Dislocated Worker Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for dislocated worker programs, an individual must meet at least one of the following criteria in addition to the adult eligibility criteria above:

1. An individual who has been terminated or laid off, or has received notice of termination or layoff from employment, and is eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to unemployment compensation, and is unlikely to return to a previous industry or occupation;
2. An individual who has been terminated or laid off, or has received notice of termination or layoff, from employment, and has been employed for a duration sufficient to demonstrate, to the appropriate entity at a one-stop center referred to in section 134(c) of the Workforce Development Act (WIA), attachment to the workforce, but not eligible for unemployment compensation due to insufficient earnings or having performed services for an employer that were not covered under a State unemployment compensation law, and is unlikely to return to a previous industry or occupation;
3. An individual who has been terminated or laid off, or has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment as a result of any permanent closure of, or any substantial layoff at, a plant, facility, or enterprise;
4. An individual who is employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close within 180 days;
5. For purposes of eligibility to receive services other than training, intensive, or supportive services, You must be employed at a facility at which the employer has made a general announcement that such facility will close;
6. An individual who has been self-employed (including employment as a farmer, rancher, or fisherman) but is unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in the community in which the individual resides or because of a natural disaster; and
7. An individual who is a dislocated homemaker

Employment and Training Services

The Workforce Investment Act outlines a three-tiered process with each tier designed to help you get a job. These tiers are defined as:

• Core services
• Intensive services
• Training services.

Core Services

Core services that are available to adults who are dislocated workers through the JobLink Career Centers include at a minimum:

• Determinations of whether you are eligible to receive assistance under this law
• Outreach, intake (which may include worker profiling), and orientation to the information and other services available through the JobLink Career Centers
• Initial assessment of your skill levels, aptitudes, abilities, and supportive service needs
• Job search and placement assistance, and where appropriate, career counseling
• Provision of employment statistics information, including the provision of accurate information relating to local, regional, and national labor market areas, including:
  • Job vacancy listings in such labor market areas
  • Information on job skills necessary to obtain the jobs described previously
  • Information relating to local occupations in demand and the earnings and skill requirements for such occupations
• Provision of performance information and program cost information on eligible providers of training services
• Provision of information regarding how the local area is performing on local performance measures
• Provision of accurate information relating to the availability of supportive services, including child care and transportation, available in the local area, and referral to such services, as appropriate
• Provision of information regarding filing claims for unemployment compensation
• Assistance in establishing eligibility for:
  • Welfare-to-Work activities authorized under section 403(a)(5) of the Social Security Act (as added by section 5001 of the Balanced Budget Act of 1997) available in the local area
  • Programs of financial aid for training and education programs that are not funded under WIA and are available in the local area
• Follow-up services in workforce investment activities may be provided to participants who are placed in unsubsidized employment, for not less than 12 months after the first day of the employment, as appropriate.

Intensive Services

JobLink Career Centers also make intensive services available as needed to adults and dislocated workers who are:

• Unemployed and are unable to obtain employment through core services
• Determined to be in need of more intensive services in order to obtain employment
• Employed but are determined to be in need of intensive services in order to obtain or retain employment that allows for self-sufficiency.

Intensive services are intended to identify obstacles to employment through a comprehensive assessment or individual employment plan in order to determine specific services needed to obtain employment.

Intensive services may include the following:

• Comprehensive and specialized assessments of the skill levels and service needs of adults and dislocated workers, which may include:
  • Diagnostic testing and use of other assessment tools; and
  • In-depth interviewing and evaluation to identify employment barriers and appropriate employment goals.
• Development of an individual employment plan, to identify the employment goals, appropriate achievement objectives, and appropriate combination of services for the participant to achieve the employment goals
• Group counseling
• Individual counseling and career planning
• Case management for participants seeking training services
• Short-term prevocational services, including development of learning skills, communication skills, interviewing skills, punctuality, personal maintenance skills, and professional conduct, to prepare individuals for unsubsidized employment or training.

Additional examples of intensive services include:

• Out-of-area job search expenses
• Relocation expenses
• Internships
• Paid or unpaid work experience.

Training Services

Training services may be made available to employed and unemployed adults and dislocated workers who meet the following conditions:

• Have met the eligibility requirements for intensive services, have received at least one intensive service and have been determined to be unable to obtain or retain employment through such services
• Following an interview, evaluation or assessment, and case management, have been determined by a JobLink Career Center operator or JobLink Career Center partner to be in need of training services and to have the skills and qualifications to successfully complete the selected training program
• Select a program of training services that is directly linked to the employment opportunities either in the local area or in another area to which the individual is willing to relocate
• Are unable to obtain grant assistance from other sources to pay the costs of such training, including Federal Pell Grants
• For individuals whose services are provided through the adult funding stream, are determined eligible in accordance with the State and local priority system.

Training services may include:

• Occupational skills training
• On-the-job training
• Programs that provide workplace training with related instruction, which may include cooperative education programs
• Private sector training programs
• Skill upgrading and retraining
• Entrepreneurial training
• Job readiness training
• Adult education and literacy training in conjunction with other training services
• Customized training.

To find the closest JobLink Career Center, visit the Find Information for Individuals area of the NC Department of Commerce site.