having stopped ticking, first you need to make referrals to appropriate programs that can provide further employment assistance.  We should never give up on any of our participants just because our personal clock has stopped ticking.  These would be of course your local One-Stop, as well as other stipend/volunteer programs. 

Second, you need to make certain each participant has a budget and this budget should not include SCSEP wages.  If there are gaps in the budget and the monthly living expenses, you should make certain the participant is signed up for all appropriate social service programs.  And it’s really important to start this process as soon as possible.  Many services, such as subsidized housing and utility assistance, often have extensive wait lists, especially in a bad economy. 

And third, try to determine if the participant has a social support network and make certain that they are alerted to this individual’s soon to be increased vulnerability.  Often times a person who loses the daily structure of work, not to mention the wages, can become socially isolated and even more vulnerable to deteriorating health and other quality of life issues. 

Two additional notes of advice before beginning the transition process with your long-term participants. 

First, good case notes become more critical dealing with your long-term population so follow-up can be easily made on a timely basis.  Also, please make certain that you give added attention to capturing the waiver factors within the timeframes provided in the last webinar that was presented to you.  Also, give good attention to documenting them thoroughly and appropriately according to each definition. 

And second, developing partnerships with organizations and agencies providing supportive services is also very critical.  This way, you can knowledgably make good referrals and not get stymied by different agency processes, requirements or waiting lists. 

Okay.  These next couple slides are going to be lists of post-program support services that you might consider referring your participants to once you have developed that budget, minus the SCSEP stipend.  And we have everything up here from subsidized housing to – (inaudible) – energy assistance, weatherization assistance, utilities.  Make sure they’ve applied for the Medicare prescription drug coverage and extra help. 

There’s also a series of community directories.  Now, I know lots of you that have logged in are very well-aware of a lot of these resources and have already tapped them.  But we have lots of turnover and lots of new folks, so I do want to mention that if you haven’t, you will want to tap into these community directories. 

For United Way’s you can call 211 – this is the United Way’s help line – and ask them to help you find resources for which your participants might qualify.  They’re a great resource for food, medical care, emergency shelter and transportation.  

Second, area agencies on aging are an important partner of our program.  And each AAA has information referral and assistance programs, as well as most of them now have printed directories.  So if you haven’t gotten a copy of this, you’re going to want to get a copy.  And make sure it’s current.  That works for the United Ways as well.  If you obtained these 5, 10 years ago, you probably want to get an updated version.

And finally, govbenefits.gov is the official benefits Web site of the U.S. government and has information on over 1,000 benefit and assistance programs. 

For those who will be leaving you without a job, it would be well worth it for you to explore other stipend programs in your area.  These programs are run through the Corporation for National and Community Service and their Senior Corps.  They include:  foster grandparents, senior companions and the retired senior volunteer program.  The first two, volunteers can serve up to 40 hours a week and some volunteers qualify to earn tax-free hourly stipends.  RSVP there’s no stipend, but volunteering is a wonderful way to give structure and meaning to the day for participants.  And this can be just as valuable sometimes.

If you’re interested in working with Senior Corps, contact your corporation state office.  The Web site is listed on the slide.  But I would urge you to make contact now with your state and/or local Senior Corps programs, as there may be a waiting list for these stipended programs. 

And also, just involve them in your planning process.  Let them know when you will be transitioning participants off the program and at what rate – how many with each exiting cohort.

One thing we have all realized to be a primary benefit of SCSEP is the improved sense of self-worth and even improved health to so many of our participants.  This same feeling of personal value, as well as connectivity to community life, and indeed even a reason for getting up and dressed each morning, can come from volunteering.  So even if there is no stipend attached to a particular volunteer opportunity, the other benefits attached can make a huge difference in your former participants’ lives.  So please encourage and facilitate this option as part of your transition planning with those participants who will not be leaving you for a job. 

I want to mention at this point that there is a list with a wide variety of volunteer opportunity resources on the SCSEP community of practice that is part of Workforce3One.  I would urge you to check out this resource and by all means add your own thoughts and experience so this can be a growing and very valuable resource to your colleagues around the country. 

So let’s turn to the actual steps that need to be taken by local projects with this first cohort of durational limit exiters. 

Since this will most likely be your largest cohort to deal with at any one given time, and you probably won’t be able to schedule everyone at once, it would make sense to come up with a plan for how to schedule transition planning with this first group.  The simplest way to begin the process in projects with large numbers of long-term participants is to schedule based on program tenure.  First and longest on, first to begin the transition process. 

Consider developing a month-by-month matrix or Excel spreadsheet and actually chart out who will be scheduled for which months to begin the interview and reassessment process.  And remember, this will be an ongoing process from this month forward, although it will become easier and less staff-intensive once this initial large cohort exits. 

Some final thoughts on managing this first set of transition exits while at the same time managing your total program. 

First, have a participant recruitment plan in place to refill each exiting cohort.  You have the luxury in this case – if you want to call it a luxury – of knowing exactly how many people will be leaving you in any one month.  So you can do some long-range planning to backfill so you always are fully utilizing your budget.

Second, you might have to have a host agency recruitment plan in place to support new participants.  So you’re going to have a whole bunch of new folks that may need a different kind of training setting than provided in host agencies that already exist. 

And finally, develop and have really – really put into place a placement plan to exit participants into jobs, where appropriate, so you maintain your entered employment ratio.  Knowing when folks are leaving you maybe for – as a negative exit, having a year’s lead time will actually enable you to work with your other participants in an accelerated job development effort. 

So first, I want to just quickly walk you through a summary of the steps we’ve talked through so you have kind of a sense of the linear development.  First, you’re going to determine the scope of the problem.  How many are going to be leaving you July 2011?  Will multiple exit quarters or months be needed?  If so, how many longstanding participants need to leave you each month? 

Second, once you figured out who it is that’s leaving and developed a schedule for each targeted participant to come in, you will on an individual basis reassess them for placement potential.  If there is placement potential, you will begin that intensive job development process. 

And third, you will be developing the IEP for exit transition for those who are most vulnerable and will not be leaving you for a job. 

Third (sic), you will be developing an exit transition IEP for the participants with less placement potential.  And this, in summary, means developing that budget, minus the SCSEP wages; referring individuals to necessary support services or stipended volunteer programs; and gaining permission from participant and – from the participants and contact their social support system to ensure that there will be a safety net for them throughout the transition. 

Okay.  These next couple slides are graphically showing you what I just talked about.  I’m not going to walk through it.  We all learn in different ways, so lots of times just looking at something visually will give you a better handle. 

So there’ll be two tracks that you’re going to follow for transition planning.  Track one are those individuals with good employability potential.  And you see the line goes from “enhanced job development efforts resulting in an unsubsidized job,” and then all of the tools in your back of tricks that you have to make this happen. 

Rotation and host agency hires are always the best way to go.  They’re quick, they’re simple and they tend to stick.  But if host agency hire is not an option, even rotating to another host agency, then you should consider specialized training for another credential perhaps, or a certification in a new job area.  And don’t forget OJE, especially in tougher economies, as a way for one of your participants to get inroads into a private employer.  If you’re using specialized training or OJT, however, be sure that you work backwards from July 2011 so you start the process in enough time that they can complete the process and get the job by the end of July 2011. 

The second track then is for the more vulnerable, less-apt to gain employment.  And their process is one of safety net planning, which leads to eventual termination.  So you see here the cluster of services that you are to provide for these participants as part of that safety net planning for transition.  So you see doing the budget, less the wages. 

Based on the results of that, if there need to be any gaps filled you’ll make social service referrals.  You’ll refer them to other – the One-Stop and other programs that can help them – those are the stipended programs – as well as volunteer opportunities.  And please don’t forget the personal support system.  You really want your – these most vulnerable individuals to leave you with their quality of life intact to the extent possible. 

Finally, just want to re-emphasize the transition planning is an ongoing process.  Can’t say this often enough because so many times people think, well, this is a one-shot deal.  July 2011, that’s it.  But that’s not it.  Every month thereafter you will be exiting another group of participants who will perhaps be reaching their durational limits. 

Okay.  These next two slides – again, I’m not going to walk all the way through them.  They’re up here, though, so you can download them and have them available either for staff training at the local level with perhaps staff that haven’t been able to log into this webinar.  And it’s just another graphic way of showing what you need to do starting with 12 months out.  And that’s just essentially the steps that I’ve walked you through.  And then again the second chart is six months out; what are those last pieces that need to be – that need to take place? 

So whatever graphic really resonates with you and you find helpful, it’s well worth it to stick it up on your bulletin board and think about it a lot until this all becomes second nature to you.

Also a note on things to help you with this process.  The new management reports are going to be available to you this August and will list everyone 12 months prior to their 48-month durational limit.  So that’s really going to help you, knowing who they are; but then you need to populate them into a work plan.  So your 12-month transition planning begins for another cohort every single month after this July. 

MS. GILBERT:  I want to add a little bit more information about the management reports.  They actually will tell you everyone who is 12 months out, nine months out, six months out, three months out, by name.  All of the waiver factors that are relevant for those people will be there, as well as a great deal of demographic information – race, gender, et cetera, et cetera.  So that should really help you in developing your policy and also developing your planning as you’re going forward. 

MS. WELSH:  Okay.  The last two slides I’m not going to go into in any great detail because we do want to take questions.  But this is the cluster of services that should become an integral component of your ongoing program services.  So your staff at the local level is going to be establishing the job readiness of each participant 12 months out from their durational limit, whenever that occurs, and then going through the steps that we’ve talked about. 

Okay.  And then finally, your real long-term goal is of course to replicate the positive factors of your program while minimizing any negative or problematic issues so you can maximize the potential of positive exits by your durational limit participants. 

So this means in your spare time, of course, really thinking about what combination of elements lead to success, such things as:  targeting participant recruitment to attract applicants who really want to use the program services to prepare for, find and keep a job; figuring out which host agencies and training assignments result in unsubsidized jobs; and 10 trying to replicate that success by recruiting additional host agencies of the same type; and last, by identifying and tapping specialized training opportunities that lead to credentials or certifications that are appropriate to both your participants and community job demands. 

Okay.  Judith and I hope that this webinar has been useful to you and will help you as you put together your durational limit policy, submitting it to DOL by July 30th. 

And we’re glad to take questions at this point. 

MS. GILBERT:  Thank you so much, Joyce.  As we said, this is a jam-packed webinar.  And we have a few questions, but we are urging you to continue to type those in. 

Can you scroll up, Gary, so I can see the earlier questions?  Or did they go away?  (Pause.)  Ah.

Here’s a question.  “After 48 months – after a participant has exited the program, can they continue to receive services even though they will not receive monetary compensation?”  The basic allowance is for support services for participants who have been placed in jobs – in unsubsidized employment. 

And you can provide a limited amount of support services, whether it might be some help with transportation or helping them get uniforms or anything that they may need in order to keep the job that you have placed them in.  But at this point there is no provision for providing additional support services funding for a person who has exited SCSEP.

There’s another question about a participant who’s been placed – who actually get a job after they have exited.  And they exited the 48 months without a job but that they get a job in the 50th month.  Is there any way for you – for the grantee to get credit?  And the answer is yes.  The rule about what counts for an entered employment is time in a job in the first quarter after the quarter of exit. 

So if a person exits on July 1, the time period that you would look at would be starting on October 1 through the end of December.  And if you learn that a person has gotten a job, then you can – that is the time that it will be counted either as a subsidized (sic) employment or counted as a negative exit. 

MS. WELSH:  But they would need to have left you for a job between July 1 and September 30th to then qualify for the – are they still working in the next –

MS. GILBERT:  Yeah. 

MS. WELSH:  Just wanted to –

MS. GILBERT:  Yeah.

MS. WELSH:  – re-emphasize that.  Sometimes when we talk about quarters, and quarters after the quarters, it gets a little confusing. 

MS. GILBERT:  Right.  But it would not necessarily have to be the day that they –

MS. WELSH:  Correct.

MS. GILBERT:  – leave the program.

MS. WELSH:  Correct.  August or September would be fine.

MS. GILBERT:  Right.  Right. 

MS. WELSH:  Okay.

MS. GILBERT:  Right.  The 50th month.  That works.

MS. WELSH:  That’s right. 

MS. GILBERT:  “Will grantees be –”

MS. WELSH:  I can’t see it.

MS. GILBERT:  “– be able to change its individual durational limit policy in June 2001 for – 2011 – for PY11?  And can that PY11 policy be different from the one for PY10?”  Yes.  I would expect that every year when we issue the TEGL we will ask the question about your grantee durational policy – individual durational policy limit.

Just a point of clarification about that.  We actually, as you know, postponed the date until July 30th for when you had to tell us what your proposed policy was going to be for starting on July 1, 2011, so that you could have the benefit of this webinar.  And so just be clear that when you send us your policy on July 30th, it is your proposed policy and there will still be a period of time when you and your FPO and the national office will be discussing your proposed policy with you before it is actually approved. 

The policies will clearly need to be specific enough and will need to respond to the items that are in the TEGL, both what is your policy going to be; what are the factors; what is the criteria that you’re going to use, depending on the policy that you’re proposing; and also, what are your transition plans? 

And so I would just urge you to be as specific as possible when you send it in on July 30th so that we don’t have to spend a lot of time in August and September getting them to be more specific. 

There was an earlier question about the management reports in SPARQ and I hope that we’ve answered the question on that.  They will be available in mid-August and they will be quite comprehensive. 

MS. WELSH:  Did everyone – (inaudible)?  Yes.

MS. GILBERT:  Question:  “Did everyone’s time get reset on July 1, 2007?”  Yes.  For the purposes of the 48-month durational limit in the policy, everyone started on July 1, 2011.  Obviously, that’s not what’s in SPARQ.  But SPARQ is only looking at – and we are only looking at – July 1, 2007, as day one of the 48 months. 

Also a reminder that any approved leave – time off in-service for illness or whatever, as long as that’s put into SPARQ – and there’s a way to do that, including multiple ones – SPARQ will automatically tally for each individual exactly what their time limit is.  And so it gets extended if – the date gets extended if the person has had an approved leave of absence from the program after July 1, 2007. 

MS. WELSH:  Okay. 

MS. GILBERT:  We’re looking here to see if there are any other questions that have come in that we have not answered or responded to.

MS. WELSH:  And this, of program implications of exiting participants who reach their limits.  Well, I’m not sure exactly what you’re referring to.  There was one list that if you know who’s going to – the number that are actually going to be leaving you a year from now that you have the time to develop an effective recruitment campaign, both for participants and host agencies, to replace that cohort as well as to design a job development approach also so that you can attempt to maintain your entered employment ratio of positive and negative exits.  I’m not sure if that’s what you were referring to.

MS. GILBERT:  Well, the other policy points to ponder were in – just before I turned it over to Joyce.  And it’s on the slide that is entitled “policy points to ponder.”  Would participants be better off with another year of service?  And what can you accomplish?  And what are the factors and scope beyond your control and the implication of multiple extensions on your average project duration? 

Like everything else that we’ve said on the webinar, this will be archived.  And you can I believe download the slides themselves now.  But the full transcript will be available within two business days. 

MS. WELSH:  Yeah.  The last thing I really want to throw in because so many times this is like an "a-ha" for folks, and that is to really make plans.  If you are going to be losing your participant staff in this first group of exiters, for goodness sakes, really six months, three months out, recruit to replace them so they can shadow your existing staff and you won’t have the down time associated with having to train new staff and get them up to speed.  It’s going to be really critical because it’s going to be very staff-intensive, at least for this first year.  And you don’t want to lose that capacity – that staff capacity. 

MS. GILBERT:  We know that our time is just about up and we know that this is a very complex subject in many ways, and yet one that we’ve been talking about for a while.  Transition planning for participants who were funded under the recovery act was a requirement a year ago and so we’ve been trying to give you as much technical assistance as possible on this.  We urge you to pull out this webinar and go over it again because I know we tried to pack a lot of things in. 

It’s going to be a challenging year ahead for all of us – for all of you, for sure – but also a very exiting one as SCSEP continues to provide really meaningful services for lots and lots and lots of people. 

Gary?

MR. GONZALEZ:  Thank you, Judith.  Thank you, Joyce.  I just want to wrap things up by going over just a couple things.  If you have any documents to share, programs to feature or any news or information that you’d like to exchange with your colleagues through Workforce3One, click the Share Content link on the home page.  You can upload documents for download or even share Web pages.

As Judith mentioned, we have recorded today’s session.  It’ll be posted to Workforce3One in two business days under your Dashboard page, which you’re taken to automatically once you log in.  And you’ll have access to the recording, the transcript, the PowerPoint and the handout.  The recording and transcript will be up in two business days. 

Now, we have our communities of practice which you can avail yourself of, which SCSEP is part of.  We have our Recovery Clearinghouse section which features all ARRA-related resources – past webinars, documents for download.  We also have our live and archived webinars that feature leaders and experts from industry and from government. 

We also have our podcasts which you can listen to on your desktop or download to your MP3 player.  And our monthly newsletter which we archive as well, which has a myriad of information of good – a wealth of good information.  And have thousands of user-generated resources that have been submitted by your peers.

Now, if you want to learn more about the workforce investment system, you can do so by visiting www.careeronestop.org or by calling 1-877-US2-JOBS. 

So with that, I’m not going to take up any more of your time.  Have a great day, everyone.  And we hope to see you on future webinars.  Bye, now. 

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