ADVISORY	:	TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT GUIDANCE LETTER NO. 04-04
TO	:	ALL STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES ALL STATE WORKFORCE LIAISONS
FROM	:	EMILY STOVER DeROCCO /s/ Assistant Secretary
SUBJECT	:	Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program Goals: Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Performance and FY 2004 Performance Targets

1. Purpose. To summarize the UI program's GPRA performance for FY 2003 and announce the FY 2004 GPRA goals and targets.

2. References. Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 28-03, "Call Memo for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 Unemployment Insurance (UI) State Quality Service Plan (SQSP)," (July 2,2003); UIPL No. 33-02, "Development of an Unemployment Insurance Payment Accuracyfintegrity Measure" (July 31,2002); UIPL No. 15-03, "Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Fiscal Year (FY) 2004 Unemployment Insurance (UI) Program Goals," (January 22,2003).

3. Background. For FY 2002, ETA changed the character of the indicators it used for its GPRA targets. It generally framed previous indicators as the number of states attaining a particular measurement criterion (e.g., the number of states meeting the Secretary's Standard for Intrastate First Payment timeliness). In an effort to measure system-wide service to its ultimate customers better, beginning in FY 2002 ETA recast each indicator to reflect national aggregate performance and set new performance targets. Instead of reflecting minimum levels of performance that states were expected to meet, the new targets represented goals the system as a whole should strive to attain. Every state's performance is instrumental in attaining the aggregate goal. Thus, although no state will be held to a GPRA aggregate target, all are expected to improve, or at least maintain, performance to contribute to meeting a GPRA target.

   The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) had four goals for UI performance as part of its GPRA plan for FY 2003. Of these, performance exceeded one target, and fell short of two. The measure for the fourth goal, Facilitate Reemployment, was under development during the year. The goals and performance during FY 2003 were as follows:

   • Make Timely Benefit Payments to Unemployed Workers. Target: 91.3% of all intrastate first payments will be made within 14/21 days.
   • Actual performance for FY 2003: 89.0% were made within 14/21 days. Although below the target, this was up from 88.7% in FY 2002.
   
   • Establish Tax Accounts Promptly. Target: 80% of new-employer status determinations will be made within 90 days of the end of the first quarter in which liability occurred.
   • Actual performance for FY 2003: 83.7% were made within 90 days. The percentage of timely status determinations increased by 2 percentage points between FY 2002 and FY 2003.
   
   • Detect Benefit overpayments. Target: Establish for recovery 59% of the Benefit Accuracy Measurement estimate of recoverable dollar overpayments most detectable through state operations.
   • Actual performance for FY 2003: 56.1% were actually established. FY 2003 is the first year a target has been established for this indicator.
   
   • Facilitate the Reemployment of Claimants. Target: Establish a baseline for the entered employment rate of claimants.
   • During 2003, six states provided data to the Department of Labor (the Department) for an entered employment measure, defined as the percentage of persons receiving a UI first payment in one quarter who appeared in the state's UI wage records in the subsequent quarter. The pilot states reported reemployment percentages for claimants receiving UI first payments in each of the four quarters of calendar 2002. After adjustment to remove claimants receiving partial and parttotal benefits, the average reemployment ratio was 51.5%. It was established as a baseline.

   The GPRA goals for the UI program are included in both the Department and the ETA Annual Performance Plans. The ETA FY 2003 Annual Performance Plan can be found on the ETA Website at http://www.doleta.gov/perform/.

4. FY 2004 GPRA Goals. The Department adjusted its GPRA targets for the FY 2003 - FY 2008 strategic planning period to reflect both recent performance and the Administration's assumptions about future economic conditions. This resulted in lowering the target for first payment timeliness and raising the target for new-employer status determination timeliness. The goals and targets for FY 2004 are as follows:

   • Make Timely Benefit Payments to Unemployed Workers.
   • Target: 89.2% of all intrastate first payments will be made within 14/21 days.
   
   
   • Establish Tax Accounts Promptly.
   • Target: 82.2% of status determinations for new employers will be made within 90 days of the end of the first quarter in which liability occurred.
   
   
   • Detect Benefit Overpayments.
   • Target: Overpayments detected will be at least 59% of the estimated detectable, recoverable overpayments.
   
   
   • Facilitate the Reemployment of Claimants.
   • During FY 2004, seek Office of Management and Budget approval for all states to collect and report data for the reemployment measure.

5. Actions. State Workforce Agency Administrators and Liaisons are requested to:

   1. Distribute this advisory to appropriate staff;
   2. Review state performance on each goal;
   3. If performance is below the 2004 target, focus management attention on improvement; seek technical assistance from the ETA Regional Office as appropriate; and
   4. If state performance meets or exceeds the goal, ensure that performance is sustained or improved.

6. Inquiries. Direct questions to the appropriate Regional Office.

7. Attachment: Performance on GPRA Indicators by State, FY 2003.