1. Purpose. To advise State Workforce Agencies (SWAs) that Web-based reporting of required financial data for the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and North American Free Trade Agreement - Transition Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA-TAA) training programs was effective for the quarter that ended June 30, 2003. The required reporting format is the Financial Status Report, Standard Form (SF) 269.

2. References. Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) No. 17-00, Automation of SESA SF 269 Financial Reporting, dated April 5, 2001.

3. Background. Prior to issuance of this advisory, financial reporting for TAA training and NAFTA-TAA training programs has been required on the Trade Adjustment Assistance/NAFTA Financial Status Report/Request for Funds, ETA - 9023 form. The decision to convert these two programs to electronic reporting on SF 269 is to achieve consistent financial reporting for all major ETA workforce security and trade programs. Additionally, it is ETA's goal to have all states and other direct grant recipients enter required financial data directly into the Enterprise Information Management System (EIMS), in an effort to increase financial integrity and accountability for all programs.

4. Implementation Process. The electronic reporting process currently implemented by SWAs, pursuant to TEGL 17-00, will now be expanded to include the TAA training and NAFTA-TAA training programs. A separate SF 269 must be submitted for the training and the administration portions of each grant, as well as for each funding year (FY 2001, FY 2002, and FY 2003). Current reporting menus will be revised to include each active TAA training grant and each active NAFTA-TAA training grant, with a breakout of each for training and administration.

Beginning with the June 30, 2003, program quarter, the EIMS will be enhanced to include TAA training and NAFTA-TAA training programs' financial data, which is due in the system by July 31, 2003. The system will be accessible for reporting on these programs by July 15, 2003. This will allow adequate time for the issuance of passwords and PINs, in a manner identified by the states (as detailed in Section 5 of this advisory).

For the program quarter that ended June 30, 2003, data entered into EIMS should be cumulative from grant inception. In subsequent quarters, only quarterly data should be entered, as EIMS will automatically calculate cumulative data.

5. Action Required. States must identify individuals who will be responsible for TAA training and NAFTA-TAA training financial electronic reporting. This is critical to proper issuance of passwords (to enable data entry) and PINs (to enable data certification).

It is anticipated that for many states, the individuals responsible for Trade Benefits financial reporting are also responsible for the Trade training programs. Therefore, each state must choose one of the following options:

1. Confirm that individuals currently responsible for Trade benefits are also responsible for Trade training financial reporting, or
   
2. Identify primary and secondary financial reporting contacts for TAA training and NAFTA-TAA training, including names, street addresses, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers.

6. Inquiries.

General questions concerning this advisory should be directed to your regional office. Questions specifically related to issuance of passwords and PINs should be directed to Ms. Logan at the e-mail address above or on (202) 693-3319. Technical questions concerning online reporting should be directed to Shakil Khandoker at Khandoker.Shakil@dol.gov or Aleksandr Krivitsky at Krivitsky.Aleksandr@dol.gov.