Library: Policy
340:10-2-7. Training
Revised 9-15-20
(a) Scope.Job skills training activities include vocational training and hands-on work experience to develop technical skills, knowledge, and abilities in specific occupational areas. • 1All training programs must include qualitative measures, such as competency gains or proficiency levels, to evaluate a participant's progress and reasonable time limits for completion.Referrals are made to appropriate training facilities on Form 08TW003E, Interagency Referral and Information.
(b) Assignments.Any training to which the participant is assigned must meet the criteria in (1) through (4) of this subsection.
(1) The hours of any training activity are governed by the training facility but must not exceed 40 hours per week. • 2
(2) The training is preparation for a job that meets the criteria for appropriate employment.
(3) The quality and type of training must meet local employers' requirements so participants are in a competitive position with the local labor market.
(4) Training is related to in-demand occupations that are likely to become available in Oklahoma, such as health care, geriatric care, and other career paths found at https://oklahomaworks.gov/.
(c) Job Corps non-resident training program (Job Corps II). Oklahoma's four Job Corps centers provide a nonresident Job Corps program to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants who can commute to their sites.Participants referred must be between 16 and 24 years of age.The Adult and Family Services (AFS) worker completes Form 08MP013E, Referral for Services to refer the TANF participant to Job Corp.It is the AFS worker's responsibility to coordinate with the Job Corps center to arrange for child care.
(1) By special agreement with the Job Corps centers, Job Corps II students are provided Job Corps participant training allowances designed to meet training costs not covered by the TANF cash assistance.These allowances are not considered as income.
(2) The worker coordinates with the centers and other designated agencies, such as the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission (OESC) and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) partners, to ensure Job Corps II students leaving the center are placed in an appropriate work activity.When a Job Corps II student leaves the center, the worker meets with the Job Corps II student to make immediate plans for further implementation of the employability plan.
(d) Vocational training.Up to 12 months of participation in a vocational certificate, associate's degree, bachelor's degree, or advanced degree program may count as vocational training when it qualifies a participant to obtain immediate employment in a specific field.
(1) When the institution of higher education has a TANF-funded contract, the participant must attend through the contracted provider.
(2) The participant is required to participate the minimum number of hours in a TANF activity, per Oklahoma Administrative Code 340:10-2-1(2) or as mandated by the TANF-contracted provider.
(3) The participant must maintain satisfactory academic progress with a minimum grade point average of 2.0 and verify progress at mid-term, when possible, and at the end of the semester.Progress may be verified by a grade report, transcript, or a statement from the contracted provider or other school official. • 3
(4) When satisfactory progress is not met, the AFS worker submits Form 08TW008E, Higher Education Probationary Approval Request, to AFS TANF staff to request a probationary approval period.When the probationary approval period is not approved, the participant is placed in another TANF Work activity.
(5) Participants participating in a vocational certificate, associate's degree, bachelor's degree, or advanced degree program as part of the employability plan may count homework or study time up to one hour for each class hour, when the participant provides, at the beginning of each new class or semester; a class syllabus or a statement from the instructor, professor, or advisor that states the additional time is:
(A) a class requirement;
(B) above and beyond work normally completed during class hours; and
(C) not used to make up missed class hours. • 4
(e) Special programs and demonstration efforts with other agencies.The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (DHS) may enter into special education, training, or employment efforts with federal, state, and local governments and with private for-profit and private not-for-profit organizations and agencies.When this occurs, involved county office staff is expected to comply with the terms of those agreements. • 5
(f) Job skills training.Training directly related to job skills required by an employer or that provides a participant with the ability to obtain employment or to advance or adapt to the changing demands of the workplace.
(1) Time spent in vocational training in excess of 12 months that is an approved part of the participant's employability plan may be counted toward the required work activity hours, when the participant also participates in a different approved core activity for a minimum of 20 hours per week.
(2) Homework or study time may count up to one hour for each class hour, when the participant provides, at the beginning of each new class or semester; a class syllabus or a statement from the instructor, professor, or advisor that states the additional time is:
(A) a class requirement;
(B) above and beyond the work normally completed during class hours; and
(C) not used to make up missed class hours. • 4
Revised 9-5-20
1.Prior to enrolling a participant in a specific training program, the worker must evaluate whether an Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) background search is a prerequisite for potential employment.A background search may be considered a prerequisite for potential employment when a criminal history is indicated or when required by a specific employer or field of employment, such as medical or child care.This action may prevent an inappropriate placement in a training program in which the participant would be barred from employment.A background search is not necessary for all Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) participants.Refer to Oklahoma Administrative Code (OAC) 340:10-2-8.
2. Participation hours may be combined with other countable work activity hours to meet the minimum hours of required participation, per OAC 340:10-2-1.
3.The worker reviews the document provided by the participant to determine if the participant is maintaining satisfactory progress and documents the progress in Family Assistance/Client Services (FACS) case notes.
4.(a) The participant documents on Form 08TW013E, Time and Progress Report, the hours spent in class.The worker records homework or study time hours only on the days the participant attended class on Form 08TW013E and in the system after ensuring that documentation required to count these hours is in the case record.
(b) A practicum placement, internship, or work-based training required to complete a degree or vocational training certification may be counted as work experience.In some degree programs, the work-based training is completed after the degree is obtained.Work-based training is only allowable after degree completion when the participant cannot work in the field until the work-based training is completed.An example is student teaching.These work-based training activities are coded in the FACS Eligibility Notebook TANF Work tab "Component" field as a work experience (TW) authorization.
5.Copies of the agreements and procedures for implementing the program are distributed through Adult and Family Services numbered memos.Workers are trained and the program is implemented according to the agreement.
