Wisconsin Legislature: DWD 801.03(17m)

DWD 801.09 Use of grant funds.

DWD 801.10 Amount of grants.

DWD 801.11 Reporting requirements.

DWD 801.12 Assurances and certifications.

DWD 801.13 Grant Administration.

Note: Chapter DWD 801 was created by emergency rule, EmR 1317, effective October 1, 2013.

DWD 801.01 Authority and purpose. This chapter is created to establish the rules that shall govern the administration and granting of funds for the training of unemployed and underemployed workers and incumbent employees in this state, as authorized under s. 106.27 (1), Stats.

History: CR 13-045: cr. Register April 2014 No. 700, eff. 5-1-14; CR 22-056: am. Register May 2023 No. 809, eff. 6-1-23; CR 22-056 (corrected version): am. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23.

DWD 801.02 Applicability. This chapter applies to the department, to applicants for grants awarded by the department, and to public and private organizations that are awarded grants by the department, all in connection with workforce training grants applied for and awarded under s. 106.27 (1), Stats.

History: CR 13-045: cr. Register April 2014 No. 700, eff. 5-1-14; CR 22-056: am. Register May 2023 No. 809, eff. 6-1-23; CR 22-056 (corrected version): am. Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23.

DWD 801.03 Definitions. In this chapter:

(1) “Administrative costs” means costs associated with a grantee’s general administration of a grant, such as office supplies and the wages and benefits of staff who perform functions related to the administration of the grant but who do not directly carry out the grant’s objectives or activities.

(2) “Applicant” means a public or private organization that applies for a grant from the department for the development or implementation of a project.

(3) “Capital equipment” means equipment having a value greater than $5000 and a useful life of more than one year.

(4) “Department” means the department of workforce development.

(8) “Grant” means a contract between the department and a grantee whereby the department provides funds from the appropriation under s. 20.445 (1) (b), Stats., for the purposes specified in s. 106.27 (1), Stats.

(9) “Grantee” means a public or private organization receiving a grant from the department, except that if a lead public or private organization serves as the applicant for a consortium of placement partners under s. DWD 801.05 (1) (c), “grantee” means the lead public or private organization and not the placement partners.

(10) “Grant Program Announcement” or “GPA” means a document describing a grant program that includes all of the following:

(a) Solicitation of applications for grants that specifies who may apply and establishes application procedures, including requirements for demonstrating eligibility under s. DWD 801.04.

(b) Criteria for awarding grants.

(c) Conditions and restrictions that accompany grants, including any outcomes the grantee must achieve under the grant program and any matching funds required by the grantee under s. 106.27 (1) (intro.), Stats.

(12) “In-kind contributions” means the monetary value of noncash contributions provided by a grantee or third parties which directly benefit and are specifically identifiable to the project.

(13) “Incumbent employee” means an individual who is currently employed by an applicant or placement partner.

(15) “O*NET” means a United States government system of classifying occupations. O*NET occupation codes are unique numbers assigned to each occupation. O*NET is used for career exploration, job analysis, and statistical analysis.

Note: More information about O*NET can be found at the U.S. Department of Labor websites http://www.onetonline.org/ and http://www.onetcenter.org/.

(15g) “Placement partner” means an employer, other than an applicant, that commits to hire unemployed and underemployed workers who successfully complete training or to provide incumbent employees who successfully complete training with full-time employment, higher-level employment, or wage increases when the project is complete.

(15r) “Pre-existing training program” means an employment training program that an applicant or placement partner has previously conducted to increase trainees’ or workers’ skills to better match the applicant’s or placement partner’s needs. “Pre-existing training program” does not include a pilot program conducted to evaluate feasibility.

(17) “Private organization” means a private for-profit or non-profit business or service provider.

(17m) “Project” means the development or implementation of a workforce training program that an applicant proposes to conduct under a grant.

(18) “Public organization” means any of the following:

(a) A state or local agency, department, committee, council, or public body created by constitution, statute, ordinance, or rule, including a county, city, village, town, school district, or technical college district.

(b) A formally constituted subunit of an entity specified in par. (a).

(c) A tribal governing body of a federally recognized tribe or band of Indians or an organization appointed by the tribal governing body.

(20m) “Trainee” means an individual receiving workforce training in a project conducted under a grant.

(21) “Underemployed worker” means an individual who is currently employed in a capacity that does not reflect the skills and experience of the individual and that is reflected in less than desirable terms of compensation, hours, or responsibility.

(22) “Unemployed worker” means an individual who is currently out of work and is available for work. “Unemployed worker” includes a secondary education student in a project for which the employer confirms an intent to hire students who successfully complete the project. “Unemployed worker” does not include an individual who is not working but anticipates being called back to his or her regular employment.

History: CR 13-045: cr. Register April 2014 No. 700, eff. 5-1-14; CR 22-056: am. (1), (2), r. (5), (7), am. (8), (9), renum. (10) to (10) (intro.), (a) to (c) and am., am. (12), (13), r. (14), am. (15), cr. (15g), (15r), (17m), renum. (18) to (18) (intro.), (a), (b) and am., cr. (18) (c), r. (20), cr. (20m), am. (21), (22) Register May 2023 No. 809, eff. 6-1-23; CR 22-056 (corrected version): am. (1), (2), r. (5), (7), am. (8), (9), renum. (10) to (10) (intro.), (a) to (c) and am., am. (12), (13), r. (14), am. (15), cr. (15g), (15r), (17m), renum. (18) to (18) (intro.), (a), (b) and am., cr. (18) (c), r. (20), cr. (20m), am. (21), (22) Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23.

DWD 801.04 Eligibility.

(1) Eligible applicants. Any public or private organization that is current on all federal and state tax obligations, is in compliance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations, and is financially viable is eligible to receive grant funds.

(2) Eligible projects. A project is eligible to receive grant funds if its proposal demonstrates that the project will do all of the following:

(a) Train unemployed workers, underemployed workers, incumbent employees, or any combination of unemployed workers, underemployed workers, or incumbent employees.

(b) Achieve the outcomes required by the GPA, which may include improving employment, reducing layoffs, and increasing overall employment in the state by improving unemployed and underemployed workers’ and incumbent employees’ skills to better match employers’ needs.

History: CR 13-045: cr. Register April 2014 No. 700, eff. 5-1-14; CR 22-056: r. and recr. (title), am. (1), renum. (2) to (2) (intro.), (b) and am., cr. (2) (a) Register May 2023 No. 809, eff. 6-1-23; CR 22-056 (corrected version): r. and recr. (title), am. (1), renum. (2) to (2) (intro.), (b) and am., cr. (2) (a) Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23.

DWD 801.05 Application.

(1) Who may apply. An applicant may be any of the following:

(a) A public organization.

(b) A private organization.

(2) Solicitation. The department shall solicit applications for grants by publishing a GPA on the department’s website. The department may also distribute copies of the GPA to interested parties.

Note: GPAs can be found on the department’s website at https://wisconsinfastforward.com/wff_standard.htm.

(3) Submission of applications.

(c) An applicant shall submit an application for a grant to the department in accordance with the deadline and processes indicated in the GPA for the grant, which may include instructions for applications on paper or in an electronic format.

(d) The department may issue grant guidelines and may update the guidelines as necessary. The guidelines may contain clarification or additional information on grant application instructions, requirements, and procedures.

(4) Content of application. An application for a grant for a project shall include all of the following:

(b) Identification and contact information for the project point of contact, the financial officer for the project, and the signatories authorized by the proposed grantee to execute legal documents.

(d) A description of the critical work force shortage that exists in the project target area.

(e) An abstract that briefly describes the project and highlights the project’s purpose.

(f) A summary of the budget request, including the amount and source of matching funds to be used in the project in accordance with requirements established by the GPA.

(g) A justification of the proposed budget detailing cost estimates used in compiling the budget request.

(h) A narrative description of the project, including the number of unemployed and underemployed workers and incumbent employees that will be enrolled as trainees in the project and how the project will achieve the outcomes required by the GPA.

(i) A statement of assurances and certifications in accordance with s. DWD 801.12.

(im) If the applicant is the lead for a consortium of placement partners, the names of the placement partners.

(jm) For applicants proposing to use one or more placement partners, in whole or in part, to achieve the outcomes required by the GPA, a letter of commitment from each placement partner describing the commitment the placement partner has made to the applicant to achieve the outcomes required by the GPA. A letter of commitment under this paragraph must be signed by an official of the placement partner who has the authority to enter a binding commitment on its behalf.

(km) A letter of commitment from each organization that will be providing match contributions to the project stating the match contribution that the organization will make. A letter of commitment under this paragraph must be signed by an official of the organization who has the authority to enter a binding commitment on its behalf.

(L) Information on the proposed use of one or more subcontractors in accordance with standards established by the GPA.

(m) Any other information required in the GPA.

(5) Review of applications.

(a) Preliminary review. All grant applications shall meet the eligibility requirements under s. DWD 801.04 and include all of the application contents specified in sub. (4). The department or persons invited by the department shall review each application for eligibility under s. DWD 801.04 and compliance with the format and content specifications of sub. (4) and the GPA. The department may deny any application that fails to meet any of the eligibility requirements or fails to comply with the format and content specifications. Denial of an application under this paragraph is not subject to administrative review.

(b) Evaluation criteria. The department or persons invited by the department shall evaluate grant applications that meet the criteria as specified in par. (a) using the criteria specified in the GPA and all of the following criteria:

1. The applicant’s organizational and programmatic capacity to implement the proposed project.

2. The applicant’s understanding and ability to communicate the needs of the target population.

3. The applicant’s stated purpose and objectives for the project and methods and timetable for implementing the project.

4. The extent to which the applicant’s proposed budget is clear and justified.

5. An evaluation plan for the project.

6. The potential impact on economic development.

7. The potential impact on economic opportunities for the business, the trainees and the local workforce.

8. The potential impact of the project on building the capacity of the workforce to find and retain employment.

(6) Ranking applications.

(a) The department or persons invited by the department shall weigh the importance of each evaluation criterion by assigning points to it. The criteria weighting shall be provided in the GPA.

(b) Using the evaluation criteria specified in sub. (5) (b), the department or persons invited by the department shall evaluate each application using each applicable criterion and assign points signifying the degree to which the application meets the criterion up to the maximum number of points specified in the GPA. The total points assigned to the application for all applicable criteria will be the score for the application.

(d) In addition to application rankings, the department or persons invited by the department may consider underserved populations, strategic priorities, past performance, underserved geographic areas, potential to replicate the project, cost per trainee, and available funding.

History: CR 13-045: cr. Register April 2014 No. 700, eff. 5-1-14; CR 22-056: am. (1) (a), (c), r. (1) (d), am. (2), (3) (title), r. (3) (a), (b), am. (3) (c), (d), (4) (intro.), r. (4) (a), am. (4) (b), r. (4) (c), am. (4) (h), (i), cr. (4) (im), r. (4) (j), cr. (4) (jm), r. (4) (k), cr. (4) (km), am. (5) (a), (b) (intro.), 3., (6) (a), (b), (d) Register May 2023 No. 809, eff. 6-1-23; CR 22-056 (corrected version): CR 22-056: am. (1) (a), (c), r. (1) (d), am. (2), (3) (title), r. (3) (a), (b), am. (3) (c), (d), (4) (intro.), r. (4) (a), am. (4) (b), r. (4) (c), am. (4) (h), (i), cr. (4) (im), r. (4) (j), cr. (4) (jm), r. (4) (k), cr. (4) (km), am. (5) (a), (b) (intro.), 3., (6) (a), (b), (d) Register June 2023 No. 810, eff. 7-1-23.

DWD 801.06 Grant awards.

(1) Making awards. Except as provided in sub. (2), for each GPA, the department shall award a grant to the applicant with the highest numerical score under s. DWD 801.05 (6).

(2) Exceptions. In reviewing a grant application, the department may do any of the following:

(a) Reject any application which fails to meet the content specifications under s. DWD 801.05 (4). Rejection of an application for failure to meet the content specifications under s. DWD 801.05 (4) is not subject to administrative review.

(b) Negotiate the amount of an award, authorized budget items, and programmatic goals and objectives before awarding a grant to an applicant.