WIA specifies one funding source for each of the act’s main client groups—adults, youths, and dislocated workers. Labor estimated that approximately 927,000 dislocated workers would be served with these funds in program year 2000. A dislocated worker is an individual who (1) has been terminated or laid off, or who has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment; is eligible for, or has exhausted entitlement to, unemployment insurance or is not eligible but has been employed for a sufficient duration to demonstrate attachment to the workforce; and is unlikely to return to previous industry or occupation; (2) has been terminated or laid off, or has received a notice of termination or layoff, from employment as a result of any permanent plant closure of, or substantial layoff at, a plant, facility, or enterprise; (3) was self employed but is unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in the community in which the individual resides or because of natural disasters; or (4) is a displaced homemaker. The secretary of Labor retains 20 percent of the dislocated worker funds in a national reserve account to be used for emergency grants, demonstrations, and technical assistance and allots the remaining funds to each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico according to a specific formula. The formula, first adopted in 1982 under the Job Training Partnership Act, was grandfathered into the dislocated worker program under WIA. According to the formula, of the total funds that Labor allots to the states, one-third is based on each of the following: the number of unemployed in the state compared with the total number of unemployed in all states, the number of excess unemployed in the state compared with the total number of excess unemployed in all states (i.e., the number of unemployed greater than 4.5 percent of the total civilian labor force in each state), and the number of individuals unemployed for 15 weeks or more in the state compared with the number of individuals unemployed for 15 weeks or more in all states. Upon receiving its allotment, each state can reserve no more than 25 percent of its dislocated worker funds to provide “rapid response” services to workers affected by layoffs and plant closings. The funds set aside by the states to provide rapid response services are intended to help dislocated workers transition quickly to new employment. In its regulations, Labor divides rapid response activities into the following three categories: Required services. These include immediate and on-site contact with the employer experiencing layoffs as well as with employee representatives to assess the needs of affected workers and to provide information to the affected workers about unemployment insurance (UI) and other services. Optional services. These include developing programs for layoff aversion and incumbent worker training and for analyzing economic dislocation data. Additional assistance. This includes providing aid to local areas that are experiencing increased unemployment, to pay for direct services such as training. Under WIA regulations, each state is required to have a rapid response unit with responsibility for rapid response services. The staff in these units may deliver services directly by providing orientations or workshops for dislocated workers, or they may supervise the provision of such services. In the latter capacity, the state unit staff would assign the delivery of direct services to other personnel such as local area staff or private contractors. In addition to the dislocated worker funds that are set aside for rapid response, WIA allows states to set aside up to 15 percent of their dislocated worker allotment to support statewide activities other than rapid response. These may include a variety of activities that benefit adults, youths, and dislocated workers statewide, such as providing assistance in the establishment and operation of one-stop centers, developing or operating state or local management information systems, and disseminating lists of organizations that can provide training. WIA also permits states to combine the set-aside from the dislocated worker allotment with similar set-asides from their adult and youth allotments. After states set aside funds for rapid response and for other statewide activities, they allocate the remainder of the funds—at least 60 percent— to their local workforce areas. Approximately 600 local workforce areas exist throughout the nation to provide services to dislocated workers. When the Congress passed WIA in 1998, the dislocated worker program was changed in ways that have important implications for dislocated workers. Unlike JTPA, WIA ensured that some job search and placement assistance is offered to anyone who seeks it, whether or not he or she is eligible for the dislocated worker program. WIA also created three sequential levels of service—core, intensive, and training. In order to move from the core level to the intensive level and from the intensive level to training, an individual must be unable to obtain a job that allows him or her to become self sufficient. Under WIA, the initial core services—including job search and placement assistance, the provision of labor market information, and preliminary assessment of skills and needs—are available to everyone, whether or not he or she is a dislocated worker. If a dislocated worker is determined to be unable to find a job or has a job that does not lead to self-sufficiency after core services, he or she can receive intensive services, which include comprehensive assessments, development of an individual employment plan, case management, and short-term prevocational services. A dislocated worker cannot receive intensive services until he or she is officially registered in the program. A dislocated worker who is determined to be unable to find a job leading to self sufficiency after intensive services can move on to training. At this level, a dislocated worker can receive occupational skills training, on-the-job training, and customized training. With the greater flexibility granted by WIA, local workforce areas are likely to offer services tailored to local needs and services that emphasize a quick return to employment. Many of the local areas that we visited tailored services or designed programs to meet the needs of dislocated workers in their areas. Some workforce areas had also adopted a work- first approach to their services and required individuals to dedicate a set amount of time or a specific number of tasks to finding employment before receiving additional services, such as training. This meant that more individuals returned to work before being registered in the dislocated worker program. Thus, fewer dislocated workers were registered in the program and fewer were enrolled in training. Although WIA was intended to provide local workforce officials with greater flexibility, it also increased their need for timely and accurate information concerning the provisions of the legislation that they are required to implement. Labor has provided guidance and technical assistance to help states transition from JTPA to WIA. Despite these efforts, state and local officials cite an ongoing need for guidance concerning basic program requirements and how to interpret them. Several of the local areas we visited tailored their services or designed programs to meet the particular needs of the dislocated workers in their areas. For example, staff at the one-stop centers that we visited provided general orientation about available services to all interested individuals. However, one local area in California designed an orientation program exclusively for dislocated workers. At this two-hour orientation, benefits and requirements specific to dislocated workers were described and counselors met one-on-one with interested workers for more in-depth needs assessments and strategy development. Unlike other local areas that we visited, this area had two staff members who were responsible for providing a range of services only to dislocated workers. Another local area in California established a separate career resource program to assist the area’s professional workers who have been dislocated and employers seeking qualified job applicants in areas such as software development, biotechnology, communications, and human resources. The program, tailored to professional and high-tech dislocated workers, provided the dislocated workers with their own one-stop center where job information and computers were available. In addition, regular meetings were held to share information on job leads and career fairs as well as for moral support. This program also had its own Web site where participating dislocated workers could post their résumés. Employers looking for qualified professional or high-tech applicants were able to search the Web site for potential candidates by means of key words, such as “Web design,” and obtain a list of all résumés containing those key words. A local area in Maryland that we visited was administering a 3-year $20- million dislocated worker demonstration grant tailored to local employer needs. The training programs consisted of customized training with extensive involvement from employers in designing the programs to train 3,000 people for high-tech jobs in a metropolitan area covering three states. The program focused on entry-level information technology and telecommunication jobs and, to date, has established training programs for Web developers and cable technicians. This same local area also developed a career transition workshop to help dislocated workers cope emotionally with being laid off and plan for the future. A local area in Louisiana facing a major plant closing tailored a program to meet the needs of the 1,300 workers being laid off. Workers in this plant were primarily from two adjacent workforce areas. Staff from these two areas joined together to establish a transition center on site at the employer’s location. Staff and computers were available around the clock to advise the workers of available services; provide job search and placement assistance, career counseling, and vocational assessments; and register workers into the dislocated worker program under WIA. The emphasis placed by some local workforce areas on individuals finding a job and the availability of job search and placement assistance prior to enrolling in the dislocated worker program has reduced the number of people registering in the dislocated worker program in those areas. Some local officials have interpreted WIA’s requirements as supporting a work- first philosophy. In four of the local areas we visited, officials required individuals to spend a certain amount of time or perform a specific number of tasks related to finding employment before registering in the dislocated worker program and receiving additional services.