OWD Issuances

The purpose of this policy is to establish and clarify the Office of Workforce Development (OWD) guidance on the Missouri Heroes Connect program.

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.

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 clarifies the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA)¹ Credential Attainment performance measure by defining what constitutes a “recognized postsecondary credential.” It supersedes and rescinds previous Division of Workforce Development (DWD) guidance² on credentials, certificates, and diplomas.

This Issuance updates the Division of Workforce Development (DWD) policy on Harassment, Discrimination, Retaliation, and Accommodation. This revision conforms to policy updates^{1, 2} issued by the Missouri Department of Economic Development (DED) since DWD issued the previous guidance.³ That Issuance is superseded and rescinded by this guidance.

This issuance provides guidance for managing records of customers participating in the Missouri address confidentiality program, also known as “Safe at Home.”