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Division of Welfare and Supportive Services A-823 Eligibility and Payments Manual EMPLOYMENT & TRAINING MTL 11/03 11 May 01

COMMUNITY WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAM (CWEP) CWEP Assessment -- Participants may be temporarily assigned to a local district office for CWEP activities to allow staff to better assess the participant’s job readiness by observation and interaction in a work setting. This enables staff to identify participant strengths, training needs and potentially previously undisclosed barriers to employment. 823.1 CWEP Worksite Restrictions CWEP participants cannot displace persons currently employed or displace individuals laid off or terminated from federally-funded jobs. CWEP positions may be established where positions are vacant due to voluntary termination, retirement, or normal attrition. Where organizations must cut back on services due to reductions in available funds, it is allowable to develop CWEP slots to do jobs that otherwise would not be done due to budget cutbacks.

The Division of Welfare and Supportive Services cannot allow CWEP duties to include driving of any vehicle. 823.2 CWEP Worksite Development CWEP worksites must be public or private non-profit or not-for-profit entities. Private-for- profit entities may not be CWEP sponsors. CWEP work experience slots may be developed in churches or non-profit sectarian organizations when the function of the slot is non-sectarian (not limited or associated with a particular religious denomination). These slots must not be involved in any activity which promotes a particular religious philosophy or requires the participant to recognize or otherwise defer to a particular religious philosophy. The case manager is responsible for contacting public and private non-profit agencies to develop worksites. Community Work Experience Program Component, Form 2685-WA, is given to potential worksites to provide background information on the philosophy and goals of the program. 823.3 CWEP Worksite Agreement Public or private non-profit entities seeking to become an established CWEP worksite must sign the CWEP Work Experience Memorandum of Agreement, Form 2710-WA. The case manager explains CWEP and negotiates the completion of the memorandum of agreement. The case manager assists the worksite sponsor in the development of job descriptions for the CWEP slots. By signing the agreement, the worksite agrees to provide participants with training and supervision to enable them to perform work assignments. CWEP worksite supervisors are provided with the CWEP Worksite Supervisor’s Handbook, Form 2717-WA, which outlines the scope, purpose, and expectations of the worksite including monthly completion of timesheets for CWEP participants (E&T Time Sheet, Form 2690-WA) and performance evaluations (Participant Monthly Evaluation Report, Form 2689-WA). Both Forms 2690-WA and 2689-WA are located in the OASIS Forms Library.