Overview
of
DETR:
The Department
of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation (DETR) is comprised of four
divisions with numerous bureaus programs, and services housed in offices
throughout Nevada to provide citizens the state's premier source of
employment, training, and rehabilitative programs.
The following
is an alphabetical listing of DETR divisions -- and their programs and
services.
Employment
Security
Division
(ESD):
The Employment Security
Division provides a statewide labor exchange, conducts programs that
promptly pay unemployment benefits, and administers an effective
Unemployment Insurance tax system.
The division is organized into two major
functions: Employment Service (ES) and Unemployment Insurance (UI) Service
to meet the requirements of the state/federal partnership with the U.S.
Department of Labor.
Employment Service
programs provide
job placement and training opportunities that assist businesses in meeting
their employment needs and job seekers in returning to work through the
state’s workforce investment system, Nevada JobConnect.
Available
services for businesses include Labor Market Information, recruitment
assistance, Foreign Labor Certification, tax credit certification,
training incentives, and job fairs that help expand employer recruiting
efforts. Job seeker services include job referral, career guidance and
skill enhancement training. The Rapid Response program offers timely
customized services to both employers and their employees when workforce
downsizing or plant closures occur.
The
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 provided major reform of the
nation's job training system. The goal of WIA was to integrate 17 public
employment programs into a one-stop service delivery system intended to
maximize employment and training resources for businesses and job
seekers. Today, the Nevada JobConnect
system consists of 10
one-stop offices located throughout the state in addition to a number of
community-based affiliate sites.
Another feature
of the workforce investment system is to facilitate universal access to
services for employers and job seekers via the Internet at
www.NevadaJobConnect.com.
Resource centers
with Internet connections and career exploration software are an integral
part of every full-service
Nevada JobConnect
office.
Workforce Investment Support Services
(WISS) is a unit within the Employment Security Division to implement and
support the WIA in Nevada. This unit is responsible for the development and
oversight of statewide Employment Service and WIA program policies and
procedures. WISS was established to support program integration and
services that advance the development of the Nevada JobConnect system, and
to provide assistance to the state and local workforce investment boards
responsible for carrying out the following programs:
Career Enhancement Program (CEP)
is
an employer-funded training and reemployment program that assists
unemployed Nevadans return to gainful employment. The program provides
employers and job seekers with training designed to improve and increase
job skills required in today’s workplace. The CEP also works directly with
Unemployment Insurance claimants in jeopardy of exhausting their benefits
to provide intensive reemployment assistance required by the federally
mandated Worker Profiling and Reemployment Services Program. As of July 1,
2003, CEP may also provide matching funds to Nevada employers for training
of their employees that will enhance the skills of those employees and
help maintain the edge that Nevada businesses need to remain competitive
in the national and international economies.
Casual Labor is a temporary labor
exchange designed to answer the short-term labor needs of the community.
Businesses and individuals can obtain temporary workers through the
division’s two Casual Labor offices located in Las Vegas and Reno.
Foreign Labor Certification is a
program designed to assist employers to fill job openings when qualified
U.S. workers cannot be found. The program assures that admission of
foreign nationals into this country on a permanent or temporary basis will
not adversely affect job opportunities, wages and working conditions of
American workers. The division assists employers to complete and process
paperwork required by the U.S. Department of Labor for the certification
process. Related duties include housing inspections to ensure that
adequate housing is provided to temporary agricultural workers.
NAFTA/TAA
represents the
combination of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) program under the
Trade Act of 1974, and the North American Free Trade
Agreement-Transitional Adjustment Assistance (NAFTA-TAA) program, which
was included in the 1994 amendment to the Trade Act. TAA is the federal
program which allows certified groups of affected workers who have lost
their jobs as a result of increased imports from other countries, to apply
for specific benefits to return to suitable employment. NAFTA-TAA is a
federal program which allows certified groups of affected workers who have
lost their jobs as a result of open and free trade with Canada or Mexico,
to apply for specific benefits to return to suitable employment. Benefits
for both programs include reemployment services, job training, trade
readjustment allowances, job search allowances, and relocation allowances.
The Trade Act of 2002 amended the TAA program to enhance services for
affected workers including health insurance tax credits, and created
special programs for eligible older workers and farmers. The Act also
repealed the NAFTA-TAA program effective November 4, 2002. However,
workers covered under NAFTA-TAA certifications issued on or before
November 3, 2002, continue to be covered under the provisions of the
program that were in effect on September 30, 2001.
Rapid Response
is designed to
deliver timely on site services to businesses and workers affected by
layoffs or business closures. The program encompasses activities to plan
and provide services that enable workers to transition into new employment
as quickly as possible. These activities include information about
Unemployment Insurance, job placement, employment counseling, and job
training or retraining opportunities.
Veteran's Employment Services
offer priority employment services to veterans of
U.S. military service through grants and funding from the U.S. Department
of Labor. The division’s Veterans’ Career Consultants receive specialized
training from the U.S. Department of Labor Veterans Employment Training
Service designed to assist veteran job seekers with their reemployment
needs. Services include referrals to job openings, job training programs,
and employment counseling.
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) B Title
1B - Adults, Dislocated Workers and Youth
provides funding to
local workforce areas to enhance Nevada’s workforce investment system.
Funds authorized under the Act, provide for a variety of job development,
occupational, and educational services for eligible adults, dislocated
workers, and youth. The division administers WIA funds in coordination
with the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board and the local workforce
investment boards: Nevadaworks and the Southern Nevada Workforce
Investment Board.
Welfare-to-Work (WtW) is a component of the Temporary
Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program to provide transitional
assistance to move hard-to-employ welfare recipients into unsubsidized
employment and economic self-sufficiency. On July 1, 2001, the division
became responsible for administering WtW funds in Nevada. WtW participants
are certified as eligible by the Nevada State Welfare Division and
referred to the local workforce investment boards for employment and
training services. In preparation for the program’s expiration in 2004,
clients have been co-enrolled in other programs that can provide similar
services, such as the Career Enhancement Program (CEP) and Workforce
Investment Act (WIA) adult and dislocated worker programs, to ensure
continuity of employment and training opportunities. Access to these
programs is provided through the Nevada JobConnect system.
Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC)
tax credit programs are a win-win situation for employers and job seekers.
The WOTC program encourages employers to hire individuals from certain
target populations, which have consistently experienced high unemployment.
The program provides a tax credit to private-for-profit employers who hire
and retain (for a minimum number of hours) new employees from select
target groups.
The WtW tax credit program was created by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997
for employers who hire individuals certified by the division as long-term
family assistance recipients. The program allows employers to claim up to
$8,500 of combined tax savings, over a two-year period, for each employee
hired from within the program.
Unemployment Insurance (UI)
provides monetary benefits to individuals who become unemployed
through no fault of their own. Eligible claimants must be ready, willing,
able, and available for work, and must be actively seeking employment, in
each week benefits are claimed. Funding for UI administration and benefits
are made possible by contributions (UI taxes) paid by employers.
Unemployment Insurance Benefits
section determines benefit eligibility and processes benefit payments once
a favorable determination is made. Claimants of Nevada’s UI program
receive services through a statewide telephone claims system or via the
Internet at
www.UI.NVDETR.org.
The program allows claimants, regardless of their geographic location, to
establish UI benefit claims, file weekly certifications, access
information about their claims, and respond to department directives
necessary to maintain eligibility by calling one of the following
telephone numbers:
Northern Nevada (775) 684-0350
Southern Nevada (702) 486-0350
Toll-Free (888) 890-8211
Unemployment Insurance
Contributions
section is responsible for operating and maintaining
an effective UI tax system that provides revenue for the payment of
unemployment benefits in Nevada. The section establishes and maintains
employer accounts, obtains employer reports, collects employer taxes,
audits employer records, and manages employer experience-rating records.
New Hire unit is a
program within the UI contributions section, which was established by
welfare reform legislation –requiring all employers to report information
on newly hired employees. This information is transmitted to the Nevada
State Welfare Division and the National New Hire Directory used to locate
non-custodial parents who are not paying legally required child support.
Benefits Accuracy Measurement unit performs random audits of UI
claims to provide continuous assessment of program integrity and quality
assurance. Audits consist of comprehensive review of benefit claims to
validate claimant, employer, and department compliance with state and
federal laws, rules, regulations, policies and procedures.
Information Development & Processing Division (IDP):
The Information Development and Processing Division consolidates all
DETR information and data processing functions to create a cohesive
network of all data development, research, and data processing for
effective department support.
Research and Analysis Bureau (R&A) has four units that
provide a wealth of labor market information:
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) The Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) operates a number of programs in conjunction
with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for development and
analysis of labor force and Industrial employment data --along with
data regarding mass layoffs.
The Management Information Systems (MIS) unit produces
administrative reports for the Employment Service, and Unemployment
Insurance system. In addition, the unit performs validation reports
and conducts UI-related research.
The
Labor
Market
Information (LMI)
unit is operated by economists who are
subject-experts in Nevada’s economy. The dissemination of Labor Market
Information in publications, electronic media, Internet, and verbal
communications are their specialty. The unit is also available for special
presentations on the economy and the unit is the primary source of LMI in
Nevada.
The
Occupational Information unit conducts the Occupational
Employment and Wage (OES) Survey and is responsible for the
Nevada Career Information Systems (NCIS). The OES survey of Nevada employers
provides the basis for the occupational, wage and projections
information that R&A provides to the public. The Nevada Career
Information System is DETR's comprehensive career information
delivery system, providing both Nevada and national career,
education and Labor Market Information in a user-friendly format.
The NCIS is available in all Nevada JobConnect and one-stop offices
as well as on the Internet. The department also provides the NCIS to
Nevada's schools, libraries, and to many community-based
organizations.
Computer Operations Bureau handles the department’s data
processing needs associated with the operation of a mainframe
computer system for all agencies within DETR. The bureau also
operates the department's PC and computer systems Help Desk.
Network Support Services Bureau performs personal computer
hardware and software installation and maintenance, and
trouble-shooting PC problems department-wide, including PC-Based
Local Area Networks (LANs) and Wide Area Network (WAN) operations,
which connect DETR computers for ease of communication and
information-sharing. This service includes computer support for the
statewide Nevada JobConnect offices. In addition the bureau also
supports the DETR Server Farm, which provides computers to run DETR
network based systems.
Information Systems Applications develops and maintains the
department's information systems applications (computer software),
including development of new systems and/or enhancing existing
computer systems; updating and maintaining the web site at
www.NVDETR.org:
custom-developing computer software (for mainframe, server based and
personal computer systems); management information systems;
electronic service delivery systems; and integrated multimedia
applications.
Nevada Equal Rights Commission (NERC):
The Nevada Equal Rights Commission oversees the state's equal rights
and equal opportunity program, handling employment discrimination
complaints relating to race, national origin, color, creed/religion,
sex (gender and/or orientation), age, and disability (ADA), when the
discrimination is linked to employment. The division also handles
complaints regarding retaliation by employers because an employee
has filed a discrimination complaint, or has participated in a
complaint investigation. NERC also has jurisdiction over some public
accommodation enforcement, and when appropriate refers
discrimination complaints linked to housing or public accommodations
to the appropriate federal agencies (U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development (HUD), and/or U.S. Department of Justice). The
division has offices in Las Vegas and Reno.
Rehabilitation Division
The Rehabilitation Division is comprised of three bureaus and the
Office of Disability Employment Policy to address assessment,
training, treatment, and job placement for Nevadans with
disabilities. The division places primary emphasis on providing
necessary services to help clients work and live independently.
Bureau of Disability Adjudication
evaluates applications from individuals with disabilities to
determine if they are eligible for federal Supplemental Security
Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).
Bureau of Services to the Blind
and Visually Impaired
provides comprehensive rehabilitation
services to Nevada residents with blindness or severe visual
impairments. Its mission is to accommodate disabling conditions and
reduce dependency for such individuals whose disabilities present a
barrier to employment and/or self-sufficiency. The bureau determines
program eligibility for individuals whose vision is not correctable
by ordinary eye care. Services available for eligible individuals
may include medical evaluation and treatment, low vision
examinations and aids, mobility evaluation and training, life skills
training, evaluation for and purchase of assistive technology,
personal and adjustment counseling, vocational evaluation and career
exploration, vocational training, job readiness training, and
assistance in obtaining employment. Services are available through
the Nevada JobConnect system.
Bureau of Vocational
Rehabilitation provides rehabilitation services to eligible
individuals with disabilities to assist them in preparing for and
obtaining meaningful employment. The Vocational Rehabilitation
program specializes in services for Nevadans with disabilities,
especially those with the most severe disabilities, consistent with
their skills, abilities, and informed choice. Services may include
testing and assessment, vocational training, medical evaluation and
treatment, evaluation for and purchase of assistive technology,
vocational evaluation and career exploration, job placement, and
supported employment. An eligible individual must have a physical or
mental impairment, which, for that individual, results in a
substantial impediment to employment and must require rehabilitation
services to prepare for, secure, retain or regain employment.
Vocational assessment services may include personality/intellectual
functioning, vocational testing, situational assessment, community
-based assessment, work adjustment training, and career guidance and
exploration. These services are provided through the Nevada
JobConnect system.
Office of Disability Employment Policy is responsible for
developing interagency employment policies and practices for people
with disabilities and coordinating efforts with businesses to hire
individuals with disabilities. The office staffs the Governor's Workforce
Investment Board’s Committee on Employment of Persons with
Disabilities, as well as the Nevada State Rehabilitation
Council.
|
