[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 57 (Friday, March 25, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15506-15518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5806]



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Part III





Department of Labor





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Employment and Training Administration



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Workforce Investment Act and Wagner-Peyser Act Preliminary Allotments; 
FY 2005 Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit 
Allotments; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 57 / Friday, March 25, 2005 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Congressional Rescissions for WIA Adults 
and Dislocated Workers; Program Year (PY) 2005 Workforce Investment Act 
(WIA Allotments and Additional Funds From WIA Section 173(e) for Adult/
Dislocated Worker Activities for Eligible States; PY 2005 Wagner-Peyser 
Act Preliminary Allotments; Reemployment Services Allotments; PY 2005 
Workforce Information Grants; and FY 2005 Work Opportunity Tax Credit 
and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit Allotments

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: This Notice announces FY 2005 Congressional Rescissions for 
WIA Adults and Dislocated Worker programs, states' allotments for PY 
2005 (July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006) for WIA Title I Youth, Adults and 
Dislocated Worker programs; additional PY 2005 funding from WIA Section 
173(e) for eligible states; preliminary allotments for Employment 
Service (ES) activities under the Wagner-Peyser Act for PY 2005; 
Workforce Information Grants for PY 2005; and Work Opportunity Tax 
Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit allotments for FY 2005.
    The WIA allotments for states and the preliminary allotments for 
the Wagner-Peyser Act are based on formulas defined in their respective 
statutes. The WIA allotments for the outlying areas are based on a 
formula determined by the Secretary. As required by WIA section 182(d), 
on February 17, 2000, a Notice of the discretionary formula for 
allocating PY 2000 funds for the outlying areas (American Samoa, Guam, 
Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, Palau, and the Virgin 
Islands) was published in the Federal Register at 65 FR 8236 (February 
17, 2000). The rationale for the formula and methodology was fully 
explained in the February 17, 2000, Federal Register notice. The 
formula for PY 2005 is the same as used for PY 2000 and is described in 
the section on Youth allotments. The data for the outlying areas was 
obtained from the Bureau of the Census and was based on 2000 census 
surveys for those areas conducted either by the Bureau or the outlying 
areas. Comments are invited upon the formula used to allot funds to the 
outlying areas.

DATES: Comments must be received by April 25, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to the Employment and Training 
Administration, Office of Financial and Administrative Management, 200 
Constitution Ave., NW., Room N-4702, Washington, DC 20210, Attention: 
Ms. Sherryl Bailey, 202-693-2813 (phone), 202-693-2859 (fax), e-mail: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: WIA Youth Activities allotments: 
Haskel Lowery at 202-693-3030 or LaSharn Youngblood at 202-693-3606; 
WIA Adult and Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities 
allotments: Raymond Palmer at 202-693-3535; and Employment Service 
preliminary allotments: Anthony Dais at 202-693-3046 (these are not 
toll-free numbers). Information may also be found at the Web site--
http://www.doleta.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Labor (DOL or Department) 
is announcing WIA allotments for PY 2005 (July 1, 2005-June 30, 2006) 
for Youth Activities, Adults and Dislocated Worker Activities, and 
Wagner-Peyser Act PY 2005 preliminary allotments. This document 
provides information on the amount of funds available during PY 2005 to 
states with an approved WIA Title I and Wagner-Peyser 2-Year Strategic 
Plan (formally the 5-Year Strategic Plan) and information regarding 
allotments to the outlying areas. The allotments are based on the funds 
appropriated in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Public Law 
108-477, December 8, 2004. This appropriation requires an across-the-
board reduction of 0.80 percent to all FY 2005 discretionary programs, 
including FY 2005 advance funds for the WIA Adults and Dislocated 
Worker programs appropriated in the FY 2004 appropriation. Attached are 
tables listing the FY 2005 rescissions for the WIA Adults (Attachment 
II-A) and Dislocated Worker (Attachment III-A) programs and the PY 2005 
allotments for programs under WIA Title I Youth Activities (Attachment 
I), Adults and Dislocated Workers Employment and Training Activities 
(Attachments II-B and III-B, respectively) and the PY 2005 Wagner-
Peyser Act preliminary allotments (Attachment V). Also attached are 
tables displaying the PY 2005 Reemployment Services Grants (Attachment 
VI), Workforce Information Grants (Attachment VII) and the FY 2005 Work 
Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit allotments 
(Attachment VIII).
    Youth Activities Allotments. PY 2005 Youth Activities funds under 
WIA total $986,288,064. States operating under an approved WIA state 
plan through June 30, 2005, will have the authority to begin to spend a 
portion of PY 2005 youth funds beginning on April 1, 2005, under WIA 
sec. 189(g)(1)(B). This authority will be provided through the WIA 
Annual Funding Agreement. States will be issued one-quarter (\1/4\) of 
their PY 2005 allocation on April 1, 2005. Once a PY 2005 State Plan is 
approved, states will be issued the balance of their Youth program 
allocation on July 1, 2005, along with the Notice of Obligation (NOO) 
which provides the PY 2005 portion of the formula allocations for the 
Adult and Dislocated Worker programs. Attachment I includes a breakdown 
of the Youth Activities program allotments for PY 2005 and provides a 
comparison of these allotments to PY 2004 Youth Activities allotments 
for all states, outlying areas, Puerto Rico and the District of 
Columbia. Before determining the amount available for states, the total 
available for the outlying areas was reserved at 0.25 percent of the 
full amount appropriated for Youth Activities. On December 17, 2003, 
the President signed Public Law 108-188, the Compact of Free 
Association Amendments Act of 2003, which provides for consolidation of 
all funding, including WIA Title I, for the Marshall Islands and 
Micronesia into supplemental funding grants in the Department of 
Education. The Education appropriation for FY 2005 includes funding for 
these supplemental grants; therefore, WIA Title I funds are no longer 
being provided for these two areas. The Compact continues the 
availability of programs previously available to Palau through 
September 30, 2007, including WIA Title I funding provisions. The 
methodology for distributing funds to all outlying areas is not 
specified by WIA, but is at the Secretary's discretion. The methodology 
used is the same as used since PY 2000, i.e., funds are distributed 
among the remaining areas by formula based on relative share of number 
of unemployed, a 90 percent hold-harmless of the prior year share, a 
$75,000 minimum, and a 130 percent stop-gain of the prior year share. 
Data for the relative share calculation in the PY 2005 formula were 
from 2000 census data from all outlying areas. The total amount 
available for Native Americans is 1.5 percent of the total amount for 
Youth Activities, in accordance with WIA section 127. After determining 
the amount for the outlying areas and Native Americans, the amount

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available for allotment to the States for PY 2005 is $969,028,023. This 
total amount was below the required $1 billion threshold specified in 
section 127(b)(1)(C)(iv)(IV); therefore, as in PY 2004, the WIA 
additional minimum provisions were not applied, and, instead, as 
required by WIA, the JTPA section 202(a)(3) (as amended by section 701 
of the Job Training Reform Amendments of 1992) minimums of 90 percent 
hold-harmless of the prior year allotment percentage and 0.25 percent 
state minimum floor were used. Also, as required by WIA, the provision 
applying a 130 percent stop-gain of the prior year allotment percentage 
was used. The three formula factors required in WIA use the following 
data for the PY 2005 allotments:
    (1) The number of unemployed for areas of substantial unemployment 
(ASUs) are averages for the 12-month period, July 2003 through 
preliminary June 2004;
    (2) The number of excess unemployed individuals or the ASU excess 
(depending on which is higher) are averages for the same 12-month 
period used for ASU unemployed data; and
    (3) The number of economically disadvantaged youth (age 16 to 21, 
excluding college students and military) are from the 2000 Census.
    Adult Employment and Training Activities Allotments. The total 
Adult Employment and Training Activities appropriation is $896,618,144. 
Attachment II-B shows the PY 2005 Adult Employment and Training 
Activities allotments and comparison to PY 2004 allotments by state. 
Like the Youth Activities program, the total available for the outlying 
areas was reserved at 0.25 percent of the full amount appropriated for 
Adults. As discussed in the Youth Activities paragraph, beginning in PY 
2005, WIA funding for the Marshall Islands and Micronesia is no longer 
provided; instead, funding is provided in the Department of Education's 
appropriation. The Adult Activities funds for grants to the remaining 
outlying areas, for which the distribution methodology is at the 
Secretary's discretion, were distributed among the areas by the same 
principles, formula and data as used for outlying areas for Youth 
Activities. After determining the amount for the outlying areas, the 
amount available for allotments to the states is $894,376,599. Like the 
Youth Activities program, the WIA minimum provisions were not applied 
for the PY 2005 allotments because the total amount available for the 
states was below the $960 million threshold required for Adults in 
section 132(b)(1)(B)(iv)(IV). Instead, as required by WIA, the minimum 
allotments were calculated using the JTPA section 202(a)(3) (as amended 
by section 701 of the Job Training Reform Amendments of 1992) minimums 
of 90 percent hold-harmless of the prior year allotment percentage and 
0.25 percent state minimum floor. Also, like the Youth Activities 
program, a provision applying a 130 percent stop-gain of the prior year 
allotment percentage was used. The three formula factors use the same 
data as used for the Youth Activities formula, except that data from 
the 2000 Census for the number of economically disadvantaged adults 
(age 22 to 72, excluding college students and military) were used.
    Dislocated Worker Employment and Training Activities Allotments. 
The total Dislocated Worker appropriation is $1,476,063,648. The total 
appropriation includes formula funds for the states, while the National 
Reserve is used for National Emergency Grants, technical assistance and 
training, demonstration projects (including Community-Based Job 
Training Grants), the outlying areas' Dislocated Worker allotments, and 
additional assistance to eligible states. Attachment III-B shows the PY 
2005 Dislocated Worker Activities fund allotments by state. Like the 
Youth and Adults programs, the total available for the outlying areas 
was reserved at 0.25 percent of the full amount appropriated for 
Dislocated Worker Activities. WIA funding for the Marshall Islands and 
Micronesia is no longer provided, as discussed above. The Dislocated 
Worker Activities funds for grants to outlying areas, for which the 
distribution methodology is at the Secretary's discretion, were 
distributed among the remaining areas by the same pro rata share as the 
areas received for the PY 2005 WIA Adult Activities program, the same 
methodology used in PY 2004. For the state distribution of formula 
funds, the three formula factors required in WIA use the following data 
for the PY 2005 allotments:
    (1) Number of unemployed, averages for the 12-month period, October 
2003 through September 2004;
    (2) Number of excess unemployed, averages for the 12-month period, 
October 2003 through September 2004; and
    (3) Number of long-term unemployed, averages for calendar year 
2003. Since the Dislocated Worker Activities formula has no floor 
amount or hold-harmless provisions, funding changes for states directly 
reflect the impact of changes in the number of unemployed.
    Additional Funding From WIA Section 173(e) for Adult/Dislocated 
Worker Activities for Eligible States. WIA Section 173(e) provides that 
up to $15 million from Dislocated Workers reserve funds is to be made 
annually to certain states that receive less funds under the WIA Adult 
formula than they would have received had the JTPA Adult formula been 
in effect. The amount of the grants is based on the difference between 
the WIA and JTPA formula allotments; funds are available for grants for 
up to eight states with the largest difference. The additional funding 
must be used for Adult or Dislocated Worker Activities. In PY 2005, two 
states are eligible for these additional funds, for a total of 
$2,368,534 (Attachment IV).
    Wagner-Peyser Act Preliminary Allotments. The Employment Service 
program involves a Federal-state partnership between the U.S. 
Department of Labor and the State Workforce Agencies. Under the Wagner-
Peyser Act, funds are allotted to each state to administer a labor 
exchange program responding to the needs of the state's employers and 
workers through a system of local employment services offices that are 
part of the One-Stop service delivery system established by the state. 
Attachment V shows the Wagner-Peyser Act preliminary allotments for PY 
2005. These preliminary allotments have been produced using the formula 
set forth at Section 6 of the Wagner-Peyser Act, 29 U.S.C. 49e. They 
are based on averages of the civilian labor force (CLF) and 
unemployment for the twelve months ending September 2004. State 
planning estimates reflect $18 million being withheld from distribution 
to states to finance postage costs associated with the conduct of labor 
exchange services for PY 2005. The Secretary of Labor is required to 
set aside up to three percent of the total available funds to assure 
that each state will have sufficient resources to maintain statewide 
employment service activities, as required under section 6(b)(4) of the 
Wagner-Peyser Act. In accordance with this provision, the three percent 
set-aside funds are included in the total planning estimate. The set-
aside funds are distributed in two steps to states that have lost in 
relative share of resources from the previous year. In Step 1, states 
that have a CLF below one million and are also below the median CLF 
density are maintained at 100 percent of their relative share of prior 
year resources. All remaining set-aside funds are distributed on a pro-
rata basis in Step 2 to all other states losing in relative share from 
the prior year but not meeting the size and density criteria for Step 
1.

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Under section 7 of the Wagner-Peyser Act, ten percent of the total sums 
allotted to each state shall be reserved for use by the Governor to 
provide performance incentives for ES offices; services for groups with 
special needs; and for the extra costs of exemplary models for 
delivering job services.
    Reemployment Services Allotments. Reemployment Services Grants are 
provided to the states to enhance and target integrated labor exchange 
services to Unemployment Insurance (UI) claimants through the One-Stop 
Career Center system. The total funds available for PY 2004 are 
$34,290,464. The allotment figures for the distribution of funds for 
each state for PY 2005 are listed in Attachment VI. The funds were 
distributed using the following administrative formula: each state 
received $215,000, with the remaining funds distributed using each 
state's share of first payments for FY 2004 to UI claimants.
    Workforce Information Grants. Total PY 2005 funding for Workforce 
Information Grants to States is $37,696,000. The allotment figures for 
each state are listed in Attachment VII. Funds are distributed by 
administrative formula, with a reserve of $1,055,488 for postage and 
$187,938 for Guam and the Virgin Islands. The remaining funds are 
distributed to the states with 40% distributed equally to all states 
and 60% distributed on each state's share of CLF for the 12 months 
ending September 2004.
    Work Opportunity Tax Credit and Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit 
Programs: Grants to States. Total funding for FY 2005 is $17,856,000. 
Attachment VIII shows the PY 2005 Work Opportunity Tax Credit and 
Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit (WOTC/WtW) grants by state. After reserving 
$499,968 for postage and $20,000 for the Virgin Islands, funds are 
distributed to states by administrative formula with a $64,000 minimum 
allotment and a 95% stop-loss/120% stop-gain from the prior year 
allotment share percentage. The allocation formula is as follows:
    (1) 50% based on each state's relative share of total FY 2003 
certifications issued for the WOTC/WtW Tax Credit programs;
    (2) 30% based on each state's relative share of the CLF for twelve 
months ending September 2004; and
    (3) 20% based on each state's relative share of the adult 
recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) for FY 
2003.

    Signed in Washington, DC, this 18th day of March, 2005.
Emily Stover DeRocco,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
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[FR Doc. 05-5806 Filed 3-24-05; 8:45 am]
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