1. Penalty, good cause, Compliance
Welfare transition
Penalty, good cause, Compliance
In the past, we’ve been referred to as one of the best kept secrets in Southwest Florida, but now the secret is out! We’ve recently re-branded ourselves as Southwest Florida Works.
Now we want the jobseekers and employers in this area to know who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
But before I tell who we are, I want to tell you who we aren’t.
We aren’t the Unemployment Office and we aren’t the Welfare Office
While these services are offered to those who need them – that’s not who we are.
Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board, Inc.
Joe Paterno, Executive Director
SWFLWorks.org
Equal Opportunity Employer/Program
Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities
Florida Relay 711

2. Local Operating Procedure
Pre-Penalty
Local Operating Procedure
Fail Date Determination
The fail date is determined based upon the documentation in the case file indicating the customer was informed in writing of his or her activity requirements.
Individual Responsibility Plan (IRP), or
Appointment Letter (if an IRP is not up-to-date)

3. Pre-penalty Issue the Notice of Failure
Issue the Notice of Failure (NOF) (DEO-WTP 2290) within two business days of the known failure
Mail the Notice of Failure to the non- compliant individual’s last known mailing address
Our customers can access no-cost employment services and resources through a network of Career Centers located throughout the region.
- Recognizing that employers are our primary customers, we also offer a variety of no-cost business services through a network of these Career Centers.
We work with employers who are willing or interested in hosting Work Experience Sites to our participants who attempting to determine “where they fit” in the world of work.
- We can also negotiate OJT contracts with employers willing to train someone “on the job”, for which we reimburse the employer a portion of the participant’s wages for a pre-determined training period.
In addition, we provide a job matching system to assist in finding suitable candidates and we offer a place to interview them, if this is more convenient than interviewing them at their place of business.
- Workshops are also available in federal bonding programs, state insurance requirements, small business assistance, and other subjects of interest to all sizes of employers.

4. Counseling
Attempt to Counsel
Via a telephone call or in person within five calendar days following the issuance of the NOF (AWI-WTP 2290)
Document in OSST Case Notes:
Date of the counseling contact attempt,
Method of contact,
Level of success (successful or unsuccessful), and
Content of the successful counseling contact.

5. Good Cause Good Cause (Pre-Penalty or Penalty) Customer Disclosure
Determine and Document Good Cause
End the NOF or Penalty with Good Cause
Explore excused absence hours
We also offer a unique assistance program, Customized Training Grants, designed to meet the special requirements of an employer (or a group of employers) conducted with a commitment by the employer(s) to employ, or in the case of incumbent workers, continue to employ, an individual upon successful completion of the training and for which the employer pays for not less than 50 percent of the cost of the training.
SW Florida Works also assists younger workers their with employment needs, including basic skills deficiency remediation and limited summer employment programs.
Although not typically thought of as a First Responder, we are at the forefront of assistance efforts whenever a natural disaster strikes this area, notably hurricane recovery, and can provide funds for temporary employment in clean-up and relief efforts for those workers dislocated because of the disaster.
All of our Career Centers have hosted and will continue to host career and job fairs so employers can be exposed to a large number of candidates in a central location.
The Alliance of Educational Leaders is a regional partnership comprising the superintendents of the five school systems and the leadership of the accredited colleges in the region.
- The goal of the Alliance is to create a seamless web of K-20 educational opportunity, provide a national model of regional educational cooperation to enhance quality and opportunity, contribute to higher graduation rates and increased levels of job placements within Southwest Florida, and to sustain regional economic prosperity by working with business and government for workforce development.

6. compliance Compliance (Pre-Penalty or Penalty)
Customer agrees to comply
Schedule in writing a re-engagement appointment
After customer complies, end NOF or penalty with compliance
Date of compliance - date the customer agreed to comply

7. Penalty Penalty Request
Counseling attempt unsuccessful; allow the NOF to expire
- Request Penalty
Customer refusal to comply

8. Welfare Transition Program Pre-penalty and Sanction Steps
Customer fails to participate
STEP 2:
Issue a Pre-penalty Notice (WTP 2290) within two working days of the known failure: GO to STEP 3
STEP 3:
Contact customer within two working days of the failure to determine an excused absence
3a: Excused absence granted:
Document in a case note the reason, date, and number of hours
End the Pre-penalty Notice (WTP 2290) with Good Cause
3b: Unexcused absence or unsuccessful contact: GO to STEP 4
STEP 4:
Attempt oral contact to counsel & document results in case notes
4a. If oral contact to counsel was successful: GO to STEP 5
4b. If oral contact was unsuccessful,
Allow the Pre-penalty Notice to expire,
REQUEST PENALTY
STEP 5:
Oral Contact and counseling success
5a. Good Cause disclosed:
Determine and document
Apply excused absence hours, if appropriate
Enter a case note: date customer was counseled, agreed to comply and date scheduled to re- engage in activities initiated by staff or customer contact
5b. Agreed to Comply
Schedule an appointment and or reengage in an activity
Enter a case note: date customer was counseled, agreed to comply and date scheduled to re-engage in activities initiated by staff or customer contact
GO to STEP 6
5c. Refusal to comply – REQUEST PENALTY
STEP 6:
Compliance
6a. Complied as agreed
End Pre-penalty Notice (WTP 2290) with compliance the date the customer agreed to comply
6b. Failed to comply as agreed; a second failure has occurred within 30 days of compliance,
GO to STEP 7
STEP 7:
Second Failure within 30 days of following compliance as agreed
7a. Enter a case note of the second failure date
7b. Set a To-Do for three days to review/determine Good Cause
Good Cause determined: GO to STEP 5a
Good Cause not determined: REQUEST PENALTY via the active pre-penalty hyperlink
Issue an WTP 2292, Notice of Failure to Demonstrate Satisfactory Compliance
Enter a case note indicating the result of the second failure within 30 days
D e s k G u I d e
There are 24 Workforce Regions in Florida, each managed by a Workforce Development Board. Region 24’s board is a non-profit 501(c)3 agency.
Some regions are comprised of only one county and relatively small but we are the largest in land area, with three coastal counties and two inland counties - about the size of Connecticut!
Each year, we manage a budget of approximately $8 to $12 million - a combination of both federal and state workforce funds, passed from the U.S. Dept of Labor, to the state, and then to each of the regions.
The Southwest Workforce Development Board, as are all the workforce boards, is required to be comprised of a majority of for-profit business owners and executives. Other members are from local schools and universities, unions, social service organizations, and non-profit organizations.

9. Barbara Short: bshort@swflworks.org
Questions ?
(239)
Barbara Short:
I’ve explained who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
I haven’t covered all of the services we offer or how we can personalize our services to your particular business, but it all starts with working with you in a meaningful way to get Southwest Florida working again.
Please help us spread the word, “Southwest Florida Works.” We can and must do this together, locally, one job at a time.
If you have any other questions, please ask me now. If you think of something you wanted to know, my address and phone number is listed on this slide.
Thank you very much for your attention – let’s get everyone back to work!