As states release draft Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) state plans for public comment, advocates and other stakeholders will have the opportunity to offer suggestions for improvement. CLASP is offering this list of questions to help review the plans with a focus on how WIOA can improve economic and career success for low-income youth and adults.

The Office of Family Assistance held a Webinar on Integrating Two-Generation Strategies into TANF Programs on Thursday, April 28, 2016 from 1:00-2:30 p.m. EDT. The two-generation approach to serving low-income or disadvantaged families has seen renewed interest in recent years, with models focused on combining comprehensive, career-focused employment and training opportunities for parents with educational and enrichment opportunities for their children. However, state, territory, and tribal TANF program leadership and staff have suggested a need for more targeted TA and information around two-generation approaches and TANF integration and implementation strategies. In this facilitated webinar, presenters provided an overview of the policy components of an intentional two-generation approach and offered tools and resources that may be applicable to the audience’s TANF programs, wherever they lie on the two-generation continuum. Through a “Town Hall” format, presenters also provided planning, policy, and implementation strategies and lessons learned from their own experiences with two-generation integration.

Presenters included Dr. Monica Barczak, Senior Advisor, Administration for Children and Families; Peter Palermino, Program Manager, Economic Security Unit, State of Connecticut Department of Social Services; Elaine Zimmerman, Executive Director, Connecticut Commission on Children; Sisifo Taatiti, TANF Program Manager, Utah Department of Workforce Services; Tracy Gruber, Director of the Office of Child Care and Senior Advisor of the Intergenerational Poverty Initiative, Utah Department of Workforce Services; and Dr. Sharon McGroder, Program Director, Economic, Human Services & Workforce Division, Center for Best Practices, National Governors Association.

Washington State’s WorkFirst Handbook has a section with information about medical conditions, including learning disabilities, that can interfere with a person’s ability to work, prepare for work, or look for work. The handbook emphasizes the importance of obtaining medical evidence in order to appropriately accommodate any limitations, including the possibility of exemptions from program requirements on the basis of disability. The Learning Needs Screening Tool is a brief oral interview originally developed for the State of Washington’s Division of Employment and Social Learning Disabilities Initiative. Washington also has a Medical Evidence Evaluations Basic Flow Chart, which shows different participation outcomes based on screening and assessment.