This Issuance is to impart to the Missouri Workforce Development System the Final Rule for implementing Section 188 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).1 This Rule is codified as Part 38 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations and enforced by the Civil Rights Center (CRC) of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). A copy of the rule, as published in the Federal Register on December 2, 2016, is included as Attachment 1 to this Issuance.

This Issuance updates legal and regulatory amendments and procedures regarding providing priority of service for veterans and their eligible spouses who are customers of Missouri Job Centers. [This issuance supersedes and replaces DWD Issuance 09-2008, “Priority of Service to Veterans,” dated January 20, 2009.]

This Issuance provides guidance to Local Workforce Development Areas regarding the assessments used for basic skills testing in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I financially assisted programs.

This Issuance summarizes the federal and State laws, regulations, and contractual obligations governing transparency and integrity in decisions made, and actions taken, by Chief Elected Officials (CEO) and Local Workforce Development Boards (WDB) for their Local Workforce Development Areas (LWDA). It expands and updates previous guidance in this area and supersedes and rescinds that Issuance. This Issuance identifies existing federal and State ethics requirements but creates no new policies.

Change 1 for this Issuance addresses a technical correction due to revised federal guidance. An initial assessment of skill levels and supportive services needs does trigger inclusion as a participant. The references and Tables 1 and 2 in Attachment 2 are revised accordingly. This Issuance provides guidance for workforce system staff to distinguish a “reportable individual” from a “participant” when calculating performance outcome measures, in line with the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)¹ and its implementing regulations.

This Issuance conveys current Division of Workforce Development (DWD) policy restricting use of workforce program participant data. This policy applies to Workforce Development Boards (Local WDB), State and local educational institutions, and agency partners in the implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).¹ It also applies to all sub-recipients or vendors of these entities. 

This Issuance establishes minimum standards of the Division of Workforce Development (DWD) to ensure that programs and services delivered through Missouri One-Stop Job Centers and Affiliate Job Centers are physically and programmatically accessible to all, including individuals with disabilities. Toward that end, this policy specifically addresses the provision of Assistive Technologies. It leaves the logistical disposition of those resources to the discretion of the Local Workforce Development Board (Local WDB).

This Issuance updates, supersedes and rescinds previous guidance¹ identifying who must receive notification of the right to pursue complaints or grievances related to Equal Opportunity (EO) issues or programmatic delivery of programs and services. This Issuance identifies those persons from whom workforce staff must obtain and retain a signed acknowledgment of notification of those rights. It also incorporates changes in federal and State laws, regulations, and policies that have become effective since the previous guidance.

This Issuance describes allowable funding expenditures for work-based training of existing workers and prohibits duplication of training funds. It rescinds, updates, and supersedes previous guidance on this topic.¹ This Issuance also specifies the formal Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) Agreement that is required between a Local Workforce Development Board (Local WDB) and an employer. [This Issuance rescinds DWD Issuance 25-2015 dated 06/15/16.]

This Issuance updates and clarifies Division of Workforce Development (DWD) policy for its employees — and for its contracted sub-recipients — on the handling of media inquiries, the delivery of public information (including the use of social media), and the handling of federal, State, and local government requests for information. It supersedes and rescinds prior guidance¹ on these topics.