Tegl

CLASSIFICATION
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION
ADVISORY SYSTEM
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Washington, D.C. 20210

Wagner-Peyser/WIA/VETS
CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL

OWI/OPDR
DATE

October 5, 2012

ADVISORY:

TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 8-12

TO:

STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
STATE WORKFORCE ADMINISTRATORS
STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
STATE AND LOCAL WORKFORCE BOARD CHAIRS AND DIRECTORS
STATE LABOR COMMISSIONERS
AMERICAN JOB CENTERS
EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION REGION
ADMINISTRATORS
WOMEN’S BUREAU REGIONAL ADMINISTRATORS
SUB-RECIPIENTS OF DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FUNDS

FROM:

JANE OATES /s/
Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:

Summary of the Roles and Responsibilities of the Public Workforce System in
Tracking, Offering Employment Services, and Reporting Outcomes of Veterans
Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP) Participants.

1. Purpose. To inform the public workforce system about the required process for outreaching
to and tracking outcomes of VRAP participants. This includes how the Department of Labor
(DOL) will make available VRAP participant information to the public workforce system
and procedures for American Job Center (formerly One-Stop Career Center) staff to offer
VRAP participants employment assistance upon program completion or termination as
required by the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. This guidance also provides reporting
specifications for reporting public workforce system outreach activities and the employment
outcomes of VRAP participants.
2. References.
• Section 211 of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (“VOW Act,” Title II of Pub. L.
112-56);
• Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 37-11, Notification of Available
Funding to Implement Veterans-Related Reporting Requirements in the Labor Exchange
Reporting System (LERS); and

RESCISSIONS

None

EXPIRATION DATE

Continuing

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•

Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 43-11 and Veterans’ Program Letter (VPL) 0712, Overview of the Veterans Retraining Assistance Program (VRAP), section 211 of the
VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011.
TEGL 7-12, Implementing the Veterans-Related and Other Reporting Change
Requirements in the Labor Exchange Reporting System (LERS)

3. Background. On November 21, 2011, President Obama signed the VOW Act (Title II of
Pub. L. 112-56) into law, which established VRAP. Under the VRAP, the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA), in cooperation with DOL, pays up to 12 months of retraining
assistance to unemployed, eligible veterans aged 35 to 60 who participate in training
programs for “high demand 1” occupations. Eligibility is jointly determined by DOL and VA.
The “high demand” occupations list is a national list, as determined by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics and ETA.
VRAP may accept applications to enroll up to 45,000 veterans in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012,
from July 1, 2012 through September 30, 2012, and up to 54,000 veterans from October 1,
2012 through October 1, 2013, with training concluding by March 31, 2014.
In order to qualify for retraining assistance, a veteran must satisfy the following eligibility
criteria:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Be at least 35 but not more than 60 years old, at the time of application;
Be unemployed on the date of application;
Not enrolled in any Federal or state job training program at any time during the
previous 180-day period as of the application date;
In receipt of an other than dishonorable discharge from the last period of active duty
service in the armed forces;
Not eligible for any other VA educational assistance;
Not in receipt of VA compensation for a service-connected disability rated totally
disabling by reason of unemployability; and
Submit an application no later than October 1, 2013.

Acceptance of applications began on May 15, 2012, and will continue through October 1,
2013. The application is a joint VA/DOL electronic application which can be accessed from
the VOW to Hire Heroes Act Web site (http://benefits.va.gov/vow). DOL and VA are each
responsible for determining eligibility based on specific criteria. Veterans apply for the
program by signing into their VA Veterans Online Application 2 (VONAPP) or by registering
for a new account. Once the participant has selected the VRAP application they will first
answer questions pertaining to DOL’s eligibility requirements: age, unemployment status,
and previous enrollment in a Federal or state job-training program in the past 180 days. The
veteran then affirms that the statements he or she made are true and correct. After the
veteran submits this information, he or she will be determined by the applicant’s selfattestation to be initially eligible or ineligible for the program per DOL’s requirements. If
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2

A list of “high demand” occupations is available at: http://benefits.va.gov/vow/docs/VRAP_High_Demand.pdf
Link to VONAPP: http://www.gibill.va.gov/apply-for-benefits/application/

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determined ineligible, the veteran will receive a system generated letter (on the screen and
printable) explaining the reason for his or her ineligibility and informing them of their rights
to appeal. The letter also refers the veteran to their nearest American Job Center by calling
1-877-US2-JOBS (1-877-872-5627) toll free, or by going to the America’s Service Locator
Web site (www.servicelocator.org). A veteran can apply for the program again if he or she
believes they answered a question incorrectly or their circumstances that resulted in
ineligibility change.
If the veteran is determined initially eligible under DOL requirements, he or she will
continue the application so that VA can conduct its eligibility determination. VA will
determine eligibility by ensuring the applicant: received an other than dishonorable discharge
from the last period of active duty service in the armed forces; is not eligible for any other
VA educational assistance; and, is not in receipt of VA compensation for a service-connected
disability rated totally disabling by reason of unemployability. The veteran will also indicate
the “high demand” occupation in which they are applying for training. As part of the VA
application process, the veteran will need to have bank routing and account information in
order to complete the application. If the veteran is determined eligible based on the
information submitted, he or she will receive a system generated letter in the mail informing
them of the next steps to utilize the benefit. If determined ineligible by DOL, the applicant
will receive a system generated notification letter on the screen, which provides information
on how to appeal the decision. If determined ineligible by VA, the applicant will receive an
individualized letter indicating the specific reasons for denial and appeal rights. Veterans
with questions regarding the status of their application may send an electronic inquiry on the
VA Web site, (http://www.gibill.va.gov) or contact the VA Education Call Center at 1-888GIBILL-1 (1-888-442-4551).
After being determined eligible by DOL and the VA, the veteran is able to receive a VRAP
stipend from VA for up to 12 months for participating in a full-time training program for a
“high demand” occupation offered by a community college or technical school. Once the
application is approved by DOL and the VA, the training can begin. The veteran will need to
enroll in the training program. The school certifying official must verify each veteran’s
enrollment by providing an enrollment certification form to VA. The veteran will then
receive a monthly educational assistance stipend paid directly to the student (currently
$1,473 per month). The training program must lead to an associate degree or a certificate (or
other similar evidence of the completion of the program of education or training) leading to a
“high demand” occupation. Please note: If an applicant is approved after the FY 12 limit of
45,000 approved applicants is reached, then benefits will begin October 1, 2012. Additional
guidance on the coordination of DOL funded training programs with the VRAP will be
provided subsequent to this TEGL.
4. Providing Participant Contact Information to the States and Local Areas. American Job
Center staff are responsible for providing outreach to offer employment services to VRAP
participants within 30 days of the participants completing or terminating training. In order to
facilitate the provision of employment services to VRAP participants, DOL will regularly
receive a data file from the VA with participant information. DOL will sort and compile
appropriate data for each state and will disseminate to states a participant data file on a
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weekly basis for those participants that completed or terminated training. For purposes of
this TEGL, the word “states” includes the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. This information will be provided in an Excel
spreadsheet for each state and will be disseminated via a federally maintained secure File
Transfer Protocol (sFTP). Each state will be responsible for retrieving their file from the
sFTP site and disseminating the information to the appropriate individuals to ensure that
outreach will be offered by local American Job Center staff as quickly as possible. Each
state will have to use sFTP client software to access the participant data file. States may use
any existing sFTP software they have, or acquire any sFTP software of their choosing. A
brief tutorial outlining one of the ways to obtain and use sFTP software is available in
Attachment A.
The participant data file that will be disseminated via the sFTP will include the below listed
data elements. A sample of the participant data file and explanation of the data elements is
also available in Attachment B:
• Zip Code
• Name
• Name of Facility
• Date of Birth
• Course Name
• Email Address
• Objective Name
• Phone Number
• DOL-assigned unique identifier
• High Demand Occupation
Selected
• Employment Assistance
• Address
• State
Each state file will be password-protected and encrypted so that each state may ONLY
view/extract its own file. The usernames and passwords for each state will be distributed
separately to the state designated contacts by DOL. Once a file is received by a state, it
should then be distributed securely among the American Job Centers where appropriate.
While the actual method of dissemination of this file is within state discretion, one
recommendation is to use the zip code of residence to cross-match the participant to the
closest American Job Center. The assigned Center would then be responsible for contacting
the participant.
Because these data files contain personally identifiable information (PII) of program
participants, states should follow all applicable state and Federal laws concerning the storage,
handling, access and transmissions of PII as well as the applicable guidance set forth by DOL
and VA.
5. Offering Employment Assistance. Once an American Job Center receives a VRAP file, the
Center manager should assign participants to staff as appropriate per the roles and
responsibilities for each staff person. Assigned staff should attempt to provide outreach to
each participant assigned. An outreach attempt is considered any of the following: physical
letter sent to participant, phone call to participant or email sent to participant. If contact to
the veteran is made, staff should encourage the applicant to visit the American Job Center so
that staff can provide employment services to the veteran and register him or her into the
state’s Wagner-Peyser system. In instances where the initial outreach attempt is not
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successful, a minimum of two additional attempts should be made within the 30-day period
after the VRAP participant completed or terminated training; after the third failed attempt, no
further outreach is required.
The above described outreach attempts will result in one of the following scenarios and
responses:
1. Contact made, participant looking for a job/requests further assistance: All
attempts should be made to persuade the veteran to come into the American Job
Center, or to sign-up for Wagner-Peyser services virtually. This will not only
allow for staff to serve and track the participant, but it will also greatly aid in
tracking performance outcomes;
2. Contact made, participant already found employment: In this scenario, the
participant may not want/need additional services as he or she has already found
employment. However, since this individual will not be a new registrant in the
Wagner-Peyser program this outcome will not be counted for workforce system
performance purposes, but it will need to be tracked for documenting outreach
and reporting for VRAP;
3. Contact made, participant is not seeking further assistance: If a participant is not
willing to participate in additional follow-up services or refuses to register for
Wagner-Peyser services over the phone, then this outcome will not count for
performance purposes but will need to be tracked for documenting outreach and
reporting for VRAP;
4. Contact cannot be made: After 3 unsuccessful attempts to contact the veteran
within the specified 30 day timeframe, the veteran will be deemed “nonresponsive.” The individual will be excluded for performance purposes but
documentation of outreach to the veteran will need to be tracked.
6. Reporting VRAP Outcomes. DOL and VA are required to report no later than July 1, 2014,
on the performance of the VRAP. This report must include: total VRAP participants, number
who earned a credential (associates degree, certificate, other credential), and “data related to
the employment status” of participants. In order to report on the employment status as
required in the VOW Act, DOL is seeking to leverage the Wagner-Peyser program and
LERS. DOL will use the current employment measures of Entered Employment Rate (EER),
Employment Retention Rate (ERR), and Median Earnings to satisfy the reporting
requirement for employment status.
Changes to the LERS reporting (outlined in TEGL 7-12) approved by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) on August 7, 2012, requires states to modify their reporting
systems to include a “Special Program Identifier” field in the individual record layout. In
order to track the outcomes specific to VRAP participants, DOL is requiring the code
“VRAP” be used in the Special Program Identifier to flag the individual as a VRAP
participant. States would then be able to query their systems to provide the outcomes for
those VRAP participants registered in Wagner-Peyser. Additionally, if a VRAP participant
is placed into a program funded by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), these individuals
should also be flagged by using the code “VRAP” under the ‘Third NEG Project ID/Special
Project ID’ field in the state’s Workforce Investment Act Standard Record Data file.

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In order to register as many VRAP participants into the LERS reporting system as possible
DOL is recommending the assigned case managers take the following steps for reporting:
•
Once the case manager is assigned by the Center Manager, the case manager will
receive his or her file on VRAP participants and should first query the existing
reporting system to see if the participant has already been registered in WagnerPeyser or WIA. Using the participant’s name, date of birth, address, state, zip
code, phone number, and email provided in the file the case manager should be
able to discern if the participant has been registered in Wagner-Peyser or WIA
previously. If the manager can find the participant and can reasonably conclude
the person is the same as the one already registered (there will not be a Social
Security Number provided in the file to compare with the state’s records), then the
case manager should flag the individual in the management information system
with the Special Projects field as “VRAP.” After the participant has been flagged
as a VRAP participant, the case manager should then provide the outreach and
employment assistance as outlined in section 5 of this document.
•
If the participant has not already been registered into Wagner-Peyser or WIA,
then the case manager should provide the outreach and employment assistance as
outlined in section 5 of this document and attempt to have them come to the
American Job Center and register for Wagner-Peyser when they are provided
employment services. If the individual comes to the Center for services the case
manager should flag the participant as a VRAP participant in the Special Projects
field as “VRAP.”
•
If the participant is contacted and does not come in to register for Wagner-Peyser
or WIA, then the case manager will use the “Employment Assistance” column in
the file they receive from DOL and the state to track what the outcome of the
contact was:
o The case manager should put a “1” in the “Employment Assistance”
column if the individual was contacted and did not need employment
assistance because they already had a job
o The case manager should put a “2” in the “Employment Assistance”
column if the individual was contacted and does not come in to receive
employment assistance for any other reason
o The case manager should put a “3” in the “Employment Assistance”
column if the individual was non-responsive to the offering of
employment assistance
o The case manager should put a “4” in the “Employment Assistance”
column if the individual was either already registered in the state WagnerPeyser program, or the case manager was able to register the individual
after VRAP training completed.
Each state should collect this information from the American Job Center on a quarterly basis,
so the state can share the file documenting the outreach efforts with DOL. ETA is requesting
an Information Collection Request (ICR)from OMB to require reports containing this data
from the states. Please note that OMB has yet to approve this request; until OMB approval is
granted, the data is not required to be submitted to ETA. However, ETA strongly

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recommends the states begin collecting the data, as they will be required to submit the reports
to ETA when OMB approves the ICR. States will use the FTP site they use to receive their
VRAP files to also save the file on participant outreach to DOL. States will only need to
include the “DOL-assigned unique identifier” and the “Employment Assistance” fields in the
report they send to DOL (Attachment C). States will be required to save these files to the
FTP site on a quarterly basis so DOL can provide timely updates to Congress on outreach
efforts for providing employment assistance. DOL may also require states to send reports
from LERS that include the performance outcomes of those participants in VRAP registered
in Wagner-Peyser or WIA; future guidance will address this.
7. Action Requested. States should disseminate this guidance to personnel responsible for
reporting on Wagner-Peyser Act and WIA programs. States should also ensure local areas
receive this guidance so that case managers can familiarize themselves with the outreach and
reporting requirements for VRAP. States should immediately ensure they have sFTP
software currently, and if not, to access the free software linked in this TEGL or other sFTP
software. States should ensure they have established methods to disseminate participant data
to local areas on a regular basis and receive reports to send back to DOL.
8. Inquiries. Please direct questions regarding this notice and instructions to the appropriate
regional office.
9. Attachments.
A. Guide to obtaining free FTP software
B. Sample VRAP Participant Report
C. Sample Proposed Quarterly State Outreach Report

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