1. (a) Basic Workforce Center Standards. The Commission has established basic standards that must be met by all Texas Workforce Centers. Certified Texas Workforce Centers shall:

   1. (1) be available to employers, students and workers throughout the local workforce development area;
   2. (2) provide access to information and services, including employment services;
   3. (3) address individual needs of customers by providing processes for the following three methods of accessing services: self-service, basic access, and full access;
   4. (4) provide services that are tailored to meet individual needs and include: labor market information, a common intake and eligibility determination process, an independent assessment and service strategy, centralized and continuous case management and counseling, access to Individual Training Account (ITA) services for education and training needs, supportive services (including access to subsidized child care), student loans, and other forms of financial assistance required to participate in and complete training;
   5. (5) not provide developmental services, such as General Educational Development (GED), English as a Second Language (ESL), or Adult Basic Education (ABE);
   6. (6) provide each person with written information on local demand occupations, projected wage level upon completion of training programs, and performance of training providers when requested;
   7. (7) implement a process for initial contact that is customer-driven and flexible;
   8. (8) ensure access throughout the workforce development area by developing electronic methods for service delivery, such as kiosk, Internet, and wide area network (WAN);
   9. (9) ensure staff are experienced and knowledgeable in all required programs and services for job seekers and for employers;
   10. (10) implement a tiered customer-driven service delivery strategy that includes: information through individual self-service, job search assistance in group settings, access to information on filing a claim for unemployment insurance benefits, and specialized, intensive staff-assisted services;
   11. (11) prepare and make available understandable information packages for customers that briefly describe services, locations, self-service options, job openings, career exploration methods, labor market information, training opportunities, educational opportunities, and consumer information, and that also provide a mechanism for customer feedback on services provided;
   12. (12) implement a timely and efficient referral and follow up process for employment-related services;
   13. (13) provide independent assessment of individual needs that includes assessment of literacy levels for Choices clients who have not recently received a literacy level assessment;
   14. (14) maintain a user-friendly resource center that makes available computerized information systems with access to labor market information, demographics, occupations, and educational opportunities;
   15. (15) make available core services, as defined in §801.28, of the following programs: Title I of WIA serving adults, dislocated workers and youth; Food Stamp Employment and Training; TANF Choices activities; access to subsidized Child Care Services; Wagner-Peyser Employment Services; Trade Adjustment Assistance; veterans' employment and training programs; adult education; National Literacy Act services; non-certificate postsecondary career and technology training; Senior Texans Employment Program; Apprenticeship Program; National Community Services Act Program; Project RIO for ex-offenders; and access to unemployment insurance benefits. Boards shall ensure that staff be available to provide the core services of these programs during all Texas Workforce Center operating hours;
   16. (16) ensure availability through the Texas Workforce Centers of other services for the programs listed in subparagraph (15) of this section;
   17. (17) provide reasonable accommodation and accessibility in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA); and
   18. (18) meet each of the requirements for Certified Full Service Texas Workforce Centers within twelve months of certification as a Texas Workforce Center.

2. (b) Full Service Standards. The Commission has established specific standards for a Texas Workforce Center to receive full service certification. A Certified Full Service Texas Workforce Center shall meet each of the following requirements within twelve months of certification as a Texas Workforce Center. Certified Full Service Texas Workforce Centers shall:

   1. (1) design a customer-friendly waiting area and implement written procedures that define the measures taken to minimize customer wait time in the reception area and in other areas of the Texas Workforce Center;
   2. (2) develop written procedures for following up on referrals to determine customer receipt of services, appropriateness of the referral to address the customer's needs and the extent of customer satisfaction with the referral process and service received;
   3. (3) provide customer access to the statewide job matching system, resume preparation tools, including software, and the Internet;
   4. (4) provide consumer information on the quality of education and training providers and include a mechanism for customer feedback on personal experience with such providers;
   5. (5) develop and display a menu of services with a corresponding fee schedule for services available at the Certified Full Service Texas Workforce Center;
   6. (6) demonstrate: on-site management of all personnel, a plan for cross-training staff in all services, minimal programmatic specialization of staff, non-duplication of efforts, removal of redundancies within program activities, and maximum flexibility to optimize utilization of resources;
   7. (7) provide basic labor exchange services, including access to job orders for applicants, access to applicants for employers, and screening and referral methods for matching appropriate applicants and job orders; and
   8. (8) provide centralized case management activities for specialized populations, such as the welfare, veterans, dislocated workers and disabled populations.

Source Note:The provisions of this §801.25 adopted to be effective May 25, 2000, 25 TexReg 4591.