Adult Programs

Eligibility for WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs

WIOA ADULT ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible to participate in the WIOA Title I Adult program, that is, to receive career services and to meet the eligibility requirements for training services, the individual must:

1. Be a citizen of the United States or an eligible non-citizen, and

2. Be registered with selective service (if applicable), and

3. Be 18 years of age or older.

Adult Program Eligibility Requirements

In addition, Adults meeting general eligibility requirements of 18 years of age or older, must fall into one or more of the following prioritization categories:

1. Unemployed individual is determined as low income (six (6) month family income does not exceed poverty guidelines).

2. Employed individual whose family income does not meet the self-sufficiency guidelines. Local Area 1 defines "self-sufficiency" through the use of the 125% of poverty guidelines.

3. Individual meets the definition of an "underemployed worker." Underemployed means an individual who is working part time but desires full time employment, or who is working in employment not commensurate with the individual's demonstrated level of educational and/ or skill achievement.

4. Individual is receiving cash public assistance.

5. Individual is receiving food assistance.

6. Unemployed individual is below 200% of poverty and experiences one or more of the following barriers to employment:

• Lacking High School Diploma or GED;
• Indians, Alaska natives, and native Hawaiians;
• Individual who is basic skills deficient;
• Individuals with disabilities;
• Older individuals (ages 55 or older);
• Ex-offenders;
• Homeless individuals;
• Youth who are in or have aged out of the foster care system.

WIOA Dislocated Worker Eligibility

To be eligible to receive WIOA services as a dislocated worker in the adult and dislocated worker programs, an individual must:

• be a citizen or noncitizen authorized to work in the United States;
• meet Military Selective Service registration requirements (males only); and
• meets the definition of dislocated worker at WIOA §3(15).

Definition of Dislocated Worker

A dislocated worker is an individual who meets one of the following five sets of criteria:

1. The individual:

•  has been terminated or laid off, or has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment; 
• is eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to unemployment compensation, or has been employed for a duration sufficient to demonstrate attachment to the workforce, but is not eligible for unemployment compensation due to insufficient earnings or having performed services for an employer that were not covered under a state's UI law. Local Area I defines "Attachment to Workforce" as someone who has worked consistently over the previous six months. Only those participants who do not qualify for Unemployment either due to insufficient wages or wages that are not reported to Unemployment Insurance must document "Attachment to Workforce." and
• is unlikely to return to a previous industry or occupation (permanent layoff with no recall date).

Temporary or Seasonal Workers-Individuals laid off or terminated because of the cyclical, intermittent, or seasonal nature of their employment may be provided individualized career services and training services under the dislocated worker program. However, such services should be available only to those individuals interested in developing skills in non-seasonal occupations rather than in continuing as temporary or seasonal workers.

2.  The individual: 

• has been terminated or laid off, or has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment as a result of any permanent closure of, or any substantial layoff at, a plant, facility, or enterprise;
• is employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close within 180 days; or
• for purposes of eligibility to receive services other than training services, career services, or support services, is employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close.

3.  The individual was self-employed (including employment as a farmer, a rancher, or a fisherman) but is unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in the community in which the individual resides or because of natural disasters. This includes individuals working as independent contractors or consultants but not technically employees of a firm.

4.  The individual is a displaced homemaker, as defined in WIOA §3(16). A displaced homemaker is an individual who:

• has been providing unpaid services to family members in the home; 
• is unemployed or underemployed and experiencing difficulty finding or upgrading employment; and
• meets one of the following:

• • has been dependent on the income of another family member but is no longer supported by that income; or
  • is the dependent spouse of a member of the Armed Forces on active duty and whose family income is significantly reduced because of a deployment, a call or order to active duty, a permanent change of station, or the service- connected death or disability of the member.

A displaced homemaker may lose support income due to divorce or the death of a spouse. In addition, the loss of support income may be the result of a former wage earner's job loss and that former wage earner may still be living in the home.

5.  The individual is the spouse of a member of the Armed Forces on active duty who:

• has experienced a loss of employment as a direct result of relocation to accommodate a permanent change in duty station of such member; or
• is unemployed or underemployed and experiencing difficulty finding or upgrading employment.
• Individuals who are English language learners, individuals who have low levels of literacy, and individuals facing substantial cultural barriers;
• Eligible migrant and seasonal farmworkers;
• Single parents (including single pregnant women);
• Long-term unemployed individuals - unemployed for 20 weeks