Revised December 19, 2019
Legal References:
The Paid & Unpaid Employment - Overview section includes:
Employment, or work, means to engage in any legal, income generating activity which is taxable under the United States Tax Code or which would be taxable with or without a treaty between an Indian Nation and the United States. Work provides the best opportunity for families to raise their income and leave poverty.
Helping participants find permanent, unsubsidized employment to allow them to support their families - is the goal of the WorkFirst program as defined in WAC 388-310-0200.
Employment can be part-time (31 hours per week or less) or full-time (32 hours per week or more). It comes in a variety of forms, including:
When a participant has 20 hours of unsubsidized employment (or 30 hours for a two-parent family) this will meet the core activity requirement. For two-parent families or single parents with no children under six in this situation, consider adding core or non-core activities to meet the strengthened participation requirements. See WFHB 1.2.2 for additional information about stacking an additional three hours (preferably core activity hours) in the participant's IRP when possible.
Unlike every other type of countable WorkFirst activity, employment hours are counted and verified using the TANF prospective budgeting rules. This means we don't need to record actual hours of employment each month. We do, however, need to make sure we follow financial eligibility rules to:
Staff request wage and hour verification during the normal course of business on all of these occasions, except for some job starts. See section 8.1.4 for the procedures we will use to verify employment hours when a participant starts a job. Rules for financial eligibility budgeting can be found in the EAZ Manual at WAC 388-450-0050.
Employment hours and income must be correctly entered onto the ACES 3G Earned Income Screen by WorkFirst or financial eligibility staff. Once employment hour data for the ongoing month is entered into ACES 3G:
We use Career Scope services activities to connect participants to the labor market. We provide avenues for participants to move toward economic stability as soon as possible. The initial job, however, may be entry-level, temporary or part-time. This means it is important to connect participants with post-employment services options (reserved for those working 20 hours per week or more) to find or train for better jobs.
There is one circumstance when we don't use TANF prospective budgeting rules. We need to verify employment hours for job starts before we can count them towards participation. Since TANF prospective budgeting rules do not require verification when a participant gets a job, WorkFirst staff will be responsible to verify employment hours for job starts.
Once a participant starts a new job, financial staff record wage and hour information, often based on the participant's statement, into ACES 3G. If the participant remains eligible for cash assistance WorkFirst staff will learn about changes in employment hours, including the start of a new job, via their Caseload Management Report Section #7 “Clients Where Employment Hours Have Changed”. Once WorkFirst staff learn of the change, we contact the participant to update their IRP.
As you change the IRP:
Once we have verified the employment hours, the hours need to be entered into ACES 3G. Financial eligibility staff entering the employment hours into ACES 3G will adjust wages and hours, as needed, and update the verification valid value on the ACES 3G Earned Income Screen to affect the ongoing benefit month.
To record the historical employment hours, after employment is verified and the ongoing month is updated, the worker will go back into a minimum of 2 historical months (unless the employment start date was less than 2 months ago). The worker will update the historical ACES 3G Earned Income screens using:
It is important to remember that historical hours can only be entered once verification of employment hours is received.
This process will allow the employment hours to count for WorkFirst participation in the historical months.
Any source, including verbal, written, and email statements, can be used to verify employment hours as long as it meets the rules for evaluating verification in WAC 388-490-0005, which requires verification to:
The Acceptable Forms of Verification Chart in the EAZ Manual has a suggested list of reliable sources of verification for income. We normally use a wage stub to verify employment. You can also use a written or verbal employer statement.
When you use a verbal employer statement, you must document in eJAS the participant's employment hour information, as well as the contact's name, title, phone number and the date of contact.
Temporary employment is a paid, unsubsidized job lasting 30 days or less. Examples include temporary employment agencies (such as Manpower, Labor Ready, etc) and casual labor (such as odd jobs for landlord, friends and relatives) or other employers offering temporary employment.
Temporary employment can be part-time (31 hours or less per week) or full-time (32 hours per week or more). In either case, there is an estimated employment end date of 30 days or less and the employer does not consider the participant a permanent full-time or part-time employee.
ESD releases participants from job search to engage in temporary employment. In the past these have been counted as excused absences. However, as long as we verify and document the temporary employment hours, we can count them as employment and use them to help the participant meet the work participation rate. Temporary employment hours for federal participation are recorded from the verified employment hours entered onto the ACES 3G Earned Income screen.
At the beginning of each month, the Employment Security Department (ESD) will send to DMS Temporary Employment Tracking Logs listing the verified temporary employment hours for each participant who reported temporary employment for the previous month.
DSHS staff will enter these verified temporary employment hours on the ACES 3G Earned Income screen for the historical month in which the employment occurred using the historical entry of hours method. Only enter income of $0.01 when entering historical employment hours and ignore any BEGs created by entering historical information.
For more information on the historical entry of employment hours, please refer to section 8.1.4.
For more information on ESD's temporary employment process, please refer to WFHB section 4.1.8 What is Temporary Employment and how is it recorded?
As shown in the chart below, these are some of the legal conditions under which a job is not appropriate, depending on whether the job is paid, unpaid, and/or subsidized.
| A participant cannot be required to accept a job which ... | |
|---|---|
| Is paid or unpaid and |
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| Is paid and |
Same as above, plus:
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| Is On the Job Training (OJT) or subsidized and |
|
Whenever we think about WorkFirst, we need to keep the importance of work in mind.
Employment provides the best opportunity for families to raise their income and leave poverty.
Those who work always have more income than if they receive only a TANF cash grant.
Parents have the primary responsibility for supporting their children. Participant and the state share responsibility for helping families leave welfare. Participants are responsible for moving quickly into jobs. The state is responsible for helping participants find and keep a job, and for collecting child support.
Support is available to help participants become and stay employed, for example health care insurance and child care that participants can access and afford.
The partner agencies that share responsibility for WorkFirst will work with employers and other local partners to move families into self-supporting work.
Washington State welfare reform is based on a "work first" model, and on the conviction that everyone who can work should work, by immediately participating in Career Scope activities or employment. However, many of the families served through WorkFirst have barriers to employment and are best served through other referral pathways.
Participants will often start with low-wage, temporary or part-time jobs and may continue to qualify for WorkFirst cash assistance. Others are in college work-study or in subsidized employment - jobs we know won't last. Any job is a start that can give participants the work history and references they need to obtain better employment. Still, there are things to keep in mind for participants who are employed, but in jobs that won't last long enough or pay well enough for a successful WorkFirst exit.
There are two basics to review with these participants while building their IRPs:
Individual circumstances will vary and affect participation options. A person in subsidized employment may be focusing on resolving issues as his or her additional activity, and moving to Career Scope activities as the situation improves. A person in college work study or who is limited-English proficient may be concentrating on their studies.
Paid college work study is considered employment. The number of hours a participant is working in a federal or state work study count toward meeting the core activity requirement. Work study less than 19 hours per week must be stacked with other core activities (see stacking activities section).
The colleges are able to approve between 1 and 19 hours per week of work study. This will assist participants in meeting their core activity requirements. For example, a participant may be completing vocational education training that is 26 hours per week. The college can add 6 or more hours of work study to help the participant meet the goal of 32 - 40 hours per week of participation. The strengthened participation requirements in WFHB 1.2.3 don’t apply to work study students as long as they meet these requirements.
AmeriCorps national service programs, such as VISTA or AmeriCorps, provide a stipend living allowance to program participants (more commonly referred to as members). For the purposes of WorkFirst, the stipend is treated as salaried employment (not self-employment) and you code it as PT or FT depending on the number of hours the person works each week.
AmeriCorps/VISTA employment typically lasts for nine to 12 months, is normally full-time and result in educational award for teens or parents who successfully complete the program. Members will obtain marketable soft skills, job skills, a good source of income, and work experience. AmeriCorps and Vista programs can be an effective way for parents and teens to achieve self-sufficiency. See EAZ 388-450-0045 for information about how to budget AmeriCorps/VISTA earnings.
The Employment Security Department is authorizing paid work experience for participants in many areas of the state, funded by Title 1 of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Participants' WIA experience payments will affect both financial eligibility and WorkFirst participation.
WIA paid work experience is considered WIA on-the-job training for Basic Food purposes. It is coded on the ACES 3G Earned Income screen with employment code 'WJ'. For more information on budgeting WIA, please refer to the EAZ Manual under Income - Special Types, WAC 388-450-0045(1)(i) and (ii).
WIA paid work experience is considered employment for the purposes of the WorkFirst program. WorkFirst staff will code WIA paid work experience participation under the PT or FT eJAS component code. As employment, there is no FLSA maximum hours for WIA paid work experience and staff will not need to enter actual hours of participation each month.
Legal References:
The Self-employment section includes:
Self-employment occurs when a participant is working as a business owner or independent contractor. Participants working at least 32 hours or more per week at minimum wage, with an approved self-employment plan, may use self-employment as their primary path to independence.
Deferral from employment services activities can occur if self-employed participants meet all of the following conditions:
|
Participants: |
Single participants with a child under six: |
|---|---|
|
Working at least 32 hours per week at their business |
Working at least 20 hours per week at their business |
|
Their business generates income equal to the federal minimum wage times 32 hours per week, after business expenses are subtracted |
Their business generates income equal to the federal minimum wage times 20 hours per week, after business expenses are subtracted |
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Have an approved self-employment plan from a local business resource center. |
Have an approved self-employment plan from a local business resource center. |
Even though we determine grant amount and federally countable hours differently as of August 1, 2015, how we count hours for WF activity will stay the same. We will continue to subtract actual business expenses in the above calculation, rather than subtracting 50% of the gross.
You may use the SE Hours Calculator to get the number of PT or FT hours per week to use for WorkFirst participation. Input the amount of the gross monthly business receipts (from ACES) and the allowable, reported business expenses. Please note, this calculation may result in more participation hours than the federally countable hours described in section 8.2.3.
If the participant doesn’t meet all these conditions, s/he:
If a participant wants to pursue self-employment, refer her/him to a local business resource center. For information on local business resource centers in your area, visit the Small Business Development Center website, Service Core of Retired Executives website, or any other local entities that provide business plan guidance. Add the referral to the participant’s IRP and give them a reasonable amount of time to complete needed actions with the local business resource center. The local business resource center will help the participant pull together the following information required for plan approval:
The local business resource center will also provide the participant with ongoing technical support, such as help to:
The self-employment plan will come back to you so you can decide whether to add self-employment to the participant’s IRP and approve any needed support services (like paying for small business training courses) or child care. Developing the self-employment plan with a local business resource center and accessing ongoing technical support aren’t countable activities.
As shown on the chart below, there is a set formula that ACES will use when determining how much income a participant's business is generating, and how this translates into the number of federally countable self-employment hours per week. WorkFirst staff use the process in 8.3.1 to determine WorkFirst participation requirements when developing an IRP.
ACES will use self-employment data to calculate the grant amount and the average weekly hours of self-employment that count toward federal participation. ACES will display that information in eJAS in Employment Hours History.
ACES will apply the 50% self-employment standard deduction, as appropriate, to determine the amount of the cash grant without any action on your part. Only enter verified business expenses on the ACES EARN screen. ACES will treat all SE earned income expense types as actual business expenses.
| ACES self-employment formula to calculate federally countable self-employment hours | |
|---|---|
Definition of Employment: Any legal income generating activity which is taxable under the United States Tax Code or non-taxable under treaty between an Indian Nation and the United States. |
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When a participant is self-employed, use the eJAS codes:
Revised August 19, 2024
Legal References:
The Community Jobs section includes:
The Department of Commerce contracts with local community-based organizations to provide and manage the Community Jobs and Career Jump Programs for WorkFirst participants. The provisions in WFHB 1.2.2 to add additional hours don’t apply to the Community Jobs or Career Jump Program.
Community Jobs (CJ) is a WorkFirst (WF) activity providing participants with paid, temporary subsidized employment. CJ gives participants the opportunity to gain experience in an employment setting while increasing their income, skills and self-confidence. CJ also provides participants with opportunities to build references, develop networking connections, and demonstrate their work skills directly through employment by performing jobs within their chosen field. The worksite opportunities are nonprofit, tribal, and government agencies. Commerce recognizes local ordinances that mandate a higher minimum wage.
Full-time CJ is a paid work experience of up to nine (9) months, combining twenty (20) hours per week in a temporary subsidized job (considered employment) with twenty (20) additional hours per week of a combination of stacked activities and issue resolution (considered preparing for work). Commerce contracted staff provide case management to help participants to resolve barriers or learn to self-manage barriers that might affect the ability to obtain and keep employment. A participant may participate for an additional three months with the Department of Commerce's (Commerce) documented approval.
Part-time CJ is available to single parents with a child under the age of six (6). Part-time CJ is paid work experience of up to nine (9) months, which combines twenty (20) hours per week in a temporary subsidized job (considered employment) with three (3) hours per week of life skills (LS), coded barrier removal (such as mental or physical health, chemical dependency, and family violence), or a combination of LS and barrier removal. The following stacked activities may be used only if the participant would not benefit from life skills:
Note: The stacked activity cannot be Job Search (JS) in the first three (3) months of enrollment.
A Community Jobs enrollment:
Full-time CJ may be an option for participants who:
Part-time CJ may be an option for participants who:
Career Jump is a subset of Community Jobs, which offers participants an opportunity to gain paid work experience with an employer that has agreed to hire them at the end of their program. At the negotiated transition date, the participant will transition to the employer's payroll and the employment opportunity will be compensated above minimum wage, thirty-two (32) or more hours per week and will include wage progression and benefits comparable to other employees.
Career Jump may be an option for participants who:
CJ participants are engaged in more than one activity at a time specifically identified to meet their individual needs. This is a multi-partner effort. Partners include, but are not limited to, Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS), Employment Security Department (ESD), State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) and Commerce. It is important to keep the participant moving steadily toward independence from WorkFirst. One way to do this is to ensure smooth transfers from one activity to another.
Community Jobs (CJ) contractors will create an Individual Development Plan (IDP) for full-time CJs with the participant to increase their ability to get and keep a job that will include:
Community Jobs (CJ) contractors will create an Individual Development Plan (IDP) for part-time CJs with the participant to increase their ability to get and keep a job that will include stacked activities as identified in 8.3.1.
Career Jump contractors will arrange for fifteen (15) to eighteen (18) hours per week of stacked activities and create an Individual Development Plan (IDP) with the participant designed to increase the participant’s employability. This section details the stacked activity options when available and appropriate excluding Barrier/Issue Resolution and Voluntary/Community Service Activities.
Education activities can include high school equivalency, basic skills, ESL, or job skills training. When available, co-enroll education components with the local community or technical college. Other resources can provide education/training when the community or technical college is not a documented viable option. Job skills training must provide the skills required by an employer to provide a participant with the ability to obtain employment or to advance at the workplace. Job skills training can include:
Note: In the event job skills training classes are not available through the community and technical college system, contractors may directly provide such services or connect the participant with a community-based provider.
Life Skills training is a structured training that provides an up-front introduction that prepares participants to participate in activities effectively and to meet the demands of everyday life and employment. These trainings are locally designed and operated to maximize available resources to best serve the participants within the community, and it may or may not be employment related or completely address and resolve family issues. Life Skills training may include such topics as:
Voluntary Community Service is an opportunity for participants to volunteer in family-centered activities with their child’s school, childcare, HeadStart, ECEAP, Boys & Girls Clubs, adult care facility, etc. Court-ordered community service also qualifies for participation as long as it is unrelated to the CJ worksite job. Voluntary community service hours can't exceed the maximum allowed under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Barrier/Issue Resolution activities assist participants in obtaining and keeping unsubsidized employment.
If the subsidized job ends and the participant hasn’t found unsubsidized employment, the participant should be referred back to the DSHS Case Manager to complete a review and referral for other appropriate activity or consider an additional Community Jobs activity.
Monitoring and Reporting Participation and Progress
All stacked activity components must be supervised daily and attendance records must be maintained. If the education/training co-enrollment activity is provided by a WorkFirst partner the appropriate component must be coded with the provider's contractor code. That provider is responsible for reporting participation and progress (if applicable) in eJAS.
All activities must be documented in the IDP with specific details regarding schedules and monthly progress updates.
Community Jobs:
The Commerce contractor will determine the employment barriers and activities, up to 10 hours per week, that are needed to assist participants in obtaining and maintaining unsubsidized employment. These activities are requirements within the participant's IDP, but are not coded as eJAS components. However, if there are stacked activities such as mental or physical health, chemical dependency, or family violence and coded as an “X” component, the WFPS/WFSSS will monitor and report participation and progress of these stacked activities.
If a WF partner provides the co-enrolled activity, code the stacked activity (up to 18 hours per week) with the provider’s contractor code. The WF partner must:
The remaining 3 hours per week, in a part-time CJ Program, will focus on stacked activities and coded barrier removals as listed in 8.3.1. These activities may be requirements within the participant’s IDP. The WFPS/WFSSS will monitor and report participation and progress if the stacked activity is mental or physical health, chemical dependency, or family violence.
The WF partner must document all contracted activities in the Individual Development Plan (IDP) with specific details regarding schedules and monthly progress updates.
Commerce Contractors will use the Education & Training Homework Requirements Worksheet to determine and report actual hours including homework. The Commerce Contractor will:
If participants are working on resolving or coping with family violence and are also participating in Community Jobs, Commerce Contractor staff should:
The Contractor will work with the participant to develop an Individual Development Plan (IDP) in eJAS and worksite agreement. The IDP will detail all aspects of participants' activities while in the CJ Program to include employment information like work location and schedule, education co-enrollments, barriers and barrier management plans, details of all co-enrollment activities, progress updates, and various program reviews. All contracted activities of the CJ Program should be included in the IDP so the participant has a full understanding of their program expectations, activities, and accountability. If they are not participating in all activities detailed in their IDP, they may be sanctioned for non-participation.
CJ participants are required to sign their initial IDP that is developed with their Commerce contractor. Whenever their program expectations or requirements change, the Commerce contractor will update the IDP. Anytime an update is made to the IDP regarding a change in the program expectations or requirements, the Commerce contractor will either have the participant sign the most updated plan, or they will get verbal approval from the participant.
The IDP can be updated by the Contractor; WorkFirst staff have access to view the IDP by opening it from the link on the participant's main screen in eJAS.
The host worksite administrator and the contractor must sign a worksite agreement. A copy of the signed worksite agreement must be on file with the contracting agency.
Work assignments must have a position description that clearly details the work schedule, duties, and transferable skills being obtained. The worksite supervisor and the participant must sign the position description. Copies of the signed agreement must be provided to the participant, the worksite supervisor and maintained in the participant's file.
Note: If the participant is involved with the ACP (Address Confidentiality Program), don't enter the worksite information. The Contractor will enter "ACP" instead of the actual worksite name.
Prior to authorizing Support Services for a CJ participant, WF partners should access eJAS to ensure the guidelines for each category have not been exceeded. Support Services will then be authorized.
CJ Subsidized Employment Begins
Participants are expected to make first contact with the contractor within five (5) business days of the referral with a childcare and transportation plan. Contractors will attempt to contact participants by telephone, email if available, or direct face-to-face meeting if the contractor is on-site at the time of referral. First contact is defined as an actual face-to-face meeting between the contractor and the participant. Contractors will enter case notes when they attempt to engage participants.
If contact isn’t made within five (5) business days, the contractor will reject the referral on the sixth (6th) business day.
Contractors will meet with the participant to review the participant’s IRP, develop the Individual Development Plan (IDP) and determine additional activities (stacked and barrier/issue resolution).
Contractors will provide program orientation to participants regarding program policies and expectations.
Parents should be placed on a worksite within ten (10) business days from the First Contact meeting when they started their IDP. If participants aren’t able to be placed within ten (10) business days, the contractor will continue placement efforts and clearly document their efforts and reasons for delay in eJAS. The start date of a participant's CJ Program begins on the first (1st) day on the paid CJ worksite (considered enrollment). The Contractor will enter this date in the Actual Start Date column of the Contractor Caseload Screen.
Parents can be placed into Life Skills training or begin contractor provided stacked activities while waiting for placement in a work site.
Once the Contractor confirms the participant has started CJ employment and is receiving wages, they will complete the following fields on the eJAS Employment screen:
CJ Subsidized Employment Ends
The Contractor will enter the following information in the Employment Screen except when Career Jump transitions to unsubsidized employment with same worksite:
When a Career Jump transitions to unsubsidized employment at the same worksite, the Commerce contractor will update the following in the Employment Screen (and any other section where applicable):
WorkFirst staff will complete the following:
If the participant doesn’t find unsubsidized employment by the end of the Community Jobs program, they should be referred back to the DSHS Case Manager to complete a referral for full-time Career Scope activities or other appropriate activity.
When the CJ employment begins, the Case Manager follows the procedure in the CSD Procedures Handbook - Communication to Financial from Social Services to enter CJ income type and the anticipated gross income amount on the ACES EARN Screen. These entries will automatically set up the:
Please note: The first (1st) month the participant receives their first CJ paycheck(s), the CJ paycheck(s) is disregarded for WorkFirst/SFA. Example: participant begins working at CJ worksite on 9/16/2013 and receives first (1st) paycheck(s) on 10/10/2013 and 10/25/2013. The income is disregarded for the month of October. The start date the worker will enter for the month of October is 10/1/13.
In the ongoing month (the month the participant will receive their first {1st} CJ paycheck), the start date is the first of the month the participant receives the check. The worker must make sure to properly code the income and the hours in the ongoing months.
To capture the historical CJ hours, after the ongoing month is updated, the worker will go into a minimum of two (2) historical months (unless the participant was placed on the job site less than two {2} months ago). The worker will update the ACES EARN screen using:
ACES will generate an alert #413 in the second (2nd) and fifth (5th) months of participation to notify the user that a review is due. An alert (#414) is generated in the beginning of the ninth (9th) month of CJ participation. Confirm when the CJ job will actually end in the ninth (9th) month and enter that date in the end date field, removing the income.
If a participant starts on the CJ worksite and a situation arises that requires them to be temporarily removed from the CJ Program, a case staffing should be held with the WF partners.
Reasons for a temporary hold could include:
The CJ contractor will refer the participant back to DSHS and create a hold in the IDP. Once the hold issue has been resolved, the participant should resume their CJ Program.
Participants will be placed in a work activity no later than 10 business days of first contact. Initial activities can include workplace training and orientation directly related to the worksite. Examples of the training may include safety, workplace competencies, customer service, basic computer skills, work specific skills, etc. Worksite placements will support the participant’s career goal.
Contractors will establish worksites and ongoing worksite management to include:
Worksite supervisors are required to provide an employee evaluation for every participant on a monthly basis. Contractors will report information from the evaluations on monthly participation and progression updates via eJAS.
Worksites will be supervised on a daily basis. The worksite supervisor must maintain daily attendance records. If a participant does not show up for work, the absence must be reported immediately to the contractor.
Worksite supervisors will submit attendance records every two weeks to the contractor. Contractors will report attendance issues using the "Immed" column on the Contractor Caseload Screen:
After two absences (regardless of whether they are excused or unexcused) in one calendar month, the WorkFirst partner/provider will:
This allows the participant to remain in the activity while the service provider, case manager and participant have an opportunity to discuss whether participation in this activity is appropriate.
If it is decided that the activity is not appropriate for the participant, the WorkFirst partner/provider will refer the participant back to DSHS.
One month prior to the end of the program (eighth {8th} or second {2nd}) the contractor will include their suggestions for next steps at completion of the program. This will provide the Case Manager information when they meet with the participant, resulting in a smooth transition between programs with minimal interruption in participation.
Full-time Community Jobs Program
When the CJ Contractor decides a participant is within four (4) weeks of being job ready and would benefit from ESD jobs search, the participant's CJ component can be stacked with a part time job search component coded to ESD, providing it does not interrupt or conflict with the participant's completion of other stacked activities. If the scheduled end date of the CJ component is more than four (4) weeks away, the CJ component will be backed down to end in four (4) weeks from the referral to part time job search. The participant will be transitioned to full time job search at the end of the four (4) week CJ-JS period.
This will also assist in transitioning participants to full-time Career Scope (JS) activities who complete the full nine (9) month CJ program without finding unsubsidized employment.
If during the fourth 4th week of part-time job search it does not appear the participant is ready to accept employment, a CAP can be done to identify a different activity or to continue in Community Jobs.
The Contractor will:
At the end of the four (4) weeks of part-time job search, the participant will transition to full time job search if they have not obtained unsubsidized employment.
The Case Manager will:
Note: Before the Hold Process begins, a CAP must be conducted with the Contractor, the Case Manager and the participant. The below steps apply to the Hold Process when it is planned to last longer than one (1) week. If the participant is being placed on a short-term hold that is one (1) week or less, the Case Manager will decide if the participant should be referred back. If there is agreement that the components should not be referred back, the Case Manager will enter a case note to document this agreement.
Note: WF attendance requirements apply.
Revised: September 20, 2021
Legal References:
The Community Works section includes:
The Department of Commerce contracts with local community-based organizations to provide and manage the Community Works Program for WorkFirst participants.
Participants in an education pathway can be referred to the Community Works Program to coordinate a worksite with a Commerce contracted case manager who designs and manages the work requirement. When the participant is enrolled in an education pathway targeted at a specific career outcome, the worksite will be designed to provide entry level experience in that field. For participants in a more generic education pathway, worksites will be identified based on the individual's identified career goals. Worksites will be co-located on campus when possible. Participants are placed on a worksite and supervised by a Worksite Supervisor who provides daily supervision and work training for a minimum of one (1) month to a maximum of twelve (12) months.
The Community Works Program is an unpaid, long term, work experience program that is structured to provide a core work activity for WorkFirst participants that count towards federal participation and builds work ethics, soft skills and work skills. When a participant is enrolled in an educational pathway, the work experience program is structured to provide core activity that will assist the participant obtain the specific skills, training, knowledge and experience necessary to obtain employment in their chosen career field.
The Community Works Program establishes a nonprofit, tribal or government agency worksite for the participant to obtain the specific skills, training, knowledge and experience necessary to obtain employment in the participant's chosen career field. Placement into the Community Works Program must take into account the participant's education and personal employment goals to determine an appropriate worksite.
Community Works counts towards federal participation and is intended to provide employment experience that supports a participant’s personal employment goals and educational pathway if applicable. See the FLSA/Deeming and Stacking Activities sections for more information about how we use participation in the Community Works Program to meet participation requirements. See WFHB 1.2.3 for additional information about adding an additional three hours (preferably core activity hours) in the parent’s IRP when possible. Don’t exceed the FLSA maximum hours for unpaid work activities. You can substitute non-core hours for core hours as needed to stay within the FLSA maximum.
Participants who meet at least one of the following will enroll in their work activity for a minimum of one (1) month to a maximum of twelve (12) months:
Employed less than 32 hours per week;
Participating in other activities, but need additional hours to meet WorkFirst participation requirements;
Transitioning between activities;
Need a beginning level of activity for very hard to serve families whose participation capabilities are limited;
Need additional support for re-training or additional experience to be competitive in the labor market;
Have the ability to participate at least five hours per week in Community Works;
Need an activity to cure a Non-Compliance Sanction; or
Engaged in an education pathway; and:
Would benefit from a work experience to enhance their educational plan.
Example: Mary is enrolled in a Business Technology Program to become an office assistant. She is coded for 27 hours per week. A work experience in an office setting would enhance Mary’s employability and would build upon her interest in the field. Her FLSA maximum allows her to work in an unpaid position for up to 28 hours per week. To create a full time program that supports Mary’s educational pathway, she may participate in the Community Works activity for a minimum of 5 hours per week to bring her participation hours up to full time participation of 32 per week.
Example: Steve lacks his high school equivalency. This is his only identified barrier to employment. After Steve obtains his high school equivalency, he plans to go to work in the food service industry. He can be referred to the Community Works Program for a core activity. His stacked non-core activity can then be high school equivalency at the community college.
Example: Erika is in a 20-hour per week vocational training program, and her Work Study ended. She may participate in the Community Works Program as the core activity to provide her with additional work skills in the field she is studying.
The WorkFirst Program Specialist/Social Service Specialist (WFPS/WFSSS):
Codes the other activity in eJAS for the participant
Codes WC component with the Commerce contractor code
Determines the number of hours (five hours or more) that a participant can be required to participate in a work activity per week. This information must be included in the referral.
Enters the scheduled end date (Note: End date needs to align with educational pathway component’s scheduled end date, if applicable.)
Community Works worksites must be coordinated with public or nonprofit organizations and provide job training in the participant’s chosen career field.
Participants are expected to make first contact with the contractor within five (5) business days of the referral with a childcare and transportation plan. Contractors will attempt to contact participants by telephone, email if available, or direct face-to-face meeting if the contractor is on-site at the time of referral. First contact is defined as an actual face-to-face meeting between the contractor and the participant.
If first contact is not made within five (5) business days then the contractor rejects the referral on the 6th business day.
Contractors meet with the participant to review the their education IRP and any stacked activities to determine the appropriate work activity and worksite.
Contractors provide program orientation to participants regarding program policies and participation expectations.
Participants will be placed in a work activity no later than 10 business days of first contact. Initial activities can include workplace training and orientation directly related to the worksite. Examples of the training may include safety, workplace competencies, customer service, basic computer skills, work specific skills, etc. Worksites will be co-located on campus whenever possible.
Contractors will establish worksites and ongoing worksite management to include:
The contractor works with the participant to develop a Community Works Plan and sign a worksite agreement. The host worksite administrator and the contractor must sign a worksite agreement. A copy of the signed worksite agreement must be on file with the contracting agency.
Work assignments must have a position description that clearly details the work schedule, specific job duties, transferable skills being obtained, and contact information. The worksite supervisor and the participant must sign the position description. Copies of the signed agreement must be provided to the participant, the worksite supervisor and maintained in the participant's file.
Information regarding the participants work schedule, duties and skills will be entered into the Community Works Plan in eJAS. Participants are required to sign their initial Community Works Plan that is developed with their Commerce contractor. Whenever their program expectations or requirements change, the Commerce contractor updates the plan. Anytime an update is made to the plan regarding a change in the program expectations or requirements, the Commerce contractor either has the participant sign the most updated plan, or they get verbal approval from the participant.
If verbal approval is received, the contractor enters an eJAS case note under the ‘Participation’ note type. The eJAS ‘Participation’ case note documents the specific program expectation or requirement that changed as well as the date the participant verbally agreed to the plan. A copy of the verbally agreed upon plan is sent to the participant by the Commerce contractor, which is also noted in the case note.
If the participant is present to sign the updated Community Works Plan, the Commerce contractor provides a copy of the signed plan to the participant and maintain a copy in their files.
The Community Works Plan can be updated by the Contractor; WFPS/WFSSSs have access to view the Community Works Plan by opening it from the link on the participant's main screen in eJAS.
Note: If the participant is involved with the ACP (Address Confidentiality Program), do not enter the worksite information. The Contractor enters "ACP" instead of the actual worksite name.
Worksite supervisors are required to provide an employee evaluation for every participant on a monthly basis. Contractors report information from the evaluations on monthly participation and progression updates via eJAS.
Worksites must be supervised on a daily basis. The worksite supervisor must maintain daily attendance records. If a participant does not show up for work, the absence must be reported immediately to the contractor.
If a participant starts on the Community Works worksite and a situation arises that requires them to be temporarily removed from the Community Works Program, a case staffing should be held with the WF partners.
Once the hold issue has been resolved, the participant should resume their Community Works Program.
Worksite supervisors submit attendance records to the contractor every two weeks. The contractor enters the attendance records in the actual hours reporting screens in eJAS (see Monitoring Participation chapter). Contractors report attendance issues using the "Immed" column on the Contractor Caseload Screen:
After two absences (regardless of whether they are excused or unexcused) in one calendar month, the WorkFirst partner/provider :
Sends an immediate notification to the DSHS case manager and documents whether the absences are excused and if DSHS case manager action is needed;
Keeps the activity open; and
If appropriate, contacts the participant and case manager as part of the Continuous Activity Planning (CAP) process to discuss next steps, including if it is appropriate to refer the client back and close the activity.
This allows the participant to remain in the activity while the service provider, case manager and participant have an opportunity to discuss whether participation in this activity is appropriate.
If it is decided that the activity is not appropriate for the participant, the WorkFirst partner/provider refers the participant back to DSHS.
Contractors shall report the monthly participation and progression status of each participant using eJAS between the 1st and the 10th of the following month on the previous months' activities.
Monthly participation reports include attendance documentation in the actual hours reporting screens in eJAS
Monthly progression reports are entered in the Community Works Plan that include documentation of:
worksite supervisor monthly evaluations
skills progression
interaction with the worksite supervisor
One month prior to the end of the program and/or in the exit narrative the contractor documents recommendations for next steps upon completion of the program. This provides the WFPS/WFSSS information when they meet with the participant, resulting in a smooth transition between programs with minimal interruption in participation.
Contractors may provide support services related to work activities. Prior to authorizing support services, contractors will review the eJAS Payment History to ensure the guidelines for the category have not been exceeded.
Anytime a participant is no longer enrolled the contractor :
Closes the Community Works Plan in eJAS;
Enters the date and selects the "reason" code on the Contractor Caseload Screen to electronically refer the participant back to DSHS;
Enters a case note documenting the reason the participant is leaving the program as well as their suggestions for next steps for the participant; and
If a participant leaves the program due to unsubsidized employment, the contractor creates the unsubsidized employment screen in eJAS.
Electronically refers the participant back to DSHS by entering the date and selecting the "Issue Resolution" reason code.
Completes the Hold section of the Community Works Plan.
The WFPS/WFSSS:
Closes the WC component and the contractor code by entering the actual end dates in the Actual End field in the Component/Contractor/IRP Update screen (if applicable).
Refers to appropriate activity and component while in Hold status (If applicable)
(WFPS) Reinstates his/her WorkFirst grant (if applicable).
Upon agreement with the WF Partners to return them to the Community Works Program, the WFPS/WFSSS:
Closes the active Hold component (if applicable)
Repeats Steps 1 and 3 above to create WC component referral.
Upon receipt of the Community Works referral, the Contractor:
Repeats Steps 2 and 4 to accept the participant back into the Community Works Program.
Completes the Hold section in the Community Works plan.
Re-evaluates current Community Works plan and update.
Connects the participant back to a worksite.
Follow steps 6 through 8 above once the participant re-engages from the Hold.
Legal References:
The Voluntary & Court Ordered Community Service Section includes:
Voluntary community service is an opportunity for participants to volunteer in activities with their child’s licensed child care, preschool, elementary school, Head Start, and ECEAP.This gives participants an opportunity to build their employment and parenting skills while spending time with their young children. This activity is only authorized for licensed child cares and preschools.
The WFPS/WFSSS doesn’t develop voluntary community sites. Participants will work with their child’s licensed child care, licensed preschool or elementary school to set these up and lets their WFPS/WFSSS know the site and their volunteer hours. We then follow the process below to make needed arrangements to support the activity.
Give participants who are interested in pursuing voluntary community service the informational flyer called WorkFirst Parent Volunteers. It will give them basic information about where they can volunteer, how to find a volunteer job and what they might be doing in their volunteer job. It will also ask them to contact you once they have a volunteer job to provide their schedule and to make arrangements to verify their hours.
A poster, called Looking for WorkFirst Parent Volunteers, is also available for providers and CSOs to make participants aware of voluntary community service. Providers who are promoting the activity will also have access to the WorkFirst Parent Volunteers flyer.
Commerce may stack community service activities with a Community Jobs placement using their own processes to monitor participation and pay L&I premiums. (See WFHB 8.3.5)
The WFPS/WFSSS may authorize voluntary or court ordered community service. Use the “VS” eJAS component for self-initiated voluntary community service and “XS” for court-ordered community service.
Community Service can be used in a variety of ways to help a participant meet participation requirements. Staff may only approve voluntary and court-ordered community service. We don’t establish community service opportunities at other types of sites, such as food banks or state agencies. See the Stacking Activities section for more information about how we use participation in Community Service activities to meet participation requirements.
The WFPS/WFSSS may authorize voluntary or court ordered community service activities when the participant:
Staff must determine how many hours per week the parent can do community service activities. See the FLSA/Deeming section for more information on how to calculate the number of hours we can require in Community Services activities. The court sets hourly requirements for court-ordered community service.
Staff must also ensure the voluntary community service is supervised and make arrangements to verify the actual hours of participation. The WFPS/WFSSS follows the non-contracted service documentation process in WFHB 3.7.2.6 including use of the WorkFirst Participation Verification form. The WFPS/WFSSS must ensure the parent is covered by industrial insurance (also known as worker’s compensation or L&I). If this coverage is not provided by the site, follow the instructions in section WFHB 8.6.5 to authorize the industrial insurance payments.
If the volunteer site is not paying the parent’s required L&I premiums, the WFPS/WFSSS:
8.5.6 Community Service-Step by Step guide