Full WIA Admin Manual - 3-27-15

WIOA Young Adult Program Chapter 14: Electronic Document Storage (EDS)

Summary This policy is directed to WDAs and local service providers to provide appropriate and recommended usage of Electronic Document Storage (EDS) features in Workforce One (WF1).

Relevant Laws, Rules, or Policies

Effective Date 9/1/2017

Last Updated 8/15/2017

Contact John Olson Email: [email protected] Phone: 651.259.7547 Fax: 651-215-3842

Policy Action Required Under federal and state law, participants who achieve significant outcomes such as a degree or diploma or who may be required to provide source documentation to verify program eligibility often provide original documents that the case manager copies and places in the case file. This policy provides guidance on what types of documentation should be considered for inclusion in a customer’s WorkForce 1 (WF1) record and technical considerations associated with the Electronic Document Storage (EDS) feature in WF1.

Background Introduced in mid-2017, the Electronic Document Storage (EDS) feature of Workforce One (WF1) provides local Case Managers and supervisors with the ability to easily scan, organize and retain vital documents associated with participants. It also provides other authorized state and/or local staff (who may be located elsewhere) with the ability to review relevant customer documentation quickly and easily without the added time and expense of traveling to another location. EDS also allows for the safe and secure online storage of vital documents -- backup in the event that key information is misplaced, damaged or destroyed. Customer case files vary in size and detail; EDS can help make organization of the customer case file easier. The Department of Labor has not yet published the WIOA Data Validation policy, but it will be available soon. Previously, DOL mandated Data Validation of a randomly selected set of participant files. Establishment of local policies and practices on document scanning and retention using EDS will make compliance and monitoring and data validation requests easier to manage.

Items to Consider Scanning and Uploading to EDS: - All recognized credential(s) earned by the client during (or after) participation should be scanned and uploaded into EDS. - Key documentation required for eligibility purposes and/or other important correspondence - Transcripts/report cards for meeting federal Measurable Skills Gain requirements - Other relevant documents Technical Considerations Today’s scanning technology makes it simple to quickly scan and store most documents. In most cases, a black and white scan will be sufficient to meet business requirements. Even though it is very easy to take an original document that contains color (for example, a letter printed on letterhead containing color), scanning the same document in black and white will take a fraction of the storage space a full color scan would otherwise require. We also encourage you to take advantage of the tagging features that are built into EDS.