WIOA Dislocated Worker Formula Grants

Title I of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) authorized three of the six WIOA core programs. The WIOA Dislocated Worker program is one of the three core programs. The purpose of the WIOA Dislocated Worker (DW) program is to help dislocated workers get back to work as quickly as possible and overcome barriers to employment. 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. States can reserve up to 25 percent of their DW funds for Rapid Response activities. The program's success is measured by the following core indicators of performance: 1. Employment Rate - 2nd Quarter After Exit; 2. Employment Rate - 4th Quarter After Exit; 3. Median Earnings - 2nd Quarter After Exit; 4. Credential Attainment Rate; 5. Measurable Skill Gains.

Under WIOA, the entities eligible to receive formula-based funding from the Department are the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia and the outlying areas. Funds are allotted based on a statutory formula and states, in turn, allocate funds to local workforce development boards (approximately 600), which are responsible for operating comprehensive American Job Centers (approximately 2,300 nationwide).

Individuals eligible for assistance through the Act are workers who have lost their jobs, including those dislocated as a result of plant closings or mass layoffs, and are unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation; formerly self-employed individuals; and displaced homemakers who depend on income of another family member, but are no longer supported by that income. Priority of Service is given to veterans and other covered persons.

Those portions of the State Plan over which the Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training exercises authority are reviewed and approved by the Employment and Training Administration. Formula funds are awarded to the states based on a statutory formula provided in the authorizing legislation.

State plans will be reviewed in accordance with 20 CFR 661.220(e), which provides that the Secretary must approve all state plans within 90 days of their submission, unless the Secretary determines in writing that: (1) the state plan is inconsistent with the provisions of Title I of WIOA or the WIOA regulations, including 29 CFR Part 37; or (2) the portion of the state plan impacting the Wagner-Peyser Act plan does not satisfy the criteria for approval in section 8(d) of the Wagner-Peyser Act or the Wagner-Peyser Act regulations at 20 CFR Part 652.