Code of Maine Rules › 12 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR › 597 - BUREAU OF EMPLOYMENT SERVICES › Chapter 2 - RULE GOVERNING THE COMPETITIVE SKILLS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM › Section 597-2-5 - NO SUPPLANTATION; MAXIMIZING USE OF OTHER RESOURCES

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
1.
No supplantation
.
No CareerCenter or organization receiving CSSP funds may supplant other
				funds with CSSP or CSSF funds. Competitive Skills Scholarship Funds (CSSF) and
				other sources of funding available to assist people pursuing post-secondary
				education shall be combined to maximize available dollars. Policies affecting
				eligibility standards or level of education, training and support services
				available for individuals in post-secondary training and education under WIOA
				shall not be changed by local WIOA areas so as to reduce the level of such
				services absent written approval of the Director of the Bureau. The local WIOA
				areas must expend the percentage of WIOA spending on education and training
				established in their local WIOA plans.
A.
TAA and TRA.
Individuals eligible for Trade Adjustment Assistance
				(TAA) must exhaust all other resources needed to participate successfully in
				their training program. If a participant receiving TAA needs a support service
				that is not available under TAA in order to participate successfully in his or
				her training program, eligibility for that support service under CSSP may be
				determined. Persons eligible for a TRA allowance are not eligible for the CSSP
				training stipend under section 6.11 of this rule. The case manager will
				determine whether applicants to CSSP may be eligible for TAA or a TRA
				allowance.
B.
WIOA.
Participants enrolled in both WIOA and CSSP shall receive WIOA services in
				accordance with the written WIOA policies (including policies that determine
				the amount or nature of education, training and support services) that are
				applicable to all WIO A participants in the local WIOA area. Taking into
				account written local WIOA policies and CSSP rules, each ISS should maximize
				the availability of education, training and related support services from all
				funding sources. All ISS plans containing CSSP funding must be reviewed by the
				CareerCenter Manager designated by the Director of the Bureau. WIOA assistance
				shall not be reduced if a person who is already participating in WIOA applies
				for and is eligible for CSSP unless WIOA funding committed to the participant
				under local WIOA policy or WIOA funding for education and training and related
				support services for the region has been exhausted. For WIOA enrolled
				participants eligible for CSSP, written documentation must be obtained by
				participant case managers from the WIOA service provider that education,
				training and support service funds have been exhausted. This documentation is
				required before CSSP funds may be used to support a current WIOA funded
				Individual Service Strategy.
The Bureau of Employment Services (BES) will review WIOA and
				  CSSP expenditures annually to determine the extent to which both are being
				  maximized for education and training and related support services.
C.
Dislocated Worker
				Benefits (DWB).
Applicants and participants who are likely to be
				eligible for Dislocated Worker Benefits must apply for those benefits. If a
				participant is determined eligible for DWB, the participant is not eligible for
				the CSSP training stipend.
D.
Vocational Rehabilitation.
If an applicant or participant who has
				a disability is eligible for funding from Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) or a
				similar program that assists in providing education or training, then, to the
				extent that funding is available in a manner that does not delay commencement
				of their program, VR funding must be obtained. CSSP services necessary to
				participate in the education or training program and that are not available
				through VR may be provided. Case managers must assist those with a disability
				in accessing other programs that may assist them with education, training and
				support expenses in addition to assisting in access to CSSP.
E.
Parents as Scholars.
Parents
				who are eligible for Parents as Scholars (PaS) (which provides support for
				education similar to CSSP) may not simultaneously be eligible for CSSP. Parents
				with children who receive TANF will be required to apply for PaS by contacting
				their ASPIRE case worker. Single parents or two-parent families in which one
				parent is disabled or unemployed with household income below 75% of the poverty
				level are required to apply for TANF and Parents as Scholars at the Department
				of Health and Human Services if they have not done so already.
F.
Financial Aid
. Aid from CSSP
				must be calculated only after all other federal, state and campus-based sources
				of financial aid (not including loans or federal work study) have been
				considered. Applications for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
				are required. Student loans are not required to participate in CSSP and the
				decision to apply for student loan assistance is left to the discretion of the
				CSSP participant to cover unmet costs of participation in her or his education
				and training program. If the financial aid administrator confirms in writing
				that an application for federal financial aid would be futile then the
				applicant or participant need not apply and CSSP may assist.