Background: The attached tables contain preliminary estimates of unemployment insurance (UI) average employer contribution rates as reported by State agencies. The first table contains estimates for calendar years 1994 and 1995. For comparative purposes, actual rates for 1993 are also included. The rates shown are the average percent that UI taxes are of wages at or below the State taxable wage base. To permit comparison of data among States with different taxable wage bases, estimated tax rates for each year are also shown based on total wages. The second table shows the relative taxing effort being accomplished by each State in 1994 based on total wages. Action Required: State Administrators are requested to provide this information to the appropriate staff.

Background: The Employment and Training Administration has been very actively involved in improving customer service and satisfaction, in response to Departmental and ETA executive leadership as well as the President's Executive Order No. 12862. During the past year, ETA established customer service goals relating both to services for program customers and for delivery system partners. In addition, a number of other actions were undertaken to obtain feedback regarding customer service and program needs, including hosting dialogue sessions, running focus group discussions, conducting base-line customer satisfaction surveys, and evaluating internal operations to assess the levels of satisfaction that delivery system partners and customers hold for the Employment Service, Unemployment Insurance Service, Job Training Partnership Act Title II, III and IV programs and national and regional administration of these programs. The numerous ETA activities undertaken to improve customer service and program performance are discussed in the attached report, "The Employment and Training Customer Satisfaction Report." This report also discusses achievements compared against commitments made in the September 1994 customer service plan, "Partnering for Customer Service." This report is not all-inclusive of the customer service and continuous improvement activities taking place throughout the training and employment community. A number of Regional and local customer satisfaction initiatives are either in planning stages or are currently underway and will be included in subsequent reports. In other cases, the efforts are significantly broader than the customer satisfaction report requirements of the NPR. In some instances, such as the Simply Better initiative, newsletters and customer feedback quotations were submitted to the NPR in July. ETA applauds these activities and encourages the continuation of these important efforts in local, State and Regional areas. Next Steps for Continuous Improvement: Customer service including customer satisfaction continues to be an important goal for the Employment and Training Administration and its delivery system partners. In keeping with this, ETA's performance goals for FY1996/PY1995 include program performance and system building goals related to ETA's mission as well as customer service goals geared to encouraging service delivery partners and ETA staff to institutionalize and continuously improve customer service in all programs and delivery systems. ETA is currently in the process of discussing these FY1996/PY1995 goals with our State and national program delivery system partners and stakeholders. If these ambitious goals are to be met, employment and training partners and stakeholders at all levels must commit to their successful achievement. ETA will continue to improve customer service to its partners, particularly those areas that were rated less than "very valuable" on responses to the program-specific customer satisfaction surveys conducted by the Regional Offices. The FY1996/PY1995 goals specifically include improving both the satisfaction of its delivery system partners with ETA, and improving the satisfaction of customers with the delivery system partners. Action Required: Please distribute the attached report to appropriate officials, SDAs and SSAs in your State. In addition, please continue to take every opportunity to work closely with your Regional Administrator to jointly improve the services to and satisfaction of our customers.

References: None. Background: As a result of a conference call involving the States in Region III, the District of Columbia and Pennsylvania Partners (the Pennsylvania Service Delivery Area (SDA) Association), it was agreed that a Regional conference on Work-Learning Integration Programs for Youth would be held in the Reading, Pennsylvania area. Pennsylvania Partners coordinated the event as a continuing activity under a Technical Assistance project funded by the Regional Office. Contents of the Videotape: The outline of the conference, with a brief description of each segment/model program and the identity of the presenters is as follows: -- Opening Plenary Session - begins with an introduction by Virginia Williams Joyce, Executive Director of Pennsylvania Partners, followed by reports from groups of participants on their expectations for the conference. This is followed by an introduction of the presenters with thoughts relative to the group expectations. -- Vermont Conservation Corps "WRD" Curriculum - presented by John Zaber. The "WRD" Curriculum is an experiential program that uses actual work experiences of Corps members to reinforce language and expressive skills through written and oral reports. (13 minutes) -- "Opportunity Skyway" - presented by Joseph Puhalla, Executive Director of the Prince George's County Private Industry Council in Landover, Maryland which developed and operates the program. This program works to keep students in school, interested in learning, and focused on careers of choice by relating school curriculum to a broad range of careers in aviation. (13 minutes) -- "Youth At Its Best" - presented by Terry Willis of Man-Tra- Con, a program operator based in Springfield, Illinois, which markets packaged programs which can be operated by an SDA or a sub-contractor. The program has options for computer or electronics training, integrated with entrepreneurial skills and basic education. (11 minutes) -- "Futures" - presented by Jim Wilmer, Northern High School in Baltimore, Maryland. Futures is a comprehensive four year program for at-risk high school youth in Baltimore's "Tomorrow" program. The primary goals are: to increase the skill competency of youth; to increase the number of youth graduating from high school; and to increase the success of students upon graduation. (13 minutes) -- PPV/PA Corps/STEP - presented by Jim Klasen and Mel Campos of Public Private Ventures and Daryl Kern of STEP, Inc. This presentation highlights the various corps and wilderness challenge programs operated and/or assisted by Public Private Ventures and STEP, focusing on the integration of basic skills training into corps work and wilderness activities. (11 minutes) -- Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) - presented by Phyllis Snyder, CAEL Philadelphia Regional Office. This presentation describes how the collaboration between the Delaware Valley Industrial Resource Center and CAEL is allowing work with small to medium size manufacturing firms to begin building systems that promote ongoing learning for youth and adults. (13 minutes) -- "PILOT" Program Overview - presented by Ed McCann of the Berks County, Pennsylvania Employment and Training Office and Dana Dehoff, PILOT Program Director. PILOT is a Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) program, developed specifically to serve students who would not otherwise qualify for traditional training programs and who might typically be assigned by case managers to Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language or GED programs. Key features are a team approach to teaching; integration of competencies - academic/literacy and vocational (e.g., competencies learned "in context" to a job specific skill); meaningful work experience prior to completion of the program; and an on-site GED program. The three vocational tracks included in the program are building maintenance/carpentry skills; clerical and computer skills; and health care occupations. (29 minutes) Distribution: One (1) copy of the videotape in VHS format will be provided under separate cover to all JTPA State Liaisons and Department of Labor/ETA Regional Offices. Recipients are requested to inform Service Delivery Area Directors of the video; make arrangements for duplication and distribution as needed; and circulate it through the State as deemed appropriate.

References: a. UI Occasional Paper 89-3, New Jersey Unemployment Insurance Reemployment Demonstration Project, 1989. b. UI Occasional Paper 90-3 . A Study of Unemployment Insurance Recipients and Exhaustees: Findings from a National Survey, 1990. c. UI Occasional Paper 91-1, The New Jersey Unemployment Insurance Demonstration Project Follow-Up Report, 1991. d. Kirsch, Irwin and Ann Jungeblut. Profiling the Literacy Proficiencies of JTPA and ES/UI Populations. Report to Department of Labor, 1992. e. Ross, Murray and Ralph Smith. Displaced Workers: Trends in the 1980s and Implications for the Future. Congressional Budget Office, 1993 f. Swaim, Paul and Michael Podgursky. "Do More-Educated Workers Fare Better Following Job Displacement?" Monthly Labor Review, Aug. 1989. Background: Since the mid-1970s, major structural changes have been taking place in the American economy. Advances in technology, international competition, plant closings and corporate streamlining have resulted in the dislocation of thousands of workers from their jobs. These individuals have little or no hope of ever returning to their former occupations. Between one and two million dislocated workers are served by the UI program each year; however, a growing number are exhausting their UI benefits before they are able to re-enter the work force. Some of these claimants possess skills that are no longer in demand; others are suffering from a lack of job search skills. As a result, dislocated workers are experiencing extreme difficulties in their searches for new employment. Clearly these individuals need more than the traditional assistance that they receive under the current UI program. Research sponsored by the Department of Labor and conducted in the State of New Jersey conclusively demonstrated that, based on UI claims information, newly dislocated workers could be profiled and referred to reemployment services by their fifth week of unemployment. The term "profiling" is based on the premise that a set of characteristics--a profile--can be developed to identify, at an early stage of their unemployment spell, UI claimants who are likely to be permanently displaced from their previous jobs. In the New Jersey study, identified claimants were referred to and provided with a range of reemployment services. Subsequent to referral and assistance, a significant number of claimants returned to work earlier than those claimants who did not receive reemployment services. The New Jersey study proved that the profiling approach of early identification and referral based on a set of claimant characteristics works. Likewise, academic studies on the long-term unemployed have documented strong relationships between reemployment difficulty and individual characteristics such as schooling and job tenure. The Department of Labor has analyzed these study results, as well as the individual characteristics that were found to be successful in profiling new UI claimants. Building on the knowledge gained through statistical analyses of these studies, the Department has developed a comprehensive profiling system for nationwide implementation. The profiling system embraces the concept that, through a Federal/State partnership with States assuming operational leadership roles, those claimants that run the risk of being unemployed for prolonged periods and exhausting their UI benefits can be identified early in their unemployment experience. Once identification is made, the claimants can be referred to effective, much-needed reemployment assistance to help them get back into the work force. The Profiling System: The critical need for a comprehensive early identification system to help the structurally unemployed received both Presidential and congressional attention; on March 4, 1993, the Worker Profiling Initiative was signed into law as Section 4 of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Amendments of 1993. The goal of the initiative is twofold: (1) establish an efficient, uniform UI profiling system that will identify those workers on permanent layoff who may have difficulty finding new employment, and (2) refer identified workers to reemployment services by no later than their fifth week of unemployment. The profiling system that was developed by the Department is in accordance with the goals of the legislation, and involves three key elements: a) a profiling model that uses a set of specific data elements that identify new UI claimants who are likely to exhaust their UI benefits and experience reemployment difficulty; b) a procedure for selecting claimants who meet the profile and referring them to reemployment services; and c) a feedback mechanism to provide information on referred claimants (see figure 1). a. The Profiling Model. As part of profiling system development, the Department has completed work on the general profiling model to be used in the system. The model is simple and straightforward in that it uses seven data elements or characteristics that have been tested and selected for their predictive power in determining the probability of an individual experiencing prolonged unemployment. The seven data elements are: (1) whether the claimant is on recall; (2) whether the claimant has a union hiring hall agreement; (3) employment changes in the claimant's pre-UI industry; (4) employment changes in the claimant's pre-UI occupation; (5) the claimant's years of schooling; (6) the claimant's job tenure; and (7) the State total unemployment rate. Three of the seven elements are the same ones that proved to be the most important and effective tools in the previously mentioned studies on dislocated workers; the remaining four were selected because they were statistically proven to be strong predictors of long-term unemployment, thus enhancing the efficiency of the profiling model. The model should be thought of as the foundation for the profiling system, a framework that can be customized and adjusted by each State to suit its operating environment. It is sensitive not only to State economic environments but to growing and declining industries in the State as well. Moreover, the model differs from other approaches to profiling that currently may exist in the States in that it provides a uniform, systematic approach to identifying potentially long-term unemployed UI claimants; this uniform approach is fueled by the strength of the seven predictors that are combined to provide a comprehensive look at the important characteristics of the UI claimant. b. Claimant Selection and Referral. It is envisioned that selection of claimants will be accomplished by applying the model to new UI claimants through automated processes. States would collect and maintain the data elements required to implement the profiling model. An automated process would then use this data to estimate the probability of reemployment difficulty for each claimant and compare the results to a State-determined threshold. Those claimants above the threshold would then be referred to reemployment services. Various alternatives are possible for accomplishing the selection and referral process. The Department will work with the States and support their profiling efforts and implementation of the system. c. The Feedback Mechanism. The feedback mechanism is a means for providing the UI program with information on the current status of those claimants who were identified and referred to reemployment services. Benefits associated with having a feedback mechanism include: * providing State UI staff with information on the claimant's status (whether the claimant is able and available for work or whether the claimant is in an approved training program, for example); * tracking the type of reemployment service that was provided to the claimant; and * determining whether or not the reemployment assistance that was given resulted in the claimant becoming employed. The Federal/State Partnership: While the Department will develop the general guidelines for the profiling system and the model that would be the foundation for implementing the system, it is the States that would take the lead in actual system implementation, customizing the system to account for unique State needs and deciding how to implement it in such a way that would benefit both the State and its dislocated workers. The States are in the best position to provide the greatest help to the structurally unemployed; with the sturdy framework of a strong profiling system to assist them, the States can positively address structural unemployment. The Department sees its role as providing technical assistance, advice and automation support to the States in the customization of their profiling systems. Additionally, the Department will provide materials which will offer guidance on such technical issues as how the system can be customized and installation options. Profiling System Implementation: The Timeframe. The Department has sought resources in the Fiscal Year 1994 appropriations to fund the development of the profiling system in the States and to assist with augmenting State automated systems for profiling implementation. The strategy that has been developed by the Department is to initially implement the system in three prototype States. A solicitation for these three States will be issued at the end of October 1993; the process of State installation, customization and implementation for the prototype States would begin in March 1994. The profiling system will be offered to a "first wave" of seventeen to twenty-five States in the first quarter of calendar year 1994 based on a separate solicitation; fiscal year 1994 funding will be sufficient to fund the first wave of States. Additional funds will be sought to support the remaining States in their implementation of the profiling system. "Second wave" solicitation will be offered during the fourth quarter of calendar year 1994. Availability of Additional Information: A paper which describes in more detail the profiling system and the operational design of that system will be provided to the States at the end of October 1993. This paper will take into account comments received from the States in response to this directive. The paper will offer a more comprehensive discussion of the profiling model, the selection and referral of UI claimants, data sources and collection as it pertains to selection and referral, and the nature of technical support that is to be made available to the States by the Department. SESAs will have an opportunity to provide comments on this paper. Action Requested: SESAs are encouraged to provide comments on the profiling system and the procedures that would be needed to implement the system. Comments should be sent by October 1st to the National Office, Attention: Ingrid Evans, TEURA. SESAs may also fax comments to the National Office's Unemployment Insurance Service, Attention: Ingrid Evans; the fax number is 202-219-8506.

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References: JTPA Amendments of 1992, P.L. 102-367; JTPA Interim Final Regulations published on December 29, 1992; Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 6-89: TEGL No. 7-92; and The Family Support Act of 1988, P.L. 100-485 and 45 CFR Parts 250, 251 and 255. Background: The Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services continue to work closely together to enhance coordination between JTPA and JOBS. In April 1990, the Department of Labor issued TEGL No. 6-89, which provided a description of the major provisions in the JOBS regulations which impacted upon the JTPA program. With the passage of the JTPA Amendments and the publication of the JTPA Interim Final Regulations, DHHS, with concurrence from the Department, has issued the attached JOBS Program Information Memorandum (JOBS-ACF-IM-93-11), dated June 22, 1993. This information memo provides guidance to the JOBS system regarding the impact of the Amendments on administering various JOBS provisions in areas such as coordination, client flow, program activities, youth programs, and maintenance of effort. Action: JTPA Liaisons should transmit this information to all service delivery areas and other interested parties.

Background: This year's Native American Heritage Month activities will be many and varied throughout the national offices in Washington, D.C. The Department's heritage committee has selected a theme that focuses on contemporary Native Americans. Specific to Section 401 grantees, the intent is to share with Department staff and others the many positive and effective employment and training activities/models that exist throughout Indian Country. Additionally, the committee has invited several grantees and organizations to participate in the two-day exhibition from throughout the Section 401 community. The Department appreciates the sponsorship provided by each participating grantee and organization in this year's partnership exhibition: Navajo Nation, California Indian Manpower Consortium, Baltimore Indian Center, Native American and Indian Employment and Training Coalition, National Indian and Native American Employment and Training Conference, Native American Advisory Council, and Public Law 02-477 representatives. Action required: 1. Logo Contest The committee is seeking logo submissions that highlight the theme of "Contemporary Native Americans, A Celebration of Partnership." Grantees should submit no more than two entries to the Department, where the winning entry will be selected by a panel composed of interested individuals. All submissions must be received by November 17 and will become the property of the Department. (See attached contest rules.) 2. Photos and/or Video Display The committee is also seeking 8 X 11 photos and/or videos showing participants being trained or in a work situation resulting from program participation. Photos and/or videos must be submitted by October 30, 1995. All photos and/or videos will be displayed/played throughout the month of November and identified by grantee program. Submit photos and/or videos to Ms. Dawn Bush, U.S. Department of Labor, ETA/N-4641, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210 (Note: photos and/or videos cannot be returned and become the property of the Department.) QUESTIONS: Contact Ms. Dawn Bush for additional information on (202) 219-5511.

Reference: TEIN 7-88. Information: The attached checklists are issued to notify the JTPA and ES systems of those TEINs and TEGLs that have been rescinded or canceled during the last program year. There are also checklists of all TEINS and TEGLS remaining active.

Reference: ET Handbook No. 394, Unemployment Insurance Financial Data 1938-1982. Background: The attached tables contain selected unemployment insurance financial information for calendar years 1990 (revised) and 1991. These tables are a supplement and therefore comparable to those tables contained in the referenced handbook and described in its glossary. Selected data on the Federal-State extended benefits program and on employers on a reimbursable basis are shown separately. Data on reserve funds are also included. All employment and wage data used in these tables were furnished by State Employment Security Agencies (SESAs) and include estimates for some States. Note that columns 02-22 are for taxable employment only; columns 34-43 are for reimbursable employment only; and columns 44-52 contain Federal-State extended benefits information. Action Required: SESAs are requested to review the attached tables and report any corrections to the National Office by October 29, 1993 (Attention: Sheila Woodard, TEURA).