Program and Accountability Requirements

This notice and the additional requirements provide guidance on program and accountability requirements of the California Department of Education (CDE) Adult Education Office (AEO) for the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA grantees for Program Year 2020–21. Failure to comply with any of the program requirements or submissions will be cause for withholding of the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA grant reimbursements until requirements and submissions are met.

Local Administrative Costs

According to the Local Administrative Costs Limits Section 233 of WIOA and 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 463.25, of the amount that is made available under this title to an eligible provider:

1. not less than 95 percent shall be expended for carrying out adult education and literacy activities; and
2. the remaining amount, not to exceed 5 percent, shall be used for planning administration, professional development, and the activities described in paragraphs (3) and (5) of Section 232.

Special Rule: In cases where the cost limits described in subsection (a) are too restrictive to allow for the activities described in subsection (a)(2), the eligible provider shall negotiate with the CDE in order to determine an adequate level of funds to be used for non-instructional purposes.

New: The cost of professional development must be taken from local administrative costs and not instructional costs per Section 233(2) of WIOA; 34 CFR Section 463.26.

Monthly Attendance Requirement

All funded programs must update attendance at least once a month per Section 233(2) of WIOA; 34 CFR Section 463.165.

Program Fees

No fees of any kind may be collected from students for participation in the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA programs. Refer to the CDE Management Bulletin AEFLA–2018–01.

Grant Reimbursement

A quarterly electronic submission of the Expenditure Claims Report (ECR) is required for grant reimbursements. Non-federal monetary expenditures and in-kind contributions must also be reported quarterly on the ECR. Additionally, workforce training activities and one-stop infrastructure costs are to be tracked and must be reported on the final ECR. The ECR and additional instructions may be accessed on the reporting website, California Adult Education Online Application and Reporting (login required). Select “WIOA” for all fiscal related activities including payment status.

Local Assessment Policy

All WIOA, Title II: AEFLA funded agencies must update their Local Assessment Policy annually, effective the beginning of each program year, and must retain a copy on site for review by the CDE upon request. Funded agencies may access the Local Assessment Policy template at the CDE AEO Resources web page for more details.

Memorandum of Understanding with the Local Workforce Development Board

All funded local agencies must satisfy the requirements of 34 CFR 361.505 and 34 CFR 361.720. Agencies may enter into either an umbrella Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Local Workforce Development Board or a separate MOU with their local America’s Job Center of California (AJCC). WIOA, Title II: AEFLA agencies will support, from the federal funds reserved for local administration, an amount not to exceed 5 percent of the grant award. The proportionate share of local infrastructure costs are based on proportionate use of the AJCC and the relative benefits received by the grant. Additionally, local federal administrative costs may include reportable non-federal resources that are cash, in-kind, or third-party contributions.

Co-Enrollment in Workforce Training

All adult learners enrolled in workforce training that leads to an industry (federal or state) recognized credential must be reported in TOPSpro® Enterprise (TE).

For the California WIOA, Title II: AEFLA program, industry-recognized training credentials include, but are not limited to:

• Locally approved certificates eligible for inclusion on the Employment Training Provider List;
• Career Development and College Preparation Career and Technical Education certificates with more than 48 contact hours;
• Certificates that meet the minimum threshold for inclusion under the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act or;
• Certificates that meet the threshold for Title IV Federal Student Aid.

Note: Please contact the CDE AEO for further information about credentials not listed above.

Employment and Earnings Follow-up Survey

All WIOA, Title II: AEFLA funded agencies are required to survey quarterly adult learners for whom a social security number is not available for data matching. All adult learners who exit the program during the program year are required to be surveyed the second and fourth quarters after exit to determine their employment outcome. For further information regarding the follow-up survey, please see detailed instructions at the Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) California Accountability and Assessment web page or contact CASAS by phone at 1-800-255-1036 or by email at capm@casas.org.

WIOA, Title II: AEFLA Agency-Level Continuous Improvement Plan

All WIOA, Title II: AEFLA funded agencies are required to complete the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA Continuous Improvement Plan. The annual plan consists of the following sections: Technology and Distance Learning, Professional Development, WIOA Program Implementation, and Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education. A link to access this requirement will be provided at a later date.

Data Accountability Requirements

The CDE requires all WIOA, Title II: AEFLA grantees to use the TE computerized database system to collect and report adult learner demographics and program information. In addition, the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA funded agencies are required to comply with the National Reporting System (NRS) for Adult Education requirements. Specifically, all agencies in California must:

• Track adult learner progress through the administration of the CASAS tests
• Record instructional hours in TE at least once a month, either through a CASAS Update Record, by importing from a third party attendance system, or directly adding hours into the TE attendance module
• Submit summary reports to document all adult learner progress

The CDE AEO has contracted with CASAS to offer online and face-to-face trainings to meet the NRS accountability requirements, administer approved assessments, and use TE software. The TE software, student record forms, test booklets, and CASAS eTests® are available at no cost to the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA grantees.
Additional details on data and accountability requirements for California are available at the CASAS California Adult Education Accountability and Assessment web page .

Data Privacy

Pursuant to Unemployment Insurance Code Section 14013, the CDE requests that the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA service providers ask individuals receiving services to voluntarily provide their social security number and written consent for the disclosure of their personal information, using the Voluntary Authorization to Share Personally Identifiable Information and Records Form (DOCX). Translations of this form are available at the Clearinghouse for Multilingual Documents (CMD).

The decision to provide a social security number is voluntary. A decision to not volunteer the social security number must not affect any individual’s eligibility to receive or participate in adult education services. For more details about data privacy, refer to the CDE Management Bulletin AEFLA 2017–01.

Data Accountability Training

All the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA funded agencies are required to have at least one person on staff complete one California Accountability training and one CASAS Implementation training by January 31, 2021. The CDE strongly encourages local agencies to adopt a team approach for trainings and continuous improvement in managing student data outcomes. Positive student learning outcomes drive future grant funding in California’s pay-for-performance system. More details regarding training sessions are available at California Adult Education Professional Development .

Deliverable Status and Resources

Email reminders are sent to agencies using the local contact information provided by agencies. Add or update your agency information on the reporting website,California Adult Education Online Application and Reporting (login required), select “Agency Contacts”. Local agencies may also view the submission status of all deliverables and obtain electronic copies of previously submitted deliverables by selecting “WIOA”. The “Resources” link includes instructions, trainings, and videos on a variety of content. This page will continue to be updated as resources are created to reflect the newly updated website or added throughout the program year. Notify your fiscal analyst regarding incorrect status or submittal dates.

Technical Assistance Contacts

For more information about TE software, data entry, assessment tests, material ordering guides, or technical assistance on assessment and data accountability, please contact the CASAS California Accountability Training Manager by phone at 1-800-255-1036, or by email at capm@casas.org.

For technical assistance about the Technology and Distance Learning, please contact the Outreach and Technical Assistance Network by phone at 916-228-2580 or by email at adultedsupport@otan.us.

For technical assistance about the Professional Development, please contact the California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project by phone at 1-800-427-1422, or by email at calpro@air.org.

If you have any questions regarding the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA program, please contact your respective CDE Regional Consultant or the AEO by phone at 916-322-2175.

If you have any questions regarding payments, award notifications or issues with an ECR, please contact your respective CDE Fiscal Analyst or the AEO by phone at 916-322-2175.

Additional contact information, including a staff directory is located in the “Help and About” section of the reporting website, California Adult Education Online Application and Reporting (login required).

Additional Requirements

Data Training, Collection, and Reporting

Grant Deliverable Due Dates for 2020–21

Coalition Data and Document Submission