OG 07-2022 Attachment 1 - USDOL Waiver Approval Letter and North Carolina's WIOA Waiver Request (2) (1).pdf

North Carolina Department of Commerce, Division of Workforce Solutions

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Waiver Request

1. Statutory and/or regulatory requirements the State would like to Waive:

The North Carolina Division of Workforce Solutions (DWS) is seeking a waiver of the requirement under WIOA §129(a)(4) and 20 CFR 681.410 that the state and local workforce areas spend no less than 75 percent of youth funds to provide services to Out-of-School Youth (OSY).

The North Carolina Division of Workforce Solutions (DWS) is requesting this waiver in order to allow flexibility to lower the expenditure requirement of OSY Formula funding from 75% to 50%, for both statewide and local activities, based on service needs of the Youth population.

2. Actions the State has undertaken to remove State or local barriers

There are no state or local statutory or regulatory barriers to implementing the requested waiver. North Carolina regulations and policies are in compliance with current federal law.

3. State strategic goal(s) and Department of Labor priorities supported by the Waiver

• (A) supporting employer engagement;
• (B) connecting education and training strategies;
• (C) supporting work-based learning;
• (D) improving job and career results, and
• (E) other guidance issued by the Department.

This waiver will allow for the expansion of already successful provisions of work-based learning programs and other WIOA services, such as pre-apprenticeship programs, and services to at-risk and disadvantaged youth to assist with increasing enrollments, secondary education attainment, and workforce readiness to the additional In-School Youth (ISY) served.

4. How the waiver complements DOL priorities (i.e. expansion of apprenticeship, improved employer engagement, etc.)

This waiver complements DOL priorities in that it:

• focuses on ensuring that eligible youth achieve secondary and postsecondary educational success;
• increases youths’ access to opportunities for the educational, training, employment, and supportive services needs;
• aligns with WIOA’s intent by supporting career pathways and the preparation of young people for in-demand careers; and
• ensures that ISY do not fall into an at-risk category because of expenditure restrictions.

5. Projected programmatic outcomes resulting from implementation of the Waiver

Approval of this waiver would permit Boards the opportunity to determine how best to meet the educational and training needs of youth, regardless of school status, and specific to the population, geographical location, and economic and employment conditions of each local area. Increasing outreach to ISY while maintaining a focus on serving OSY will help develop a larger pool of young people qualified and prepared to meet the current and future needs of employers in their workforce areas and throughout the state.

While it can be hard to provide an exact number, DWS expects that the ability to serve more ISY could have a variety of positive effects for program participants, including:

• an increase in the number of ISY served by 10%, which would be approximately 787 ISY for PY 22-23;
• given the increase in ISY served, we project an increase in the obtainment of industry recognized credentials by ISY; and
• given the increase in ISY served, we project an increase in measurable skills gains obtained by ISY.

While all boards may not choose to utilize this waiver, DWS anticipates that the implementation of this waiver will allow North Carolina to see a 10% increase in the total number of ISY served who meet the WIOA defined youth barriers related to foster care, pregnant and parenting, justice involved, and or homelessness.

6. Individuals, Groups or Populations benefiting from the Waiver

The decreased requirement in OSY expenditures to 50% will affect multiple populations of the public workforce system, including, but not limited to:

• North Carolina’s at-risk and disadvantaged youth population who face barriers to education, training, and employment;
• Local Workforce Boards through increased flexibility to develop unique solutions to better serve youth according to local conditions; and
• Number of ISY served who meet one or more of the following WIOA defined ISY barriers:
  • Justice involved;
  • Homeless individual; a homeless child or youth; a runaway; in foster care or has aged out of the foster care system; a child eligible for assistance under Section 477 of the Social Security Act, or in out-of-home placement; or
  • Pregnant and parenting.

7. How the State plans to Monitor Waiver Implementation, including the collection of Waiver outcome information

DWS has communicated the waiver allowance to the workforce boards and workforce system partners. Annual WIOA programmatic reviews will include an evaluation of the impact of the waiver on local programs to ensure programmatic goals and outcomes are being met. North Carolina’s Youth Services Lead will also continually examine the effectiveness of the waiver throughout the program year. These strategies will ensure that our goals mentioned in this request, as well as those outlined in the existing state and local WIOA plans, are consistent with the established objectives of WIOA, and federal and state regulations.

8. Assurance of State posting of the requests for public comment and notification to affected Local Workforce Development Boards

Prior to this waiver request, all local Workforce Development Board Directors were notified of the intent of this request and have been provided an opportunity to comment during the public review and comment period. The public comment period was completed on August 9, 2022.