To initiate the SQSP process, provide supplemental instructions, and define additional requirements for the FY 2018 SQSP.

To announce the availability of up to $35 million, for Dislocated Worker Opportunity Grants (DW Opportunity Grants) for Program Year 2016, with awards based on an applicant's share of the Civilian Labor Force and unemployment. These grants will enable eligible applicants to serve dislocated workers with career services and training to help them identify and be more competitive for opportunities in growing or high-demand occupations and industries. Goals of these DW Opportunity Grants are to:

a.  Expand opportunities for Dislocated Workers to upgrade skills that lead to employment or industry-recognized credentials in growing or high-demand industries and occupations; and

b.  Address the skill gaps in a state or local area that have been identified by employers in growing or high-demand industries.

To advise State Unemployment Insurance (UI) agencies of the need to conduct background investigations on agency or contract staff that use or plan to use Federal Tax Information (FTI) in the performance of their jobs. This Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirement is designed to ensure appropriate safeguards are in place to protect FTI to the greatest extent possible.

To provide information to states about FY 2017 UI State Administration base resource allocations, general guidelines for resource planning, above-base funding, and SBRs.

To announce and solicit nominations for the Federal-State Unemployment Compensation (UC) Legislative Seminar.

To provide information about using Federal Employees' Compensation Act (FECA) data to prevent and detect overpayments as a result of beneficiaries receiving concurrent or overlapping Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits, and FECA benefit payments when not allowed under a state's UI law.

To announce a new Unemployment Insurance (UI) Benefits Operations Self-Assessment Tool for state UI agencies to use in evaluating their UI benefits operations, and to provide the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), Employment and Training Administration's (ETA's) guidance to the states on planning for the implementation and use of the tool and reporting of results to ETA.

The purpose of this Training and Employment Notice (TEN) is to inform States that in January 2018, the Federal Employment Data Exchange System (FEDES) will be temporarily suspended while the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) reassesses the feasibility of FEDES.

To provide state workforce agencies with information about:

    a.   Preliminary FY 2018 dollars and staff year base resource planning targets for UI operations to be used in planning and developing State Quality Service Plans (SQSP);
    b.   General guidelines for FY 2018 resource planning; and
    c.   The process used by the U.S. Department of Labor (Department) to allocate base resources among states.

To provide further clarification of the Employment and Training Administration's (ETA) definition of the term credential for national YouthBuild program grantees as well as additional guidance on commonly used construction credentials for YouthBuild participants.