A Successful Path to October 1 WIOA Reporting
Workforce development is a constant balancing act between responding to short-term economic shifts and keeping an eye on long-term needs. While managers and caseworkers are in the trenches daily, there are certain factors they can’t always control:
- Funding mandates and distribution
- Staffing shortages
- Reporting delays from required partners
- Clients’ busy lives
The first week of October, Workforce Development Boards (WDBs) and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies submit their WIOA Annual Performance Report (ETA-9169). They’ll aim to capture as many positive outcomes as possible along with documented proof of how they got there.
See an example of a WIOA Annual Performance Report (PDF).
See the most recent version of TEGL 10-16: TEGL, change 3
We’ve created this guide to highlight the biggest challenges and proactive solutions for documenting each of the WIOA Performance Measures, starting in any cohort period.
Fortunately, we’ve reached a time when workforce development organizations can control some variables they couldn’t just a decade ago.
What You'll Learn:
💡 Timing and accuracy are everything, but there are a lot of contingencies in this work. You need to keep cases moving forward and build in time to confirm the accuracy of your documentation.
💡 Standardization is part of the solution—it ensures that data collection is consistent between your organization and your partners.
💡Engagement is key: Engaged clients and employers attend meetings, make progress, and submit documents. How can you make sustained connection easier for them?
💡 Coordinating service delivery between WDBs and VR agencies can be challenging — with each having different funding, focus, and staff expertise. How do you get—and stay—on the same page?
💡 Technology can help your organization streamline processes, track performance, and spot areas for improvement. Knowing which tools you need and don’t need is essential to filtering out distractions that take your staff away from their clients.
Overview of WIOA Performance Measures
The WIOA performance indicators are 6 metrics designed to measure how effective workforce development programs are at connecting jobseekers to employment (and employers to workers). They were established to standardize the way the entire system measures client outcomes, increase accountability, and bring data-based decision-making to the process.
Broken out, the indicators are:
A. Employment Rate – 2nd Quarter After Exit
B. Employment Rate – 4th Quarter After Exit
C. Median Earnings – 2nd Quarter After Exit
D. Credential Attainment Rate
E. Measurable Skill Gains
F. Effectiveness in Serving Employers
Universal Challenges with Pre- and Post-Exit WIOA Follow-Up
While TEGLs (Training and Employment Guidance Letters) give technical guidance on how to collect and report WIOA outcomes, there can be real-world challenges in executing them day-to-day. Some challenges are specific to the metric or program, but there are several universal truths when it comes to collecting time-sensitive pre- and post-exit WIOA follow-up documentation:
- Caseworkers have to chase down information manually, which is time-consuming and takes them away from their highest-impact work.
- Cooperation between organizations, other workforce agencies, and employers is critical to getting the right data and maintaining productive relationships. It can also create accelerated and out-of-sync timelines. Unemployment Insurance (UI), for example, has benefits expiring in as few as 12 weeks in certain states.
- Most case management systems are not equipped to handle quick policy pivots and sudden caseload increases.
Now, let’s dive into each performance indicator (PI), starting with the two Employment Rate check-ins.
Detailed Breakdown of Each Performance Indicator
PI A: Employment Rate- 2nd Quarter After Exit
Terms: Post-exit follow-up WIOA, employment tracking tools, wage record access
Timeline:
- The participant exits the Title I or Title IV program (Exit Quarter)
- Second quarter post-exit, the program needs to verify the participant’s employment for this time period.
- A successful outcome (employed at this time) or an unsuccessful outcome (unemployed at this time) will be recorded.
Challenges in Data Collection and Reporting
One of the single biggest challenges at this first check-in is losing connection with participants after program exit.
Life also happens, and typical employment barriers (transportation, childcare, justice system involvement, and geography) can prevent some from hanging on to the jobs they’ve secured.
Another challenge is reporting delays from Unemployment Insurance (UI) or lack of wage data access. It’s impossible to know how you’re doing without the numbers.
PI B: Employment Rate – 4th Quarter After Exit
Terms: Long-term employment tracking, job retention strategies, quarterly employment outcomes
Timeline:
- The participant exits the Title I or Title IV program (Exit Quarter)
- Second quarter post-exit, the program needs to verify the participant’s employment for this time period. (outcome recorded)
- Fourth quarter post-exit, the program needs to verify the participant’s employment for this time period.
- A successful outcome (employed at this time) or an unsuccessful outcome (unemployed at this time) will be recorded.
Challenges in Data Collection and Reporting
After initial job placement, proof of employment becomes harder to track as more time passes. It’s also harder for participants to get support the farther out they are from their program exits.
The data lag from Unemployment Insurance (UI) continues to be an issue for many and prevents organizations from documenting outcomes as quickly as they need to.
PI C: Median Earnings – 2nd Quarter After Exit
Terms: WIOA wage outcomes, quality employment pathways, median earnings performance indicator
Timeline:
- The participant exits the Title I or Title IV program (Exit Quarter)
- Second quarter post-exit, the program needs to verify the participant’s median earnings for this time period.
- They’ll take the wage earnings and find the figure in the middle.
Challenges in Data Collection and Reporting
Underemployment (low wages) is a common issue at this stage. It can be due to language barriers, prior justice involvement, or lack of employer partnership (among other reasons). Also, some wage data may be missing—especially if participants are employed out of state or in federally reported jobs, which may not yet appear in Unemployment Insurance (UI) wage records.
PI D: Credential Attainment Rate
Terms: WIOA credential tracking, recognized credentials list, attainment rate reporting
Timeline:
- The participant exits the Title I or Title IV program (Exit Quarter)
- Verification is collected in the form of education records, transcripts, or credential verification systems.
- A “positive outcome” is recorded if the participant earns the credential within a year post-exit.
Challenges in Data Collection and Reporting
Missing or incomplete documentation continues to be a challenge, and training program completion can be delayed—especially if the training is part-time or the credentials are stackable (Title I). For VR, credential attainment options are broader, and may fall outside traditional workforce training programs, aligning to each participant’s Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) goals.
PI E: Measurable Skill Gains (MSG)
Terms: WIOA MSG reporting, tracking skill gains, documenting progress for WIOA
Timeline:
- The participant enters a Title I or Title IV program
- Measurable skill gains must be recorded by the end of the program year (July 1 – June 30) in which the participant is enrolled in education or training.
Challenges in Data Collection and Reporting
Education and training programs can have high attrition rates, and partners don’t always use the same tracking methods, making Measurable Skill Gains WIOA a tricky one to track, report on, and improve. For VR specifically, the MSGs might be unique to the individual’s disability or IPE goals. This often means a highly manual collection process for counselors.
Automated collection and validation are a natural solution, but unfortunately there are not a lot of tools commonly available for this process.
For the latest guidance, visit the Department of Labor (DOL)’s Version 3 of the Training and Employment Guidance Letter TEGL 10-16 (PDF).
PI F: Effectiveness in Serving Employers: A New Performance Measure
Terms: WIOA employer engagement, serving employers WIOA, workforce board employer metrics
Timeline: Effectiveness in Serving Employers must be recorded within the program year (July 1 – June 30)
Challenges in Data Collection and Reporting
There are 3 different approaches to reporting on this performance indicator:
- Retention with the same employer
- Repeat business customers
- Employer penetration rate
With the 2024 “Retention with the Same Employer” update came greater reporting flexibility, but it also requires process updates some agencies are still ironing out. It can also be an uphill battle to get feedback from employers and sustain relationships long-term.
Solutions to WIOA Post-Exit Data Collection
The goal of every VR and Workforce organization is to increase data collection without asking more of an already overloaded staff. For local WDBs, who shoulder significant responsibility with sometimes as little as 25% of funds remaining after state and training allocations, new strategies can make a world of difference.
Here are some effective solutions organizations have already put into place:
- Braided funding: States like Utah, Indiana, and Wisconsin leverage multiple grants and other funding streams along with their WIOA funds (known as “braided funding”) to increase capacity and sustainability.
- Wraparound services: States like California, Illinois, North Carolina, Washington State, and Kentucky utilize WIOA funds for wraparound services to reduce barriers to employment.
- Participant incentives: Durham Workforce Development Board in North Carolina and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development planned to use WIOA funds to incentivize participants to report their milestones. (Incentives can also be a useful tool for employer partners.)
- Technology: In addition to traditional case management systems, some organizations are leveraging AI to match participants to the best opportunities in real-time and to automate time-consuming outreach. Technology like Sara™ can help streamline documentation in line with TEGL-based reporting standards.
Why Workforce Programs are Choosing Sara™ Client Communication
Lightweight engagement tools like Sara™ Client Communication make it easier for clients and employers to stay connected with you.
Sara™ automates post-WIOA check-ins. You configure the software to your workflows and timeline, and Sara handles the follow-up. Participants can share milestones and uploads right from their phones.
The Nevada DWSS was able to automate the collection of nearly 3,000 documents for a single workstream using Sara™. Read the case study.
“We give them vouchers and we encourage them: ‘As soon as you’re out of the store, just take a picture of that receipt and send it to us through Sara™.’”
— Maria Wortman-Meshberger, Chief of Employment and Support Services
Is Sara™ difficult to implement?
Sara can integrate with any CMS or system of record, but you don’t need to integrate to take advantage of its feature capabilities. Most features require no reliance on the state system and implementation can be done within 60 days. It can also be done in phases if it’s easier on your staff.
Does it take long to learn?
It’s easy to train staff to use Sara™ and you’ll have a dedicated Implementation Specialist to guide you through onboarding and rollout.
Our team provides detailed, live, hands-on training and post-training exercises. We also video-record pre- and post-launch sessions for you to use in the future when you onboard new hires and users.
What else does it offer?
✓ Built-in security—hosted in the FedRAMP-approved AWS GovCloud; SOC2 and HIPAA compliant.
✓ Automated compliance tracking and audit-ready reports
✓ Easy attachment sharing and document e-signatures
✓ Affordable, scalable, and comes with strong post-implementation support
“Our transition clients love Sara’s text messaging and the ability to get their grade reports in. Whenever there is an emergency, you can send that mass text out to the entire caseload, letting them know.”
— Delinda Armstrong, Program Coordinator, Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
Conclusion and Next Steps
Despite the challenges, there are ways to improve pre- and post-exit WIOA document collection. Rather than spring for a wholesale CMS upgrade or wait for temporary staff, many successful organizations are choosing low-risk, high-ROI tools like Sara™.
We make it easier for participants and employers to engage with you—right from their cellphones—making pre- and post-exit deadlines and positive outcomes more likely. Automating follow-up outreach makes document collection and reporting easy, and it also frees caseworkers to focus more time on their clients.
Curious to see what kinds of results VR and Workforce programs across the country are seeing with Sara™ Client Communication — and what we could help you achieve?
