Ms. Pam Hewlett Inman
Assistant Commissioner
Tennessee Department of Labor
Employment and Training Division
710 James Robertson Parkway, 4th Floor
Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0658
Dear Ms. Inman:
I am pleased to offer Tennessee JTPA waiver approvals in response to Governor
Sundquist's April 29, 1997 request. This could not have been done without the vision,
strategy and planning that was produced by the local, State, and Federal (national and regional
staff) partnership, of which it has been our pleasure to be a part. I thank you for your and
your staff's hard work and patience.
The State's request was considered under the special appropriations act provision
granting the Secretary of Labor authority to waive certain requirements of Titles I-III of JTPA,
and Sections 8-10 of the Wagner-Peyser Act. This authority was granted to the Secretary in
the Department of Labor's (DOL) Appropriation Act for 1997 (Pub. L. 104-208, section
101(e)).
This is a one-year authority and applies only to JTPA funds available for expenditure
during the period July 1, 1997 through June 30, 1998, and, therefore, could affect the JTPA
Grant Agreements for Program Year (PY) 1997, 1996 and 1995 funds, depending on fund
availability during the waiver period. Enclosed you will find an overview and our disposition
with regard to each of your requests, as well as copies of our formal response to the Governor.
Enclosed also is a grant modification (3 copies) that will require signature by the Governor or
the State's JTPA signatory official. Please check off the applicable JTPA grant agreements
(PY 97, 96, 95) that the statutory waiver modification will affect. We ask that the documents
be signed by the appropriate official and returned to the Grant Officer at the address indicated
below:
Mr. James C. De Luca
U.S. Department of Labor - ETA
Office of Grants and Contract
Management - DAA
200 Constitution Avenue, N.W,
Room - South 4203
Washington, D.C. 20210
Upon execution by the appropriate USDOL grant officer, we will return an executed
copy for the State's official files. This modification is effective July 1, 1997.
We applaud Tennessee's efforts to focus on a workforce vision and the development of
a strategy to meet that vision. Waivers, of course, are only a small part of this strategy. We
will continue to work with Tennessee to reach these goals. We expect that these reforms will
continue to reflect the Department of Labor's guiding principles: individual opportunity and
customer choice; leaner government; greater accountability; State and local flexibility; and
strong private sector roles.
This is a living document. As we continue our partnership be sure to let us know if
additional waivers or other action would be beneficial.
Sincerely,
Toussaint L. Hayes
Regional Administrator
Enclosures
OVERVIEW
The JTPA Grant Agreement between the Governor and the Department will be
modified upon the Governor (or his designee) signing the attached Modification. The granted
waivers are authorized for the period of Program Year 1997. In exchange for these waivers
Tennessee is expected to meet the agreed upon performance improvements. Below is a
discussion, including the disposition, of all of the State's waiver requests.
Requests to waive program design components were honored except in the case where
the request conflicted with the Secretary's statutory waiver authority, the Department's guiding
principles for waivers and the One-Stop Career Centers and School-to-Work Systems
principles. Administrative waivers were granted in such a manner as to maintain fiscal
responsibility and accountability.
These waivers are based upon the Governor's request, meetings and discussions among
staff, and the Department's familiarity with the program in Tennessee. They do not
necessarily constitute an endorsement of the examples in Tennessee's waiver request. In
several instances, the Department would recommend against the interventions proposed. For
example, most research would caution against general use of stand-alone work experience, job
search or on-the job training interventions, particularly for youth without a high school
diploma or its equivalent. The Department continues to strongly encourage educational
components for youth participants.
WAIVERS
A. The Secretary will apply the definition of "family income" in 20 CFR 626.5 such that
". . . . The Governor may, for the purposes of determining income eligibility for services
under title II of the Act, exclude up to 50 percent of Social Security and Old Age Survivors'
Insurance benefit payments. . . from the definition of family income." This administrative
regulatory waiver is being granted under the provisions of 20CFR 627.201for a period of four
years from the effective date of this Grant Modification. The State's request to exclude 100
percent of these payments was declined since it would have the effect of circumventing the
eligibility requirements for the economically disadvantaged.
B. The Secretary waives the youth OJT wage requirement at JTPA § 264(d)(3)(C)(i)(I)
and the related regulations at 20 CFR 628.804(j)(1)(i) and the participation requirement at
JTPA § 264(d)(3)(C)(iii) and the related regulation at 20 CFR 628.804(j)(2), when indicated
as appropriate in the assessment and individual service strategy for youth on-the-job training.
The State shall assure that the OJT positions for youth have substantial training content and
that the training time is correctly determined. In addition, the State should issue policies to
assure that youth OJT opportunities reflect positions with career potential and avoid the
introduction of the abuses in the development of youth OJT slots in low wage, low skill
positions which precipitated the enactment of the provisions for which this waiver is requested.
C. As requested, the Secretary waives the prohibition on stand-alone work experience, job
search assistance, job search skills training, and job club, for both youth and adults, in
instances when an individual service strategy substantiates its use as appropriate, by waiving
JTPA § 204(c)(2)(B)(ii) and 20 CFR 628.535(b)(2) and (c)(1)(ii) and applying JTPA §
264(d)(3)(A) and (B) to read ". . . shall be accompanied by . . . additional services . . . unless
the individual service strategy demonstrates such additional services are not warranted."
Additionally, the title III prohibition on work experience at 20 CFR 627.245(e), where such
strategy is supported by an individual assessment, and the combination requirements at 20 CFR
627.245(d) and 628.804(e) and (f) are waived. (JTPA § 204(c)(2)(A) was not waived as it
was unnecessary to do so since (B)(i) already provides an exception.) We wish to point out to
the State that there is research suggesting that work experience provided in a stand-alone mode
is not as effective as when combined with other needed services and that, as suggested in the
request, this authority will be used sparingly.
D. The State's request to waive the Ratio of Out-of-School to In-School Youth service
requirements at JTPA § 263(f)(1) and 20 CFR 628.803(h)(1) has not been granted. It appears
that this may be an eligibility requirement and,as such, excepted under the Secretary's waiver
authority granted in the 1997 DOL Appropriations Act. Howover, in any event the
Department believes that it is important to provide services to out-of-school youth, and the
ratio requirement is the only statutory provision that guarantees services to this target
population. Since funding for title II-C youth services has decreased in recent years, the
Secretary is not prepared to permit further reduction of services to out-of-school youth by
waiving the ratio requirement.
E. As requested, the Secretary shall apply the requirements in TEIN 26-96 transmitting the
"Guide to JTPA Performance Standards for Program Years 1996 and 1997," such that title III
performance standards calculations exclude participants terminating after receiving objective
assessment only, consistent with title II.
F. As requested, the Secretary waives JTPA § 108(b)(1), (4) and (c); the 15%
administration cost limitation under JTPA §§ 253(a)(3) and 315(a), (b) and (c) and 20 CFR
627.445(a), (b)(3) and (d); 631.14(a), (b), (c), (d), (f), and (g), eliminating all cost limitations
for titles II and III [except for title III national reserve account (NRA) grants]; and will apply
JTPA § 108(b)(2) and (3) and 20 CFR 627.440(c) and (d) and 631.13(a)(1) to reduce the
number of cost categories to two: Administration and Program Costs. The costs of
Administration shall be those defined at 20 CFR 627.440(d)(5) for title II and 631.13(f) for
title III. Program Costs will consist of all other costs including those defined at 20 CFR
627.440(d)(1), (2), (3), and (4) for title II and at 631.13(c), (d), and (e) for title III. The
costs of Rapid Response activities identified at JTPA § 314(b) and 20 CFR 631.13(b) shall
continue to be separately reported. Reporting instructions for the two cost category reporting
method have been developed and are attached for use by the State.
G. In consideration of the waivers contained in this grant modification, the State agrees to
a performance improvement of at least five percent at the State and local levels measured at the
conclusion of Program Year 1997 using actual performance in PY 1996 as the baseline for
improvement. Performance improvements will apply to all the Secretary's performance
measures, or to their approved equivalents, for Titles II-A, II-C, and III. States will take into
account the SDAs' performance improvement targets in determining the receipt of Title II
incentive grant awards for PY 1997. In considering whether the State and the SDAs have
attained the agreed upon performance improvement for PY 1997, the Department will apply
the Secretary's Adjustment Models, exclusive of Governor's Adjustments, to the performance
improvement goals. Program Year 1996 and Program Year 1997 performance will be
calculated in the same way for both years.
The Standardized Participant Information Report (SPIR) instructions in Training and
Employment Information Notice 5-93, Change 1 (dated June 23, 1994), as modified by
Training and Employment Information Notice 5-93, Change 2 (dated January 24, 1997),
remain in effect where not specifically waived or modified in this Agreement. Also in effect
unless specifically waived are the Performance Standards Status Summary Report requirements
put forth in Training and Employment Guidance Letter 2-95 (dated August 10, 1995). This
requires Governors to report each SDA's final standard and actual performance for each of the
Secretary's Title II core standards, with required technical assistance plans and reorganization
plans attached.
These waivers are open for modification and the Department will also entertain additional requests for waivers during this program year. These waivers apply to the title II and the title III formula programs. However, ETA will consider requests to apply specific waivers to individual title III Secretary's National Reserve Account (NRA) grants which are active during Program Year 1997. In addition, ETA will consider requests to incorporate specific waivers into new individual NRA grants, as appropriate.