Definitions and Terms

Appendix I
DEFINITIONS AND TERMS
Administrative Costs - Administrative costs shall consist of all direct and indirect costs
associated with the supervision and management of the program. These costs shall include the
administrative costs, both direct and indirect, of sub-recipients and contractors.
Adult Basic Education - Education for adults whose inability to speak, read, or write the English
language or to effectively reason mathematically, constitutes a substantial impairment of their ability
to get or retain employment commensurate with their real ability. Designed to help raise the level of
education of individuals to improve their ability to benefit from occupational training. This also
increases opportunities for more productive and profitable employment, and assists individuals in
taking care of adult responsibilities.
Ancillary Services – Employment and training related activities, other than core training, that
enhances a participant’s employability.
Apprenticeship Training – A formal occupational training program that combines on-the-job
training and related instruction where workers learn practical and conceptual skills required for a
skilled occupation, craft, or trade. It may be registered or unregistered.
Assessment/Intake - A process for screening individual applicants for program eligibility. This
provides information to make level of need determinations, initial determinations of services or
programs that best benefit the applicants, provide information about services and the availability of
services, and routing or selecting individual applicants for service delivery or program participation.
Assisted Placements Into Unsubsidized Employment - Assisted placements into unsubsidized
employment should be recorded where the definition is met, but the placement was arranged by an
agency where the homeless veteran was referred .
Average Hourly Wage At Placement - The average hourly wage at placement is the average hourly
wage rates at placement of all assisted placements plus direct placements.
Assurance and Certifications - The act of signifying intent to comply with applicable federal and
State laws and regulations as a condition for receiving and expanding USDOL grant funds.
Barriers to Employment - Characteristics that may hinder an individual’s hiring promotion or
participation in the labor force. Identification of these barriers will vary by location and labor market.
Some examples of individuals who may face barriers to employment include: single parents, women,
displaced homemakers, youth, public assistance recipients, older workers, substance abusers, teenage
parents, certain veterans, ethnic minorities, and those with limited English speaking ability or a
criminal record or with a lack of education, work experience, credential, child care arrangements, of
lack of transportation.
Campaign Badge veteran - A veteran who served on active duty during the war (e.g., WWII),
action (e.g., Korea, Vietnam), in a campaign, or an expedition for which a campaign badge of an

expeditionary medal has been authorized (e.g. Bosnia, Grenada, Haiti, Panama, Southeast Asia, and
Somalia).
Case Management - A client centered approach in the delivery of intensive services designed to:
prepare and coordinate comprehensive employment plans for participants; to assure access to the
necessary training and supportive services; and to provide support during program participation and
after job placement.
Case Manager - One who coordinates, facilitates or provides direct service to a client or trainee
from application through placement, post placement follow-up, or other case closing, exclusively,
through periodic contact and the provision of appropriate assistance.
Chronically Homeless – An unaccompanied homeless individual with a disabling condition who
has either been continuously homeless for a year or more, or who has had at least four (4) episodes of
homelessness in the past three (3) years. A disabling condition is defined as a diagnosed substance
abuse disorder, serious mental illness, developmental disability, or chronic physical illness or
disability including the co-occurrence of two or more of these conditions. A disabling condition
limits an individual's ability to work or perform one or more activities of daily living.
Classroom Training – Any training of the type normally conducted in an institutional setting,
including vocational education, which is designed to provide individuals with the technical skills and
information required to perform a specific job or group of jobs. It may also include training designed
to enhance the employability of individuals by upgrading basic skills through courses such as
remedial education, training in the primary language of persons with limited English language
proficiency, or English as a second language training.
Close Out – Grant close out is the process by which the Federal grantor agency (in the case of VETS
grants, Department of Labor) determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required
work of the grant have been completed by the grantee and the grantor.
Cognizant Federal Agency - The federal agency that is assigned audit or indirect cost rate approval
responsibility for a particular recipient organization by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB
Circular A-87 and A-102 [20 CFR, Part 97]).
Community Based Organization – A private non-profit organization in a community that has
demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in the field of workforce investment.
Core Training – Core Training activities are employment-focused interventions which address basic
vocational skills deficiencies that prevent the participant from accessing appropriate employment .
Cost Per Placement - Obtained by dividing the total funds expended by the total of direct
placements plus assisted placements.
Counseling - A form of assistance that provides guidance in the development of a participant’s
vocational goals and the means to achieve those goals. It may assist a participant with the solution to
one or more individual problems that pose a barrier to sustained employment.

Counselor - (Employment/Vocational) A trained and qualified professional authorized to provide
direct assistance (beyond advising and informing) through planning, testing, training and otherwise
readying an individual for sustained employment.
Customized Training – A training program designed to meet the requirements of an employer who
has entered into an agreement with a Service Delivery Area to hire individuals trained to the
employer’s specifications. The training may occur at the employer’s site or may be provided by a
training vendor to meet the employer’s requirements. Such training usually requires a commitment
from the employer to hire a specific number of trainees who satisfactorily complete the training.
Direct Placements Into Unsubsidized Employment - A placement made directly by staff with an
established employer who covers all employment costs for 20 or more hours per week at or above the
minimum wage. Day labor and other very short-term placements are not placements into
unsubsidized employment.
Disabled Veteran - A veteran who is entitled to compensation under laws administered by the
Veterans Administration; or an individual who was medically discharged or otherwise released from
active duty, due to service-connected disability.
Disallowed Costs – Charges to a grant that the grantor agency (or its representative) determines to be
unallowable in accordance with the applicable Federal Cost Principles or other grant conditions.
Disabled Veterans’ Outreach Program (DVOP) - A program of Federal assistance in accordance
with 38 USC 4103Ato provide grants to States to staff and support of a number of duties. These
include direct employer contact with Federal contractors, Federal employers using individualized job
development techniques, and with veterans (particularly with disabled veterans) using a case
management approach to client- centered services.
Economically Disadvantaged – An individual who (a) receives, or is a member of a family that
receives payments under a Federal, state, or local welfare program; (b) has, or is a member of a
family that has received a total family income for the six-month period prior to application for the
program involved (exclusive of unemployment compensation, child support payments, and welfare
payments) which, in relation to family size, is not in excess of (i) the official poverty line (as
defined by the Office of Management and Budget, and revised annually in accordance with section
673 (2) of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (42 U.S.C. 9902(2)), or (ii) 70 percent of
the lower living standard income level; (c) is receiving (or has been determined within the 6-month
period prior to the application for program involved to be eligible to receive) food stamps pursuant to
the Food Stamp At of 1977; (d) qualifies as a homeless individual under section 103 of the Stewart
B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act; (e) is a foster child on behalf of whom state or local
government payments are made, or (f) in cases permitted by regulations of the Secretary, is an
individual with a disability whose income meets the requirements of clause (a) or (b), but who is a
member of a family whose income does not meet such requirements.
Eligible - Meeting the minimum requisite qualifications to be considered for the provision of
services or entry into a position under a funded program or as required by law.
Employability Development Services (EDS) - Includes services and activities that will develop or
increase the employability of the participant. This includes vocational counseling, classroom and onthe-job training, pre-employment services (such as job seeking skills and job search workshops),

temporary or trial employment, sheltered work environments and other related services and activities.
Planned services should assist the participant in addressing barriers to attaining employment. These
activities may be provided by the applicant, by a Sub-grantee, contractor or another source such as
the local Workforce Investment Act program or the DVOP personnel, or LVERs. Such services are
not mandatory; applicants should reflect the services described in the application and the expected
number of participants receiving or enrolled during each quarter. Participants may be recorded more
than once if they receive more than one service.
Employment Development Plan (EDP) – An individualized written plan or intervention strategy for
serving an individual who, as a result of a needs assessment, vocational interests, aptitudes, work
history, etc., defines a reasonable vocational or employment goal. The EDP includes developmental
services or steps required to reach goals and accomplishments made by the individual.
Employment Service – The state level organization or public labor exchange system affiliated with
the Department of Labor’s United Sates Employment Service.
Enlistments - Individuals who have expressed an interest in, signed up for a workshop or enrolled in
the program.
Entered Employment - Participants placed in jobs or otherwise obtained employment and who
retained that employment as a result of services. While a grantee may have placements in the first
quarter, by definition they should not have any “enter employments” in the first quarter.
Entered Employment Rate (EER) – A Common Measure term determined by dividing the number
of participants who obtained and retained employment one quarter after their initial placement or
when they “exited” the program by the total number of participants who have exited the program. In
order to determine the entered employment rate, the program must track the employment status of
their enrollees after they leave the program.
Enrolled Veteran – Synonymous with the term “participant.” A veteran who is eligible for services
at intake and who is receiving or scheduled to receive core training.
Follow-up - The tracking of clients up to three quarters after initial placement, last referral date for
services or completion of training programs to identify current status, and additional needs if
necessary, ( i.e. additional referral, job retention advisement, etc.)
Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) – a personnel charge to the grant equal to 2,080 hours per year.
FY - Fiscal Year. For federal government purposes, any twelve month period beginning on October 1
and ending on September 30.
General Equivalency Diploma (GED) – A high school equivalency diploma that is obtained by
passing the General Educational Diploma Equivalency Test. This test measures the application of
skills and knowledge generally associated with four (4) years of traditional high school instruction.
Grant Officer’s Technical Representative (GOTR) - An individual (usually the DVET) serving on
behalf of the Grant Officer to maintain and ensure the integrity of the approved grant agreement.
This is done by reviewing applications and making recommendations regarding technical matters of
the grant.

Homeless or homeless individual –
The “Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009”
(Public Law 111-22, Division B, Section 1003(a)(2)) amended the definition of homeless in Section
103(a) of the McKinney-Vento Act.
38 U.S.C. 2002(1), the definition in Section 103(a) (42 U.S.C. 11302(a)) of the McKinney-Vento Act
applies to grants issued under 38 U.S.C. 2021 (HVRP).
a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this Act, the terms ‘homeless’, ‘homeless individual’, and
‘homeless person’ means—
(1) an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence;
(2) an individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not
designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a
car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground;
(3) an individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to
provide temporary living arrangements (including hotels and motels paid for by Federal, State, or
local government programs for low-income individuals or by charitable organizations, congregate
shelters, and transitional housing);
(4) an individual who resided in a shelter or place not meant for human habitation and who is exiting
an institution where he or she temporarily resided;
(5) an individual or family who—
(A) will imminently lose their housing, including housing they own, rent, or live in without paying
rent, are sharing with others, and rooms in hotels or motels not paid for by Federal, State, or local
government programs for low-income individuals or by charitable organizations, as evidenced by—
(i) a court order resulting from an eviction action that notifies the individual or family that they must
leave within 14 days;
(ii) the individual or family having a primary nighttime residence that is a room in a hotel or motel
and where they lack the resources necessary to reside there for more than 14 days; or
(iii) credible evidence indicating that the owner or renter of the housing will not allow the individual
or family to stay for more than 14 days, and any oral statement from an individual or family seeking
homeless assistance that is found to be credible shall be considered credible evidence for purposes of
this clause;
(B) has no subsequent residence identified; and
(C) lacks the resources or support networks needed to obtain other permanent housing; and
(6) unaccompanied youth and homeless families with children and youth defined
as homeless under other Federal Statutes who-(A) have experienced a long term period without living independently in permanent housing,
(B) have experienced persistent instability as measured by frequent moves
over such period, and
(C) can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time because of chronic
disabilities, chronic physical health or mental health conditions, substance addiction, histories of
domestic violence or childhood abuse, the presence of a child or youth with a disability, or multiple
barriers to employment.
Indirect cost - A cost that is incurred for a common or joint purpose benefiting more than one cost
objective. This cost is not readily assignable to the specific cost objective.
In-kind Services – Property or services which benefit federally assisted projects or programs and
are contributed without charge to the grantee.

Institutional Skills Training – Training conducted in an institutional setting designed to ensure that
individuals acquire the skills, knowledge, and abilities necessary to perform a job.
Intake – A eligibility process for screening individual applicants; (a) an initial determination of
application benefits is made; (b) program information is provided ; and (c) individual applicants are
selected for participation in the program.
Intensive Services - The provision of concentrated staff services to clients who indicate the need for
facilitation or interventions to secure lasting employment. The case management approach to service
is a viable model for providing these services and helping to obtain the goals of the client.
Job Club Activities – Job search assistance provided in a group setting. Job clubs provide
instruction and assistance in completing job applications, developing resumes and maximizing
employment opportunities in the labor market by developing job leads. Many job clubs use
telephone banks and provide group support to participants before and after job interviews.
Job Development - Marketing a program participant to employers, including informing employers
about what participants can do in order to solicit a job interview for that individual with the
employer (targeted job development).The development of one or more job openings or training
opportunities with one or more employers uses a variety of techniques and means of contact.
Job Placement Services – Job placement services are geared towards placing participants in jobs
and may involve activities such as job search assistance, training, or job development. These services
are initiated to enhance and expedite participants’ transition from training to employment.
Job Search Assistance - An activity focusing on building practical skills, identifying and initiating
employer contact, and conducting successful interviews with employers. Various approaches may
include job club participation, identifying personal strengths and goals, resumé application
preparation, interviewing techniques, and receiving labor market information. Job search assistance
is often self-service activities where individuals obtain information about job openings.
Labor Exchange - Services provided to job seekers and employers by the State Employment
Services Agencies, or other designated entities. Services to job seekers may include assessment,
testing, counseling, provision of labor market information and targeted job development. This results
in job referral and follow-up with prospective employers. Employer-oriented services may include
accepting job orders, screening applicants, referring qualified applicants and providing follow-up to
foster job retention and develop additional job openings or training opportunities.
Labor Exchange Delivery System (LEDS) - The system of matching jobs and training opportunities
with applicants.
Labor Force - The sum of all civilians classified as employed and unemployed and members of the
Armed Forces stationed in the United States. [Bureau of Labor Statistics Bulletin 2175].
Labor Market Area – An economically integrated geographic area where individuals can reside
and find employment within a reasonable distance or can readily change employment without
changing their place of residence.
Literacy and Bilingual Training – See Adult Basic Education.

Local Veterans’ Employment Representative (LVER) Program - A program of Federal assistance
grants. to staff State Agencies in accordance with 38 U.S.C.4104. The scope of this assistance
performs a number of duties, most importantly, the provision of intensive (case management)
services to targeted eligible veterans with emphasis on VA, VR&E, and to functionally supervise
services to veterans by SDP staff.
Minimum Economic Need – the level of wages paid to a program participant that enables the
participant to become economically self-sufficient.
Minority Veterans – for the purposes of the HVRP and VWIP programs, veterans who are
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) eligible and are members of the following ethnic categories:
African American, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander.
National Veterans’ Training Institute (NVTI) - An agency, determined by the Assistant Secretary
for Veterans’ Employment and Training and contracted with USDOL/VETS, to develop and provide
skills development and enhancement training to individuals who deliver or monitor the provision of
employment and training services to veterans (38 U.S.C. 4109).
Occupational Skills Training – Includes both (1) vocational education that provides individuals
with the technical skills and information required to perform a specific job or group of jobs, and (2)
on-the-job training.
Offender – Any adult or juvenile who has been subject to the criminal justice process for whom
services may be beneficial or who requires assistance in overcoming barriers to employment as a
result of arrest or conviction.
On-the-Job Training (OJT) – Training by an employer that is provided to a paid participant and :
(a) provides knowledge or skills essential to performance of the job; (b) provides reimbursement to
the employer of up to 50 percent of the wage rate of the participant. This includes costs of providing
the training and additional supervision related to the participant and takes into account the content of
the training, the prior work experience of the participant, and the service strategy of the participant.
In the OJT agreement, there is a promise on the part of the employer to hire the trainee upon
successful completion of the training.
On-Site Industry-Specific Training – Training specifically tailored to the needs of a particular
employer and/or industry. Participants are trained according to specifications for an occupation or
group of occupations at a job site. Such training is usually presented to a group of participants the
actual job/occupation, and there is often an obligation on the part of the employer to hire a certain
number of participants who successfully complete the training.
Outreach - An active effort by program staff to encourage individuals in the designated service
delivery area to avail themselves of program services.
Outside Funds – Resources pledged to the grant program that have a dollar value. Such resources
may include training funds from programs such as WIA Title I, put aside for the exclusive use by
enrolled participants. Outside funds do not include in-kind services.

Participant – An individual who is eligible for enrollment and who is receiving services (except
follow-up services) under the program. Participation begins when the individual starts receiving
subsidized employment, training, or other services provided under the program. An individual who
receives only outreach and/or intake assessment services does not meet this definition.
Participants Enrolled - A client is enrolled when an intake form has been completed, and services,
referral, and/or employment have been received through the program. This should be an unduplicated
count over the year, i.e., each participant is recorded only once, regardless of the number of times she
or he receives assistance.
Participants Services - This cost includes support, training, or social rehabilitation services, that
assist in stabilizing the participant. This category reflects all costs other than administrative.
Placed Into Transitional Or Permanent Housing - A placement into transitional or permanent
housing is recorded when an enrolled veteran upgrades his/her housing situation during the
reporting period from shelter/streets to transitional housing or permanent housing or from transitional
housing to permanent housing. Placements resulting from referrals by staff shall be counted. This
item is an unduplicated count over the year; a participant may be counted once upon entering
transitional housing and again upon obtaining permanent housing.
Placement – the act of securing unsubsidized employment for a participant.
Placement Rate - A method used to determine the percentage of participants who become employed.
The figure is calculated by dividing the number of total participants who were registered for services
or enrolled in the program by the number of applicants or program participants who were placed into
or otherwise entered employment.
Pre-apprenticeship Training – Any training designed to increase or upgrade specific academic, or
cognitive, or physical skills required as a prerequisite for entry into a trade or occupation.
Pre-enrollment Assessment – The process of determining the employability and training needs of
individuals before enrolling them into the program. Individual factors usually addressed during preenrollment assessment include: an evaluation and/or measurement of vocational interests and
aptitudes, previous education and work experience, present abilities, income requirements, and
personal circumstances.
Preference - The application of priorities in the appointment or assignment of staff or the provision
of direct services and order of referral to listed openings designated by statute regulation and grant
agreement.
Program Resources – Includes the total of both program grant and outside funds.

Program Year (PY) - The 12-month period beginning July 1 in the fiscal year for which the
appropriation is made, and ending on the following June 30.Rate of Placement Into Unsubsidized
Employment - Obtained by dividing the number placed into unsubsidized employment, and the
number of assisted placements into unsubsidized employment by the number of clients enrolled.
Recently Separated Veteran - An individual who applies for program participation or assistance
within 48 months of separation from active U.S. military service [29 U.S.C. 1503 (27) (c)].
Remedial Education – Educational instruction, particularly in basic skills, to raise an individual’s
general competency level to succeed in vocational education, skill training programs, or employment.
Retention Rate - A Common Measure term determined by dividing the number of participants who
entered employment (or those exiters who earned wages in the quarter after their placement) by those
exiters who also earned wages in all three quarters after their placement. Grantees will not have a
reported retention rate in the first, second, or third quarters because it requires three quarters after
placement to determine employment retention.
Service Connected Disabled - Refers to (1) a veteran who is entitled to compensation under laws
administered by the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, or (2) an individual who was discharged or
released from active duty because of a service-connected disability (38 U.S.C. 4211 (3); 29 U.S.C.,
Chapter 19, section 1503 (27) (C)
Service Delivery Point (SDP) - Includes offices of the public employment delivery system operated
directly or by contract with the State Workforce Agency as grantee within a State and may include
One –Stop Career Centers, local employment service offices, and any satellite or itinerant offices
where labor exchange services are available.
Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA) - A document which provides the requirements and
instructions for the submission by eligible applicants identified in the document’s text of requests for
Federal domestic assistance (funds) for one or more programs or grants-in-aid.
State Workforce Agency (SWA) - The State level organization, as affiliated with the former United
States Employment Service.
Subgrant – An award of financial assistance in the form of money, or property in lieu of money,
made to an eligible subgrantee.
Subgrantee – The government or other legal entity to which a subgrant is awarded and who is
accountable to the grantee for the use of the funds provided.
Substance Abuser – An individual dependent on alcohol or drugs, especially narcotics, whose
dependency constitutes or results in a substantial barrier to employment.
Supportive Services – means services which are necessary to enable an individual eligible for
training, but who cannot afford to pay for such services, to participate in a training program funded
under the grant. Such supportive services may include transportation, health care, financial assistance
(except as a post-termination service), drug and alcohol abuse counseling and referral, individual and
family counseling, special services and materials for individuals with disabilities, job coaches, child
care and dependent care, temporary shelter, financial counseling, and other reasonable expenses

required for participation in the training program and may be provided in-kind or through cash
assistance.
Targeted Job Development - The identification and marketing of qualified applicants with similar
occupations or employment barriers. This requires personal visitation/phone contact with who are
likely to employ these individuals.
Total Planned Expenditures - Forecasted financial needs to accomplish programmatic objectives,
broken down into fiscal quarters.
Unsubsidized Employment – Employment not financed from funds provided under the grant. In the
grant program the term “adequate” or “suitable” employment is also used to mean placement in
unsubsidized employment that pays an income adequate to accommodate the participants’ minimum
economic needs.
Upgrading or Retraining – Training given to an individual who will advance above an entry level
or dead-end position. This training includes assisting veterans to acquire state certification for
employment field they were trained on in the military (i.e., Commercial Truck Driving License
(CDL), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), Airframe & Power Plant (A&P), Teaching
Certificate, etc.)
Veteran - An individual who served in the United States active military, naval, or air service, and
who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable (29 U.S.C. Chapter 19,
section 1503 (27) (A) [for WIA, Section 168 (VWIP) and WIA, Title I training/services]).
Veterans’ Workforce Investment Program (VWIP) – Competitive employment and training
grants to meet the needs of veterans with significant barriers to employment; including those with
service-connected disabilities The U.S. Department of Labor, Veterans’ Employment and Training
Service awards VWIP grants as authorized under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), Section 168.
Vocational Exploration Training – A process of identifying occupations or occupational areas in
which a person may find satisfaction and potential through various assessment tools.
Vocational Guidance - The provision of information, suggestions, and advice through discussion
with individuals who are considering a geographical or vocational choice or change relating to their
career decision.
Wartime Veteran - See “campaign veteran” above.
Welfare and/or Public Assistance recipient – An individual who, during the course of the program
year, receives or is a member of a family who receives cash welfare or public assistance payments
under a Federal, state, or local welfare program.
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) – The purpose of this Act is to establish programs to prepare
youth and unskilled adults for entry into the labor force. This includes job training for economically
disadvantaged individuals and other individuals, including veterans, who face serious barriers to
employment and who are in need of such training to obtain prospective employment. The Act
requires the Assistant Secretary for Veterans’ Employment and Training consult with the Secretary
of the Department of Veterans Affairs to ensure that programs funded under VWIP of this Act meet

the employment and training needs of service-connected disabled, Campaign, and recently separated
veterans. These programs must be coordinated, to the maximum extent feasible, with related
programs and activities.
Work Experience – A temporary activity (six months or less) that provides the opportunity to
acquire skills and knowledge necessary to perform a job, including appropriate work habits and
behaviors, and may be combined with classroom or other training. If wages are paid to a participant
on work experience and when these wages are wholly paid for under WIA, the participant may not
receive this training under a private, for profit employer.
Youth – An individual between 20 and 24 years of age.