Multiple Employment Training Programs

Conflicting eligibility requirements and differences in annual operating cycles are hampering federal employment training programs from helping people in need of services. Differences in eligibility criteria, such as income level, family or household definitions, and age, make determining who is eligible for which program a complex process that confuses clients and frustrates administrators. Within each target group, differences in annual operating cycles also hinder the ability of program administrators to cooperate to ensure that participants receive the services they need. For example, the 16 programs that target youth have four different operating cycles. One state administrator stated the problem especially clearly: "The aim of case management is to assess various programs in order to deliver the base services possible to clients. However, conflicting requirements turn coordination into a jigsaw puzzle."

GAO found that: (1) many employment training programs use several different standards for defining eligibility requirements; (2) most program administrators want to standardize the terms used to determine program eligibility; (3) differences in annual operating cycles hamper program administrators' ability to ensure that participants receive the services they need; and (4) as a result of differences in operating cycles, administrators may not be able to coordinate their plans to ensure that needed resources are available to serve their clients.