ADVISORY	:	UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 03-03
TO	:	STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES
FROM	:	CHERYL ATKINSON Administrator Office of Workforce Security
SUBJECT	:	Training Seminars for State Workforce Agency Staff on the Resource Justification Model (RJM)

1. Purpose. To announce details for three RJM training sessions for state staff.

2. Background. The Office of Workforce Security (OWS) has developed and, with state input, refined the Resource Justification Model (RJM) for budget formulation and allocation of state unemployment insurance (UI) administrative resources.

   In a series of meetings convened by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), state and federal staff discussed modifying the model to accommodate states' concerns and lessons learned from the first year of implementation.

   After revising the model, OWS is preparing to collect RJM data for the FY 2004 allocation and the FY 2005 budget formulation processes. OWS will offer training to state staff on how to use the RJM to prepare state budget requests.

3. RJM Training Seminars. OWS has scheduled three training seminars in FY 2003 for Regional Office reviewers and for state staff who will be responsible for compiling the cost data necessary to complete an RJM submission. Seminar size will be limited to 24 participants per session to permit more individual attention to each participant. Therefore, it will be necessary to limit Regional Office participation to one staff member, and state participation to two staff members per state - preferably one accountant or budget analyst and one UI program specialist. Each of the three training s eminars is structured as follows:

   Tuesday and Wednesday: 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Basic Training for the RJM Workbook

   Thursday: 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Performance and Capital Investment (PCI) Requests

   Thursday: 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Refresher Training for the RJM Workbook

   Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Refresher Training for the RJM Workbook (continued)

   The basic training sessions are limited to staff who have not previously attended RJM training. The refresher training sessions are limited to staff who have previously attended RJM training and would like an update on changes to the data collection file. PCI Request training sessions are open to all staff.

4. Schedule.

   Session Dates	Location	Deadline for Registration
   November 5 - 8, 2002	Washington, DC	October 18, 2002
   November 19 - 22, 2002	Chicago, IL	November 4, 2002
   December 3 - 6, 2002	Sacramento, CA	November 15, 2002

5. Costs. The state agencies will be responsible for travel and per diem costs for state staff to attend the training sessions.

6. Logistics. The attachments provide information on location, hours, hotel arrangements, and ground transportation for the training seminars.

7. Action Required. State Administrators are requested to notify appropriate state staff of the RJM training seminars and to provide the name, title, and first and second session preference of each nominee to Regional Office staff by the deadlines indicated above. OWS will try to accommodate the session preference of each nominee; however, the size limit of each session may make this impossible for all. Each attendee is required to bring a laptop with Microsoft Office 20007 or a later version. Each laptop should also have a mouse and numeric keypad.

8. Inquiries. Please direct all inquiries to the appropriate regional office.

9. Attachment.
   Attachment A - RJM Training Seminar (Washington, DC) November 5 - 8, 2002
   Attachment B - RJM Training Seminar (Chicago, IL) November 19 - 22, 2002
   Attachment C - RJM Training Seminar (Sacramento, CA) December 3 - 6, 2002