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Background: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is asking for assistance from Federal, State, and local agencies in informing potentially eligible individuals about the Earned Income Credit (EIC) and the Advanced Earned Income Credit (AEIC). Tax year 1993 The EIC is a tax benefit for working families with at least one child and income of less than $23,050 in tax year 1993. Eligible families can receive an EIC of as much as $2,364. The EIC is claimed by filing a Federal income tax return and a form called Schedule EIC. Even families whose incomes are so low that they do not owe Federal income tax can get the credit. For most persons, such returns must be filed by April 15, 1994. There are three parts to the 1993 EIC. The first part is the basic EIC for families with one child and is worth a maximum of $1,434 in 1993. For families with more than one child, the basic EIC is worth up to $1,511. The amount of the credit varies according to family income level. The second part is that families with a child born in 1993 can receive an extra EIC benefit of up to $388. The third part is that families that pay at least part of the premiums for a health insurance policy that includes coverage for a child may receive an extra benefit of up to $465. Families that qualify for both the basic EIC and extra credits can receive up to $2,364 for 1993. EIC Amendments Significant changes were enacted in August 1993 that will expand and simplify the EIC. These changes, which are effective for tax year 1994, provide most eligible families with a significantly larger benefit while very low-income workers without children will become eligible for the first time. The new law simplifies the EIC by eliminating the extra credits for families paying health insurance premiums for a child and for families with a child under age one. This revision is to be phased in over 3 years. For 1994, families with one child may receive a maximum benefit of $2,038 and with 2 or more children a maximum benefit of $2,528. For 1996 and years after, families with one child may receive a maximum benefit of $2,040 and with 2 or more children a maximum benefit of $3,370. Advance Payment Option There is a provision in the EIC under which workers can obtain "advance payments." A recent survey indicates that only about 10 percent of eligible workers were aware of this option. It is obtained by filing a W-5 form, called the "Earned Income Credit Advance Payment Certificate," with an employer. The employee would then receive EIC payments in each paycheck. Beginning in 1994, eligible families can receive up to 60 percent of the basic EIC to which they are entitled by paycheck. This could mean as much as $100 more a month for those entitled to the maximum credit. At the end of the year, they would file a Federal income tax return and Schedule EIC to claim the remainder. Program Implications: The Earned Income Credit has significant implications for eligible individuals in employment and training programs. It can increase the resources of EIC eligible participants. As discussed above, persons who receive EIC advance payments can receive up to 60 percent of the EIC as part of their regular wage payments. Since the EIC amounts will increase in future years, through 1996, it will be of increasing benefit to persons who continue to be eligible. Please note that funds received under the EIC are not "income" for Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) purposes and are not considered in determining eligibility for JTPA. Providing EIC information to customers: Because the EIC can provide important financial assistance to eligible families, local JTPA service providers, State Employment Service (ES) offices and Unemployment Insurance (UI) offices should encourage individuals to apply for the credit. This is particularly important for individuals who may not otherwise file a Federal income tax return because of low earnings. A person must file to receive EIC even if he or she does not owe tax. Information on the EIC and the AEIC can routinely be provided as part of the JTPA intake and assessment process, ES application or UI initial claims filing so that potentially eligible individuals may be made aware of the benefits of this credit and the process to obtain the credit. The IRS expects to have publicity posters and information pamphlets available for distribution about mid-April. Agencies that wish to obtain posters for display in local offices should contact the IRS office in their State regarding availability. In addition, ETA staff is continuing to work with the IRS National Office to obtain material which employment and training offices can distribute to individuals. It is always important to recognize that detailed responses to questions about eligibility for the credit, the filing process, and other information should be referred to the IRS. Employment and Training offices should not be or appear to be providing tax advice or services. Action: State JTPA Liaisons, Workers Adjustment Liaisons, and SESA Administrators should assure that customers receive the EIC information, as appropriate.

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Reference. Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Section 165 (a)(2). Background. The Employment and Training Administration conducted an agency wide review of its reporting systems to assess and improve the quality and usefulness of program information. At its Denver meeting last June, the INA Advisory Council unanimously approved a motion that the Department develop an automated reporting system for the INA program. A subcommittee (see attachment) was formed to work with the Department in redesigning the current INA reporting system. In September, the subcommittee met and discussed over several days what information should be reported for the purposes of informing Congress and the public about INA programs, the scope and breadth of its services and the client benefits that result from program participation. A guiding principle throughout the discussion was to limit the amount of new information that grantees would need to collect and to simplify the way current information is being collected and reported. An ADP contractor also participated in the session to determine potential ADP shortcomings. The group recommended that user friendly software be developed for grantee use not only in producing the needed information for the Department, but also in providing management feedback. On November 5, the subcommittee members presented their recommendations to the INA Advisory Council. The Department outlined its rationale for changing the way grantees now report information and the subcommittee discussed the main features of this automated system. In advance of this meeting, Advisory Council members were sent copies of the record format proposing what participant information was to be collected by each grantee and reported to the Department's contractor. The Advisory Council unanimously adopted the subcommittee report and proposed format, authorizing further work with the Department in developing the new reporting system for INA programs. The Department is now distributing the subcommittee report and other relevant information, including the proposed record format and accompanying instructions, to the entire grantee community for public comment and reaction. Samples of analytical reports that will be available once the system is operational are also provided. The material transmitted with this Bulletin represents the latest version of the proposed INA reporting system and fully reflects the INA subcommittee recommendations. All earlier versions of forms, instructions, etc., should be disregarded. Rationale for the Proposed Reporting System. The current reporting system for the INA program requires grantees to provide descriptive information about their programs including demographic characteristics of participants, and quarterly enrollments by training category, as well as aggregate information on employment and/or enhancements achieved through program participation. These annual reports require grantees to aggregate data from individual participant records either manually or electronically; and some items, such as average weeks in training, involve complicated, multi-step computations. The high rate of reporting errors confirms the need to simplify INA program reporting. Requesting that grantees submit data on individuals rather than program totals will reduce the likelihood of reporting errors, by eliminating the need for grantees to do additional computations. It will also simplify the reporting process to a "paperless" electronic data transmission where feasible. Over the years, numerous grantees have been critical of the program's performance standards for not being more responsive to differences among grantees in their program emphases, delivery systems and labor markets, i.e., what employment, advanced training and education opportunities are achievable through program participation. Without knowing the scope and intensity of training and support services provided, or more detailed information on the kind of employment and wages obtained, the Department has a limited basis for making further refinements to the performance standards or adjusting standards for different client needs. Reporting information on individuals rather than programs, from the grantees' perspective, will provide an unprecedented opportunity to identify and analyze what are reasonable program outcomes for large vs small grantees, more urbanized vs. remote communities, on-reservation vs. off-reservations, and differing service mixes and program emphases such as direct placements, or remedial education, or vocational skills training or combinations of all of these. From the standpoint of program accountability, these data will provide the Department of Labor more complete and timely information which can be used to better answer questions about program accomplishments from other overseers, most notably the Congress. This is critical in terms of justifying and protecting future program funding in a time of budget constraints. Proposed features of INA Automated Reporting. Data will be reported only on those individuals who started to receive training or services after assessment through program completion. No postprogram information will be collected. Records will be reported on all program computers (terminees) within a given program year. DOL will consider the practical implications of reporting on a-11 participants (currently enrolled and terminees), once an automation capability assessment is completed. Individual records will be reported instead of summary data. Data on terminees will be submitted on a quarterly basis. Data can be received in any of the following ways: diskette, mainframe tape, modem and hard copy (as a last resort). The DOL data management contractor will provide both a program for data entry and a format for those grantees sending hard copy. Grantees and other interested parties approved by DOL will eventually be able to access the database, but in the interim, routine reports will be produced in hard copy. Individual records themselves will have a grantee-assigned identifier, not a social security number or name. Individual records will not be accessible to other grantees. The record will include data previously reported participant characteristics, training and services provided (typically maintained while a participant is enrolled in the program), and outcomes (similar to what has been required previously). Financial data will be reported separately. It is not practical to report costs by individual participants. By PY 1995, this reporting system will replace current quarterly and annual program reports. New Data Collection Items. Rather than recording average weeks in training (for training that lasted more than 12 hours per week), grantees will report actual hours spent in each of the following worksite activities: OJT, work experience, and community service employment. Grantees will also report: a. the dates when occupational/vocational classroom training began and ended for the individual and whether it resulted in a certificate completion from the academic facility. b. the dates when basic skills training began and ended for the individual and whether it resulted in a documented learning gain (e.g., improvement in test scores). An occupational code for each placement job will be reported. The Department of Labor will provide extensive technical assistance on coding job placement occupations using both nine-digit Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) codes and five-digit Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) codes. In addition, DOL will compile a reference list of occupations (and their nine-digit DOT codes) -- including those relevant to the Indian and Native American culture -- in which participants are most likely to be placed and a "look-up" description of the occupational activity. More detailed breakouts on specific support services received and reasons for leaving the program are also being sought to capture the broad range of support services that participants need and whether people leave the program for reasons within or outside the control of the program. Technical Assistance. Grantee computer capabilities will be initially identified by the California Indian Manpower Consortium, a grantee currently conducting a "computer hardware" survey for DINAP. From these survey results, the most cost effective data transmission method will be identified for each grantee. Training on the new reporting format will begin in the spring of 1994. Other forms of technical assistance will be available on an as-needed basis, including telephone support "hotline", written guidance, (i.e., reporting and coding instructions), site visits to individual grantees, and data input software. Implementation Schedule. Pilot the new reporting system beginning July 1, 1994, giving grantees option to either send in terminee data in new file format on a quarterly basis throughout PY 1994 or continue with previous quarterly program status reports and annual status reports. Those grantees that opt to send in terminee data in new uniform file format will have other non-financial quarterly and annual reports waived. Extensive training on new system throughout 1994, contractor software for grantee data entry to be developed during this period. Initiate new reporting system beginning July 1, 1995. Action Required. Native American Section 401 grantees are requested to: a. Review the attached proposed reporting format and instructions, and the proposed implementation schedule; and b. Provide comments by no later than April 1 to: U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Office of Strategic Planning and Policy Development ATTENTION: Norris Tyler, Rm. N5637 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20210 Inquiries. Questions should be directed to Karen Greene on (202) 219-8680, extension 101, or Norris Tyler on (202) 219-6485, extension 138.

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