To publicize the availability of funds for the 2012 Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Research Papers Program. This initiative will provide approximately $80,000 to fund approximately 10 projects of Doctoral students interested in writing scholarly, policy-relevant research papers on topics of interest to the public workforce investment system.

The purpose of this Training and Employment Guidance Letter is to describe common waivers to the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) and the Wagner-Peyser Act that may assist states as they develop economic recovery strategies.

To ensure states are aware of the Federal military retired pay annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) provided by the Department of Defense.

To respond to questions from states about the expansion of the Emergency Unemployment Compensation, 2008 (EUC08) program.

To ensure states are aware of the revised Schedule of Remuneration for the UCX program that reflects the military pay increase and is effective April 1, 2013.

To transmit the subject computation for State Workforce Agency usage in computing minimum weekly DUA amounts for all major disasters declared during the second quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2009.

To issue the revised Federal poverty guidelines for SCSEP eligibility determinations.

To announce the release and availability of the paper, Competency Models: A Review of the Literature and the Role of the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) prepared in ETA’s Division of Research and Evaluation, Office of Policy Development and Research.

To provide an update on the UI Excellence in Action initiative and announce the availability of exciting new tools designed to help states improve business processes in their unemployment insurance (UI) programs

To ensure State Workforce Agencies are aware of the Federal military retired pay annual cost of living adjustment (COLA) and to provide the Department of Defense Web site where the COLA information is located.