Supporting Veterans Through WIOA Programs-Meet our Guests

Randy Painter is a Supervisory Workforce Analyst with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment. He oversees the unit responsible for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I Adult and Dislocated Worker formula programs, the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment
Service, and the 2,400 American Job Centers located across the U.S.

United States Air Force Veteran, Dr. Harlan Harrel is a Workforce Analyst with the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Workforce Investment. He serves as the Veterans’ Services and Support Subject Matter Expert (SME) to the unit responsible for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I Adult and Dislocated Worker formula programs, the Wagner-Peyser Act Employment Service, and the 2,400 American Job Centers located across the U.S. Dr. Harrell’s central theme:“navigating the beautiful struggle: thriving in spite of the fault lines”.

Comments

We are excited to have our two guests provide information about WIOA programming that helps veterans. I have a few questions below to get us started, but please feel free to add additional questions and comments to the post. 

1. What are the top three things people might not know about WIOA programming as it relates to veterans?
2. What are some of the common barriers that veterans and their families face that WIOA programs may be able
to support?
3. How can adult basic education programs connect individuals with services that can help veterans and their
family members overcome barriers?

4. Over 30 years ago, Kimberle’ Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” to describe the way people’s social
identities can overlap. For example, we may have a veteran who is female and a person of color and low income
and unemployed come to the local one-stop for help. What suggestions do you have for WIOA core program
staff that may find themselves

  1. What are the top three things people might not know about WIOA programming as it relates to veterans?
    1. Veterans and eligible spouses receive priority of service in all DOL-funded job training programs, including Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) programs. 
    2. Job Seekers, including Veterans and Military Spouses, are provided a variety of career and training services through a network of nearly 2,400 American Job Centers (AJC) across the United States.  AJCs are designed to provide a full range of assistance to job seekers under one roof, including training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and other employment-related services.  
    3. Career One Stop, a website funded by DOL, has a Veteran and Military Transition Center that provides online resources to help connect Veterans to services.
       
  2. What are some of the common barriers that veterans and their families face that WIOA programs may be able to support?
    1. Separating service members and military spouses may qualify for and receive services under the WIOA title I Dislocated Worker (DW) program. In cases where an individual is unlikely to return to his or her previous industry or occupation in the military, or military spouses that meet certain criteria related to loss of employment may be considered dislocated workers. The DW formula program funds career and training services for eligible dislocated workers through the AJCs.  When individuals become dislocated workers as a result of job loss, mass layoffs, global trade dynamics, or transitions in economic sectors, the DW program provides services to assist them in re-entering the workforce.  Services for dislocated workers are integrated and provided through the AJCs, which provide significant resources to states to implement workforce education, training, and employment programs and help displaced workers.
    2. The WIOA title I Adult formula program requires that AJCs provide priority of service to individuals who are low income, recipients of public assistance, and basic skills deficient (including English language learners). AJC staff must apply the priority of service provisions to individuals, in addition to the Veterans priority of service requirement for all DOL-funded programs. Therefore, individuals who are both Veterans and are low income, recipients of public assistance, or basic skills deficient, would receive priority of service. Additional information regarding how priority of service is applied is available at WorkforceGPS in the Priority of Service for Adult Funds Desk Reference.

 

  1. How can adult basic education programs connect individuals with services that can help veterans and their family members overcome barriers?
    1. The Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA) program is authorized by Title II of WIOA and is administered by the U.S. Department of Education. AEFLA is a required one-stop partner at the AJCs, along with the WIOA title I and title III programs administered by DOL, the WIOA title IV Vocational Rehabilitation program administered by the Department of Education, the Jobs for Veterans State Grants administered by DOL’s Veterans Employment and Training Service, and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, among others. WIOA emphasizes integrated service delivery among the required partners and encourages local areas to include other partner programs and services to assist individuals with barriers to employment.  WIOA programs can fund supportive services that enables participants to participate and succeed in training. Additional information regarding the types of supportive services that are available for WIOA title I program participants is available in the Supportive Service Desk Reference.
  2. Over 30 years ago, Kimberle’ Crenshaw coined the term “intersectionality” to describe the way people’s social identities can overlap. For example, we may have a veteran who is female and a person of color and low income and unemployed come to the local one-stop for help. What suggestions do you have for WIOA core program staff that may find themselves.
    1. AJC staff should appropriately identify at the point of entry whether an individual is a Veteran and receives priority of service, as well as whether they are a recipient of public assistance, low income, or basic skills deficient, thus making them eligible for priority of service in the Adult program. AJC staff should make appropriate referrals to other programs to ensure comprehensive services, including supportive services, are provided. In the case of a Veteran, they should be referred to a Local Veterans’ Employment Representative (LVER) or Disabled Veterans Outreach Program (DVOP) specialist, as needed. It is also important to keep in mind that an individual may be eligible for multiple programs under WIOA and should be co-enrolled in each of the programs, instead of just one program. This ensures that they have access to and receive the appropriate mix of resources and services that may be needed for their situation. When considering the types of career and training services that a participant needs, it is important that quality opportunities are available for individuals from all demographic backgrounds. Just as occupational segregation occurs, where one demographic group is overrepresented or underrepresented in certain job categories, all WIOA participants should have access to training for top growth occupations and occupations with high related salaries, regardless of the race and sex of the participants.

Thank you, Dr. Harrell for sharing all this great information. We greatly appreciate you taking time to be a guest host in our group discussion. Also, thank you for your service to our country.