Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
Establishment of the Performance Standards System - In accordance with the
requirements of Section 106 of the Act the Department shall prescribe
performance standards for adult and youth training programs under Title IIA and
dislocated worker programs under Title III of JTPA. The U.S. Department of
Labor (U.S. DOL) issued current directives on performance standards
requirements in the April 13, 1990 edition of the Federal Register (55 FR
14012-14018) and the "Guide for Setting JTPA Title II-A and Title III (EDWAA)
Performance Standards for PY 1990", issued November 1990, by the U.S. DOL
Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Development. To measure and achieve
national goals of long-term employability and economic self-sufficiency, U.S.
DOL has issued six core performance standards for PY'90 and PY'91. Although
governors are required to use the six core performance measures imposed by U.S.
DOL, governors are permitted, within guidelines established by U.S. DOL, to
adjust national standards in setting the performance expectations for the SDAs.
In light of this flexibility the State of Illinois has developed performance
standards models based on statewide data. The performance standards are based
on statistical planning models which use multiple regresssion techniques to
predict expected performance of SDAs for each measure of performance. The
models adjust for local economic conditions and the characteristics of the
participants served by the SDA. The weighted values in the model have been
based on prior performance of the JTPA. Application of the adjustment models
result in a singular performance expectation (model adjusted value) for each of
the performance measures. The six core performance measures used for program
evaluation are as follows:
1) Adult
A) Follow-up Employment Rate (AFER) - Total
number of adult respondents who were employed (full-time or part-time) during
the 13th full calendar week after termination, divided by the total number of
adult respondents (i.e., terminees who completed follow-up
interviews).
B) Adult Weekly
Earnings at Follow-up (AFEARN) - Total weekly earnings for all adult
respondents employed during the 13th full calendar week after termination,
divided by the total number of adult respondents employed at the time of
follow-up.
2) Welfare
A) Welfare Follow-up Employment Rate (WFER) -
Total number of adult welfare respondents who were employed (full-time or
part-time) during the 13th full calendar week after termination, divided by the
total number of adult welfare respondents (i.e., terminees who completed
follow-up interviews).
B) Welfare
Weekly Earnings at Follow-up (WFEARN) - Total weekly earnings for all welfare
respondents employed during the 13th full calendar week after termination,
divided by the total number of welfare respondents employed at the time of
follow-up.
3) Youth
A) Entered Employment Rate (YEER) - Number of
youth who entered employment at termination divided by the total number of
youth who terminated excluding those potential dropouts who are reported as
remained in school (did not also enter employment) and dropouts who are
reported as returned to school (did not also enter employment).
B) Employability Enhancement Rate (YEEN) -
Number of youth who attained one of the employability enhancements at
termination, whether or not they also obtained a job divided by the total
number of youth who terminated. Youth Employability Enhancements are:
i) Attained (two or more) PIC-Recognized
Youth Employment Competencies;
ii)
Returned to Full-Time School;
iii)
Remained in School;
iv) Completed
Major Level of Education; and
v)
Entered Non-Title III Training.
b) Performance Standards Policy
1) For PY'90 the State of Illinois is
adopting the six core performance standards as proposed by U.S. DOL.
2) State of Illinois models will be used for
establishing the local performance standard.
3) To qualify as having met performance
standards, an SDA must meet or exceed three of the four core adult follow-up
measures and one of the two core youth measures.
4) SDAs which fail to meet performance
standards for two consecutive years will be subject to reorganization as
required by Section 106 of the Act.
5) Departure points for each measure will be
based on the 25th percentile of Illinois
performance. Tolerance limits will be set at the
95th percent confidence interval.
6) The Department shall establish a range of
performance above and below the performance expectation generated by the
adjustment model. The upper and lower limits of this range shall be determined
by adding the tolerance level adjustment (negative and positive percent
respectively) to the model adjusted value.
7) Definitions of "meeting", "exceeding", or
"failing" the local performance standard are as follows:
A) Meet - The performance measure outcome
falls within the tolerance level range band, as established when the tolerance
range value is applied to the model adjusted performance standard.
B) Exceed - The performance measure outcome
is greater than the upper level of the tolerance range band as established when
the tolerance range value is applied to the model adjusted performance
standard.
C) Failure - The
performance measure outcome is less than the lower level of the tolerance range
band as established when the tolerance range value is applied to the model
adjusted performance standard.
8) The performance outcome as it relates to
the U.S. DOL postprogram follow-up measures may be adjusted upward or downward
depending on calculation of the nonresponse bias adjustment. The nonresponse
bias adjustment is required when the difference in follow-up response rates
between those terminees who were employed and those who were not employed at
termination exceeds five percentage points. The adjustment for nonresponse bias
applies to each of the two samples required for Title IIA postprogram follow-up
data collection: Adults and Adult Welfare. If the difference between the
response rates is five percentage points or less the nonresponse bias
adjustment will not be invoked.
9)
The end of the year performance standard calculated for each SDA will be used
to assess the performance outcome for that program year. The performance
assessment will be based on the actual performance outcome (see subsections
(b)(7)(A-C)), or in the case of the U.S. DOL follow-up measures, on the
adjusted outcome (if appropriate) (see subsection (b)(8)). This performance
assessment will form the basis for identification of SDAs requiring technical
assistance/corrective action and those SDAs qualifying for incentive bonus
awards as described in subsections (b)(3) and (4) above.
10) A minimum model adjusted standard of 0.0
% and a maximum model adjusted standard of 100.0 % for all performance
standards using percentage rate as an outcome is established.
c) Award of Incentive Grants
1) The total amount of funds available will
be determined by taking
A) 75% of the total
6% allotment for the current program year;
B) plus those 6% funds not allocated for
incentive grants from the prior year;
C) plus the unused portion of the funds set
aside for technical assistance from the prior year;
D) plus any deobligated funds from the prior
year.
2) To qualify to
receive an incentive award, an SDA must first meet or exceed the standard for
at least three of the four adult follow-up core measures and one of the two
youth core measures as described in subsection (b) of this Section. A
qualifying SDA is then eligible for an incentive award if it exceeds any one of
the six core measures and will receive an additional award for each measure
based on the degree to which performance exceeded the upper band of the
tolerance level.
3) New PY'90
incentive funds will be divided into two portions as follows:
A) One-third will be allocated among those
SDAs qualifying to receive an incentive award as described in subsection (c)(2)
above. The amount of this award will be based on each qualifying SDA's share of
the Title IIA allocation formula (see Section
2610.30)
relative to all qualifying SDAs.
B)
Two-thirds will be allocated among qualifying SDAs that exceeded one or more
rewarded measures based on the number of rewarded measures exceeded and the
extent to which each performance exceeded the standard. This amount will be
divided equally into six shares with one share associated with each measure.
Each of these six shares is further divided into levels. The allocation of
funds at each level will be based on the qualifying SDA's relative share of the
JTPA Title IIA allocation formula applied against each level of available funds
for each measure exceeded. These levels are as follows:
|
Degree to which performance exceeded the
standard
|
Percentage of incentive grant funds available
|
|
>0% - 9.99 %
|
60%
|
|
10% - 14.99 %
|
15%
|
|
15% - 19.99 %
|
15%
|
|
20% and above
|
10%
|
C) A
Follow-Up Response Rate Adjustment Assessment will be implemented and applied
to the incentive bonus earned for each of the four follow-up measures. The
Response Rate Adjustment Assessment is designed to reward the SDAs with above
minimum (70% and above) follow-up response rate performance while penalizing
those SDAs with below minimum (less than 70%) follow-up response rate
performance. A graduated penalty will be assessed on the incentive earned for
each follow-up measure for those SDAs with response rates below 70%. The total
dollar amount of the penalties will then be distributed (based on Title IIA
allocation %) to those SDAs with response rates at 70% and above for all
categories.
i) The Response Rate Adjustment
Assessment Table for Employed is as follows:
|
Employed at Termination Category Response Rate
|
Assessment
|
|
70% and >
|
0
|
|
60% - 69.99 %
|
-5%
|
|
50% - 59.99 %
|
-15%
|
|
40% - 49.99 %
|
-25%
|
|
< 40%
|
-50%
|
ii)
The Response Rate Adjustment Assessment Table for Unemployed is as follows:
|
Unemployed at Termination Category Response Rate
|
Assessment
|
|
70% and >
|
0
|
|
60% - 69.99%
|
-5%
|
|
50% - 59.99%
|
-15%
|
|
40% - 49.99%
|
-25%
|
|
< 40%
|
-50%
|
D) Unallocated incentive grant funds, unused
technical assistance funds, and deobligated funds carried over from prior years
will be awarded to qualifying SDAs based on the methodology described in
subsection (c)(3)(A).
E) The sum of
the amounts determined to be awarded from the funds distributed under
subsections (c)(3)(A), (B), and (C) will equal the total incentive grant for
the SDA.
