DIRECTIVE	:	TRAINING AND EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION NOTICE NO. 28-96
TO	:	ALL STATE JTPA LIAISONS ALL STATE WORKER ADJUSTMENT LIAISONS ALL STATE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY AGENCIES ALL ONE-STOP CAREER CENTER SYSTEM LEADS
FROM	:	ROBERT S. KENYON Acting Administrator for Regional Management
SUBJECT	:	Study On Certification/Chartering CriteriaFor One-Stop Career Centers

1. Purpose. To provide a copy of the final report of the Study on Certification/Chartering Criteria For One-Stop Career Centers.

2. Background. In the Solicitation for Grant Application (SGA) for One-Stop Implementation, ETA provided four broad principles to guide the States in the development of their One-Stop Career Center Systems. The Federal design outlined in the SGA is not prescriptive and provides considerable flexibility to the States. The conduct of One-Stop Career Center system operations is left to the direction of State and local partners. In order to define (within this broad Federal framework) what their State systems would look like, many States have developed certification or chartering criteria that specify the types of planning processes to be followed, the services to be offered, and how services are to be delivered in a One-Stop environment. The chartering or certification process has been critical to the States in meeting their responsibility to guide and oversee the development of local One-Stop Centers.

   In March 1996, several One-Stop Implementation States requested that ETA conduct a formal study to determine how the States were approaching the certification or chartering of local One-Stop Centers. States differed greatly in how they were approaching the development of these criteria and the application of the criteria in determining when a facility should be certified as a One-Stop Center. Thus, ETA contracted with Social Policy Research Associates (SPR) to perform a study on State certification and chartering efforts for One-Stop Centers.

3. Certification/Chartering and Accessibility For Persons with Disabilities. Particularly noteworthy is that adequacy of facility is one of the critical areas identified by the States in their One-Stop certification policies. Many States and some local Workforce Investment Boards are using a certification or chartering process to ensure that One-Stop Centers are fully accessible to customers with disabilities. These States recognize that the certification process is a good vehicle for ensuring that all local One-Stop Centers are in compliance with the requirements of Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, the Americans With Disabilities Act, and applicable State laws related to accessibility for persons with disabilities.

4. The Report. The attached report prepared by SPR consists of two parts:

   Part I is a narrative that compares and contrasts the certification criteria established by the States and reflects on the States' varied experiences with certification requirements. It also provides information from the States about what they have learned, including ideas about what they might have done differently; and

   Part II is a matrix that documents the certification criteria and approaches of the twelve (12) States selected for this study. The States selected were Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin.

   In addition, SPR has attached to Part I samples of documents that are being used by several States in the certification process.

5. Action Required. This information should be shared with all State and local staff working with One-Stop implementation. This study should be of interest to all States, but especially those States just beginning the implementation process.

6. Inquiries. Questions about a specific State, as described in the attachment, should be addressed to the contact person for that State. The name and phone number for each State contact is provided in Section VII of the report, found on pages A-11 and B-13 of the matrix. General questions about the study and One-Stop implementation should be addressed to Ingrid Evans, at (202) 219-8395, X173, in the National Office.

7. Attachment. Study On Certification/Chartering Criteria For One-Stop Career Centers

NOTE: Attachments not available to DMS