	Workforce Development and Support Services; and Financial Asset-Building Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

WDS 4: Assessment-Based Employment Planning and Monitoring

Each job seeker participates in a culturally responsive, individualized, and comprehensive assessment, which is the basis for the development and ongoing review of an employment plan that:

addresses the job seeker’s needs;
supports attainment of the job seeker’s goals and desired outcomes; and
improves the job seeker’s ability to be self-sustaining.

WDS 4.01

Culturally responsive assessments are conducted within timeframes established by the organization to determine the job seeker’s:

previous formal and informal work experience;
relevant life experiences;
interests, aptitudes, and employment goals;
training and educational needs;
strengths and coping strategies;
informal support networks; and
barriers to employment.

Interpretation: Culturally responsive assessments can include attention to geographic location, language of choice, and the person’s religious, racial, ethnic, and cultural background. Other important factors that contribute to a responsive assessment include attention to age, sexual orientation, and developmental level.

Note: Refer to the Assessment Matrix for additional Screening/Intake Assessment criteria. The elements of the matrix can be tailored according to the needs of specific individuals or service design.

WDS 4.02

The organization works with the full participation of the job seeker to develop and regularly review an assessment-based employment plan that is individualized, flexible, and modified as necessary to meet his or her changing needs and goals.

Interpretation: Employment planning is to be conducted so that the service recipient retains as much personal responsibility and self-determination as possible and desired. When the service recipient is a minor, or an adult under the care of a guardian, the organization should follow applicable state laws or regulations requiring involvement or consent of legal guardians.

WDS 4.03

To ensure the development of a comprehensive employment plan, direct service personnel are trained in the variety of services offered by the organization, directly and by referral.

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	PURPOSE: Job seekers who receive workforce development, support, and financial asset building services achieve increased economic self-sufficiency through the attainment and retention of jobs in the community and the promotion of asset accumulation.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	ASSESSMENT An evaluation, which utilizes professional expertise and skills in the collection and analysis of data to understand and describe the nature of service needs of an individual, family, or group. Assessment, as in needs assessment, is also used to determine priorities of program planning and service development for the organization as a whole. See also DIAGNOSIS.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	LEGAL GUARDIAN A person who has legal responsibility for the care and management of a person incapable of administering his/her own affairs. In the case of a minor child, the guardian is charged with the legal responsibility for the care and management of the child and of the minor child's estate.


	PERSONNEL The body of employees and/or volunteers that carries out the organization's tasks under the organization's administration and/or supervision. This definition does not include foster parents who are specifically referenced in relevant standards