Purpose
To define the standards for training providers applying for program certification in DuPage County LWIA 6 to be identified as eligible to receive WIA Title I funds.

Background
Workforce Development Division (WDD)/LWIA 6 is adhering to policies related to training provider certification issued by the state and by the DuPage County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) (DuPage County Local Provider Certification Policy approved 6/19/2000). By DuPage WIB policy letter, the Provider Program Certification Standards will remain the same except for the following (stated) changes.

Program Initial Eligibility
Certified training programs must continue to apply for program re-certification annually through the LWIA which granted initial certification.
The DuPage County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) and DuPage County Workforce Development Division (WDD) will no longer certify programs solely based upon previous state funding and/or state experience. All programs MUST be accredited or approved by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), North Central Association (NCA), the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB), or some other Federal, State or nationally recognized industry standard association (appropriate to the training being offered) to become a certified training provider program recognized by DuPage WDD/LWIA 6.
All non-accredited or non- approved training programs certified by some other LWIA and thus by the State of Illinois will no longer be considered eligible training options for DuPage WDD Individual Training Account (ITA) holders.

DuPage County Additional Certification Provisions  
All training providers who offer programs that function as preparation for any state or national certification, licensure, or industry standard must show proof of recognition by the appropriate accrediting body at the time of application.
Training programs must be occupational in nature in high growth/high demand industries/occupations within the Chicago-Metro area, based on State of Illinois statistical information or employer certification of need.
All programs of study must lead to training related jobs and attainment of an occupational skill certificate, industry recognized certification and/or licensure.

Out of state training providers will be considered for approval only when it has been established that no other compatible training is available in Illinois or it has been determined (documented by assessment of the client needs) that it would be in the best interest of the client to attend the out-of-state provider training.

Additionally, all training providers seeking certification need to be open for business, providing the same occupational training services as those outlined for WIA certification for at least 12 months prior to seeking certification to provide WIA training services.  Open for business is defined as having achieved, and providing evidence of the following:

- Have a legal and good standing state and/or locally register business
- Have FEIN or SS number
- Have a physical location to provide training
- Copy of training catalog
- Training institution tuition refund policy
- Proof of published program/tuition cost
- Accredited, licensed, or industry standard association approved

The DuPage Workforce Development Division provides an online application for training providers with corporate headquarters located within DuPage County. As part of the approval process, WDD staff will complete an interview and/or an on-site visit to discuss the following topics:
Physical location
Quality of instructors
Accessibility and Equal Opportunity (EEO) compliance
Placement outcomes and salary expectations of graduates 
Upon completion of the application, WDD will make a determination regarding the institution and programs. It is possible that not all your programs will be approved. Decision factors (in addition to the above) include: Placement rates, salaries of students placed in jobs, job availability in the local area and other unforeseen factors. 

Certification Schedule
DuPage County Workforce Development Division will accept initial application at any time during the year for programs that are considered "high- need”. All other applications will be taken quarterly.  This quarterly eligibility process allows for better management of programs approved by WDD/LWIA6. WDD will accept initial applications during the following months:

High-need programs will fit one of the following definitions in that they:

- Meet all initial and local requirements and
- Provide specialized training unlike any existing program on the state list;
- Specialize in serving populations with multiple barriers to employment (i.e. ex-offenders, people with disabilities);
- Will result in a customer graduating with a B.A. degree or higher within one marking period (i.e. the customer will graduate within one semester or quarter);
- Provide an employer-identified value-added training, which will result in job placement.

The DuPage County Workforce Development Division Technical Services Unit will review all eligible programs. Programs must be approved by the DuPage WDD before they are added to the state list and the DuPage County local list. Data analysis, cost comparison, and overall program quality will be measured when selecting eligible programs through this quarterly process as well as the “high need” category.

Institutions interested in obtaining approval as a training provider in DuPage County, please download and complete an Application for Potential Training Providers, which can be accessed here.

Submit completed application along with a copy of the institution’s accreditation to:

Technical Services Unit
DuPage Workforce Development Division
2525 Cabot Drive, Suite 302
Lisle, IL 60532
630-955-2059 Fax
providers@worknetdupage.org

Program Re-Certification Requirements
After Initial Certification, all programs require re-certification every 12 months.  It is required that all programs be re-certified within the sixty days prior to the 12 month expiration. For example, if a program’s initial certification is January 31, 2008, the re-certification must be completed between December 1, 2008 and January 31, 2009. Programs can only re-certify within the sixty-day Re-Certification period, any school/institution needing to make changes to their programs prior to the re-certification period must first obtain approval by contacting the Workforce Development Division office.    
 Programs that do not meet the re-certification deadline will be placed in Suspended status on the State Provider List and removed from the DuPage County WDD Local Provider List. Consequently no new students can be funded for these programs. Once a program is suspended, it will remain in Suspended Status. A request can be submitted (in writing) to release a program from Suspended Status. Once a request to release a program from Suspended Status has been received a complete review of the program will be done to determine if the program still meets the initial provider eligibility criteria. To avoid re-certifying programs at different dates a provider can instead choose to have all their program re-certifications due at the same time by contacting WDD.
Additionally, all eligible training providers certified through LWIA 6 will be required to meet at a minimum the following program performance:

- Credential Attainment Rate of 80%; and
- Training Related Entered Employment Rate of 70%
- To calculate the performance of each program seeking re-certification, WDD will run reports that will include:
- The number of customers served;
- The number of participants that attained credentials;
- The number of placements in training related jobs.

This information will be available to WDD clients allowing LWIA 6 customers to select the highest quality training programs from the state/local list.  These new requirements will permit customers the ability to select programs based on previous performance in addition to the mandatory on-site visits.

Programs seeking re-certification that fail to meet any of the WIA measures will be subject to removal from the state list at the discretion of the DuPage WIB as advised by WDD.  Once the program is taken off the State and DuPage County Approved Provider List no new students can be funded by WIA Individual Training Accounts. Programs removed from the system can re-apply after twelve months.  For the purpose of annual re-certification, data for a minimum of six students are required to calculate performance outcomes. Credential Attainment will be calculated based on clients (minimum of 6) that have completed the training program. Training Related Job Placement outcomes will be calculated based on the number (minimum of 6) of students that have completed their training and have exited from the (WIA) program or/and have completed training and have been job searching for over 6 months.  Programs that have less than six program participants are exempt from the performance outcome requirement. However, continuous negative performance over the course of 3 years will be evaluated using the performance measures in this policy.  In order to establish the basis for the annual performance outcomes, an initial report will be generated, for each provider being reviewed, that will include all participants in the WDD participant information system.  After the first year, the report will be generated to include the past twenty four months.

Workforce Investment Act (WIA), DuPage County
Workforce Development Division (WDD),
Local Workforce Investment Area 6 (LWIA 6)
DuPage Workforce Investment Board (WIB)