Operational Guidance | OG 04-2024: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I Follow-Up Services for Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Youth

  • Date: August 7, 2024
  • Subject: Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I Follow-Up Services for Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Youth
  • From: Andrea L. DeSantis, Assistant Secretary for Workforce

Purpose:

To notify Workforce Development Boards (WDBs) and other local workforce partners of the WIOA Title I Follow-up Services required by the WIOA and provide guidance on how to record follow-up services in NCWorks Online.

Background:

Follow-up services provide WIOA Title I Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Youth participants with support after exiting the program. This guidance assists participants with job retention, attainment of post-secondary credentials, wage gains, and advancement in career goals.

Follow-up Services for WIOA Title I Adults and Dislocated Workers

Follow-up services must be provided for up to 12 months after the first day of employment (Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 19-16), as appropriate. However, if the required follow-up services are refused by registered Adults and Dislocated Workers, proper documentation must be provided explaining the refusal. Also, the degree of appropriate follow-up services may vary among participants. Participants who have multiple employment barriers and limited work histories may need significant follow-up services to ensure long-term success in the labor market. On the other hand, some participants may require less intense follow-up services, while others may decline participation altogether.

Follow-up services for Adults and Dislocated Workers include, but are not limited to:

  • Additional career planning and counseling;
  • Contact with the participant's employer, including assistance with work-related problems that may arise;
  • Peer support groups;
  • Information about additional educational opportunities, and referral to supportive services available in the community; and
  • Other services.

Follow-up services are appropriate if they follow the Individual Employment Plan (IEP) and if they are suitable to the customers' needs regarding content, service method, and frequency.

Follow-up Services for WIOA Title I Youth

Follow-up services are critical services provided following a youth's exit from the program to help ensure their success in employment and/or postsecondary education and training.

Follow-up services for youth may include, but are not limited to:

  • Regular contact with a youth participant's employer, including assistance in addressing work-related problems that arise;
  • Assistance in securing better-paying jobs, career development, and further education;
  • Work-related peer support groups; and
  • Services necessary to ensure the success of youth participants in employment and/or postsecondary education.

The following elements may also be provided to youth during follow-up services:

Leadership development (20 CFR 681.520);

  • Supportive services (20 CFR 681.570);
  • Adult mentoring (20 CFR 681.490);
  • Financial literacy education;
  • Services that provide labor market and employment information about
  • in-demand industry sectors or occupations available in the local area, such as career awareness, career counseling, and career exploration services; and
  • Activities that help youth prepare for and transition to postsecondary education and training. (20 CFR 681.580)

All youth participants must be offered an opportunity to receive follow-up services that align with their Individual Service Strategies (ISS). Furthermore, follow-up services must be provided to all participants for a minimum of 12 months unless the participant declines to receive services, or the participant cannot be located or contacted.

Follow-up services for youth may be provided beyond 12 months at the WDB’s discretion. The types of services provided and the duration of services must be determined based on the needs of the individual and therefore, the type and intensity of follow-up services may differ for each participant. A contact attempt or the collection of documentation to support a performance outcome is not considered a follow-up service.

Action:

Follow-up services must be provided, as appropriate, for participants in adult or dislocated worker workforce investment activities who are placed in unsubsidized employment. These services, including counseling regarding the workplace, can be offered for up to 12 months after the first day of employment. In addition, follow-up services must be provided to all Youth participants for a minimum of 12 months.

The WDBs must establish policies and procedures on WIOA Title I Follow-Up Services and ensure staff are informed of the content of this guidance. The WDBs must also establish parameters for the number of attempts made to provide follow-up services to youth, adults, and dislocated workers when the participant cannot be located, contacted, or declines to participate in follow-up services.

If a customer declines follow-up services, refuses to divulge information, cannot be located or contacted, or meets the criteria for an exclusion (TEGL 10-16, Attachment 2), this information must be recorded in NCWorks Online. Follow-up attempts must be entered into the follow-up section of NCWorks Online along with case notes summarizing the services or outcomes. Follow-up services for the purposes of career planning are not to be construed as the follow-up services required for performance reporting (e.g. contacting a participant to ask about a credential or employment for performance).                                                                                    

Effective Date:                                        

Immediately

Expiration:

Indefinite

Contact:

Field Services Program Staff 

Documents

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