Passaic County Workforce Development Board
American Job Centers (AJC) / One-Stop Certification Policy, including annual accessibility assessments
Purpose: The Passaic County Workforce Development Board (PCWDB) approved a American Job Centers (AJC) / One-Stop Certification Policy. The policy is required under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Section 121. The PCWDB’s adopted a policy addendum on ADA compliance and accessibility assessments for individuals with disabilities, per NJWIN 17- 16 (A), was approved.
Background: WIOA requires that local American Job Centers (AJC) / One‐Stop Career Centers shall be certified. The law links such certification to the ability to receive potential infrastructure funding for the One‐Stop. Such certification shall be based on established criteria and the extent to which the One‐Stop provides programs and services in the local area that have enabled that area to satisfy or exceed performance and quality service criterion. The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award principles establish an approach to performance excellence with a focus on continuous improvement.
WIOA requires that the State establish a level of expectation for One‐Stop certification that local boards must utilize (or may exceed) as a basis to certify a One‐Stop under its auspices. The Baldrige approach to gauging efforts regarding leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, information and analysis, human resource focus, process management and business results has been adopted in many states as a format in establishing such a certification process. The New Jersey State Combined Plan requires that local workforce areas competitively procure a One‐ Stop Operator every two years. While the WIOA law speaks to a 4‐year requirement, New Jersey would need to be consistent with its existing plan. The certification process is overseen by New Jersey State Employment and Training Commission (SETC), as per SETC Policy 2016-14.
NJWIN17-16(A) also details the assessment of programmatic and physical accessibility of One-Stop Centers for individuals with disabilities and includes physical and programmatic accessibility checklists for the workforce board to conduct assessments of the one-stops in the local area.
Policy: The PCWDB will provide AJC / One-Stop certification documents and related items to the SETC as directed by the SETC and in a timely fashion to meet all deadlines. The PCWDB also will review certification documents and related items and authorize submission.
The programmatic assessment is an opportunity for the PCWDB to identify gaps in accessibility within the one-stops and take corrective action to address these gaps. The ADA Checklist for Existing Facilities provides possible solutions for any deficiencies related to physical accessibility. The PCWDB will use this assessment as an opportunity to initiate a cycle of continuous improvement in providing access in the local one-stop system.
