Questions and Answers from Webinars on 6/18/08 and 6/19/08
| Q1. | How soon will the Ability Profiler be in Job Zone? |
| A. | The Ability profiler has been added to JobZone development site. We will be testing the system with the assistance of current paper and pencil administrators to correct any glitches before making it publicly available. We hope to have this and other enhancements to the site available in the Fall. |
| Q2. | Do you feel that less than 1000 occupation titles in Job Zone will be a problem? |
| A. | We do not anticipate this being a problem. The titles in JobZone are “occupational units” that correspond to multiple occupations in the real world. Additionally these titles are cross-walked to a “lay title file” containing over 40,000 titles in common usage. |
| Q3. | What happens when we tell the claimant that they don't have the knowledge, skills or abilities for the occupation they want, but they disagree? |
| A. | In many cases this determination will not be that cut and dried, nor will it be unilateral. You should be working with the customer to review their occupational goal and qualifications. In cases where a case can be made for either determination, the customer should be given the opportunity to demonstrate their qualification (e.g., documented work history, educational certification, and objective assessment) and if appropriate and applicable remediate minor shortfalls through training. To more accurately gauge a customers knowledge skills and abilities (KSA) use an objective assessment tool, like Prove IT, Work Keys or Metrix Learning, where the customers does not self attest to KSAs. |
| Q4. | If I am working with someone with an IEP, do they get special consideration when doing on line or paper assessments? |
| A. | This needs to be a case by case determination by local staff. However, JobZone is Bobby approved and Section 508 compliant for use with adaptive technology such as screen readers. |
| Q5. | In Albany, Chris indicated he would be working on a structured interview format. When will this be available? |
| A. | There is no timeline for availability. We are currently reviewing a variety of barriers assessment resources to determine which items are essential to a full assessment. More details will be made available as development proceeds. |
| Q6. | May we offer ProveIt to the business customer as a preemployment screening? |
| A. | Absolutely. |
| Q7. | Are we free to use other assessments that we like other than what is on JobZone? |
| A. | Yes as long as the assessment tools have been validated to ensure that they give accurate results for a wide range of customers. In addition, One-Stop staff should work with central office staff to ensure the assessment tools are appropriate. |
| Q8. | Will training be provided for the comprehensive assessment tools? |
| A. | Yes, we will make training available. |
| Q9. | Would Work Keys be considered a viable option to aid with JobZone assessment? |
| A. | When used appropriately the Work Keys tests are valid measures of occupation specific skills. As such it falls most appropriately into the third step of the assessment process, the documentation of necessary Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities. |
| Q10. | How does PROVE IT factor into the assessment process |
| A. | The Prove It tests are valid measures of occupation specific skills. Prove It is one of the tools that could be used as apart of the comprehensive assessment when the object is to determine if the customer has the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities for a specific occupation. Work Keys would also fall into this category. |
| Q11. | Will there be a distinction between on-line or paper and pencil assessment tools administered by Employment Counselors and other staff? |
| A. | Every effort has been made to assure correspondence between the on-line and paper and pencil versions of the assessments. In most cases we believe that the administration format should have no impact on the results generated. When in doubt staff should use their judgment about which version a customer will be most comfortable with and assign appropriately.
However, the assessment must be a one-on-one assessment. If the assessment meets the criteria of being one-on-one and the tools used are appropriate then there would be no distinction. |
| Q12. | People from 1-30 are going to receive an initial assessment. Won't they, in fact, be enrolled in the system and need a follow up service? |
| A. | Yes, they are receiving an initial assessment based on the profile score. The initial assessment activity and comment should be entered into OSOS as outlined in the TA; this will enroll the customer. The procedures in place for reducing the number of UI claimants who soft exit while certifying should identify any customer that needs a follow up service. |
| Q13. | If 1-30 is invited, then how do we make sure they will come to the One stop Center? |
| A. | Customers in the 1-30 group are not required to be scheduled for a service however they should be made aware of the services that will benefit them. It will be up to the customer to come in to the center. If the customer continues to certify for UI benefits and is approaching soft exit they should be scheduled for and required to attend appropriate services. |
| Q14. | With the number of customers profiled in The NYC region, would it be possible to do initial assessments in a group setting? |
| A. | Initial assessments for walk-in customers and UI customers with a profile score of 31-69 must receive an in-person, one on one initial assessment. |
| Q15. | Providing UI information will be a problem for those people with profile scores of 1-30 who don't come to the office. Isn't the UI booklet sent to claimants sufficient in terms of the customer having been given the information? |
| A. | The required UI information should be provided in the letters we send the customer. |
| Q16. | Did I understand you to say that the profiled under 30 would not be counted in our statistics? |
| A. | UI customers with a profile score between 1-30 will not be included in the Initial Schedule and Reschedule System Improvement Indicators. |
| Q17. | Will we FTR 1-30? If the second FTR is for an interviewing or resume workshop do we put them on UI hold? |
| A. | If you schedule a UI customer for any service and they fail to report they are considered to be an FTR. After a second FTR the customer should be put on UI hold as per current procedures. |
| Q18. | Will the 1-30- group be receiving the same "invite" letter we now send to the union & tlo claimants? |
| A. | The letter should be modified to be more individualistic and inform the customer of the services they would benefit from. |
| Q19. | Will the UI/REOS customers identified with profiling scores 1-30 be scheduled for an RSO/Return by mail appointment or just mailed information. |
| A. | The customers would just be mailed information. They are not required to return any information. The letter should let them know what services we believe would benefit them. We will be developing a template for this. If your office is already doing more than what this TA minimally requires, then we encourage you to continue to do what you are doing. |
| Q20. | What about those customers with a zero profile score? |
| A. | There is a problem with the profile score in REOS that is being worked on and should be resolved shortly. In the meantime any non-union, non-TLO and non-seasonal UI customer that is profiled as 0 in REOS should be treated as a 31-69 customer. |
| Q21. | Can we get the numbers of customers in the 31-69 profile bracket for my local area? |
| A. | Please see the attached spreadsheet. |
| Q22. | Are there parts of this "face to face" that can be done in a group? |
| A. | The initial assessment must be done one on one. |
| Q23. | Is there a time frame that is expected that a face-to-face assessment should take? 15min -20 min? |
| A. | The initial assessment is intended to be a quick determination that would most likely take no more than 15-20 minutes including the provision of the required UI benefits information. Of the three criteria that must be looked at (i.e., barriers, occupational goal, and knowledge skills and abilities) the barrier assessment is generally the most time consuming, though customers with a complicated or extensive work history may require a more in depth (and time consuming) review of the other areas. |
| Q24. | Is an initial assessment supposed to be entered on the 70-100 groups prior to the actual in person comprehensive assessment? I am concerned about the recommendation in the TA that acronyms be used in the initial assessment comments. These will not understandable to the partners. Any comment? |
| A. | Yes, the initial assessment activity must be entered for all customers. For customers whose initial assessment is based on the profile score, the activity should be entered prior to any Job Search Ready Service or Career Development Service. The use of acronyms is strictly for reporting purposes. The initial assessment determination can be elaborated on in the comment. |
| Q25. | At times customers receive a profiling score 70-100 because they worked for a company that closed. At times they worked for a restaurant or retail store. Job opportunities are not impaired. Can we determine them to be Job Ready despite the profile score? |
| A. | Yes, staff has the authority to make the most appropriate Initial Assessment determination, based on their interpretation of the customer’s information. |
| Q26. | Do those with 70+ profile scores need a comprehensive assessment as well as the initial assessment within a short time span? |
| A. | The initial assessment for UI customers with a profile score of 70-100 is Career Development Services. This is intended to expedite their first Career Development Service which is a comprehensive assessment. |
| Q27. | What staff will be conducting the Comprehensive Assessment, all staff? |
| A. | Whichever staff your area has identified through the Functional Alignment process. |
| Q28. | Is this power point going to be available to us? |
| A. | Yes, see attached. |
| Q29. | What is the status of the ETP? |
| A. | The Eligible Training Provider List is being worked on; we do not have a time estimate for when it will be up and running again. |
| Q30. | Can the profiled score be a green dot field so it can appear on OSOS? |
| A. | This is a good suggestion and we will look into it. In the meantime, the profile score is available in REOS. |
| Q31. | How does this process interface with the current RSO system? |
| A. | REOS can be used to determine which service path a customer should be initially scheduled for based upon their profile score. Customers that are non-union, non-seasonal, non-tlo with a profile score of zero and customers with a score of 31-69 will be scheduled for a one on one assessment. Customers with a profile score of 1-30 would receive correspondence only. Customers with a profile score of 70 or above will be scheduled for a comprehensive assessment. Customers will no longer be scheduled for RSOs. |
| Q32. | Has any thought been given to the price of gas now that we are returning to face to face meetings? Many of our customers do not have the money for gas to drive here from distances, in some cases, of over one hour away? |
| A. | This would be an exception to the rule. We should recognize the effort that our customers are making to come to the office and provide services commensurate with that effort. The longer a person has to travel the more we should strive to be able to provide bundled services, for example when a customer is traveling a long distance for an initial assessment and is determined to need career development services the comprehensive assessment should be provided at the same time. |
| Q33. | Will there be a standardized REOS letter template sent out to mirror the new profiling breakdown? |
| A. | Templates will be forthcoming. |
| Q34. | What do we do if a customer outright refuses to participate? Do we then deny service? No job referrals? What if they show up but refuse to participate or follow recommended plan? More generally, if a walk-in customer receives an initial assessment, is deemed in need of comprehensive assessment and refuses ---- are they then denied services? If we determine a customer needs career development services but they only want job ready services should we give them the job ready service(s)? |
| A. | If the customer is a UI claimant that fails to report to a scheduled appointment then they are considered to have an FTR. We do not deny services to anyone. Walk-in customers can decide whether or not to take advantage of the services we have to offer. |
| Q35. | What about job search follow-up - do we still need to be bringing customers in to just look at their job search? |
| A. | This is about providing quality services to customers. We should be prepared to do more for a customer than simply look at their job search if we are bringing them in. |
| Q36. | Are the job search services listed (resume and interviewing) required steps for the customer or based on customer choice? Is the answer the same for both the UI customer and the walk-in customer? |
| A. | Resume and interviewing are examples of Job Search Ready Services. You should offer services based on what a customer needs to successfully meet their employment goal. UI Customers who are scheduled for services and fail to report are considered FTRs. Walk-in customers can choose to take advantage of the services we offer or not. |
| Q37. | Are there any issues reported with the PD/TLO function? We have a lot of TLOs who are still showing up on our download, but they are clearly TLOs? This has been for the past few weeks. |
| A. | Customers that do not indicate at the time they file that they are on temporary lay off will not show up in REOS as temporary lay off. This has always been case. |
| Q38. | What if the Return to work date for the seasonal or TLO customer is past the date of a soft exit? |
| A. | The current policy does not require that Season or TLO customers be scheduled for services until they do not return to work on the anticipated return to work date. Bear in mind that a TLO customer should have a return to work date with 8 weeks of filing their claim. |
| Q39. | Are we completely going away from the electronic rso? |
| A. | The electronic RSO will no longer be used. In fact the RSO in the traditional sense will no longer be used. The required UI benefits information should be provided as a part of the initial one on one assessment whether that is an initial or comprehensive assessment. |
| Q40. | Is there a way to exit customers who refuse services so that there is not a negative outcome? |
| A. | No. The performance measures are calculated on the quarter in which a customer exits regardless of the method of exit. |
| Q41. | If we determine that someone with a certain profile score doesn't fit into the category indicated by his/her score, do we have to enter a comment to justify the change of type of assessment |
| A. | In the Initial Assessment comment you would enter the reasons or factors which led to your decision. |
| Q42. | If we have the ability to change the profile score, could we then consider them eligible for SEAP if the customer wants to pursue that? |
| A. | We do not have the ability to change the profile score. We have the ability to override using the profile score as the criteria for assigning the customer to one service group or another in the initial assessment. For example a customer is profiled in the career development category but during the comprehensive assessment it is discovered that the customer has skills that would qualify them as being in a demand occupation. In this case the customer should be reclassified from career development to job search ready. |
| Q43. | Will profile scores be evaluated by regional statistics for unemployment or by statewide numbers? |
| A. | The current profiling model takes into account the geographic location of the customer. |
| Q44. | What is the validity and reliability of availability profiles? |
| A. | The profile score is valid and reliable for predicting the likelihood of exhausting UI benefits. We are expanding the use of the profile score to predict those with the least likelihood of exhausting benefits. |
| Q45. | What happens to the non-UI customers? |
| A. | Walk-in customers should receive an initial assessment as their first service to determine if they need Job Search Ready Services or Career Development Services. |