October 21, 1999

The Department has received numerous letters from States and local areas expressing concern about the lack of a local hold-harmless provision in the first two years a State implements WIA, since funding shifts resulting from the lack of a hold-harmless could result in instability and service disruptions during the early stages of WIA implementation. In addition, Secretary Herman received a bi-partisan letter from the Chair and the Ranking Members of the authorizing Committees and Subcommittees of the House and the Senate urging her to address this issue. In response to these comments, the Department has developed a policy on the hold-harmless issue which is contained in the following Q&A. Under this policy, the Governor may apply the JTPA hold-harmless to the substate allocations for the adult and youth programs during the first two years the States operates title I of WIA - until the mandatory hold-harmless provision contained in title I of WIA takes effect. The Department intends to publish this policy in the WIA Final Regulations.

Question:

May a Governor apply the JTPA hold-harmless provision to substate allocations for the adult and youth programs during the first two years the State operates title I of WIA?

Answer:

Yes. Relying on her authority to provide for an orderly transition from JTPA to WIA, the Secretary has determined that the Governor has the authority to apply the JTPA hold-harmless provision to the substate allocations for the adult and youth programs during the first two years the State operates title I of WIA.