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Wisconsin Department of Children and Families Wisconsin Works (W-2) Manual |
7.2.4.1 CMJ at Application
7.2.4.2 Moving from Other W-2 Placements to CMJ
7.2.4.3 General CMJ Participant Circumstances
7.2.4.4 CMJ Activities
7.2.4.5 Case Management Services in CMJ
7.2.4.5.1 Supportive Services in CMJ
7.2.4.6 Job Development in CMJ
7.2.4.7 30-Day Review
7.2.4.8 Ending CMJ Placements
The Case Management for Job-Ready Individuals (CMJ) placement is for unemployed individuals who are job-ready and able to obtain and keep unsubsidized employment. The goal of the CMJ placement is to quickly connect job-ready individuals to employment.
CMJ is only appropriate for W-2 applicants, and in limited situations, participants moving from the following placements:
· Case management follow-up (CMF);
· Case management follow-up plus (CMF+);
· Case management underemployed (CMU); and
· Custodial Parent of an Infant (CMC).
Before assigning a CMJ placement to a W-2 applicant, the FEP must conduct an informal assessment and educational needs assessment. (See 5.1 - 5.3)
In most instances, potential CMJ participants may be assigned to up-front job search activities. (See 2.9.2) Applicants who participate in these activities in a good faith effort to obtain employment and are assessed as job-ready are appropriate for a CMJ.
In certain cases, an applicant may be appropriate for CMJ without having completed up-front job search. For example, the applicant may have experienced a short-term barrier such as lack of child care or housing instability that was resolved but not within the 12 days prior to placement. These individuals may not have been assigned up-front job search, but still may be appropriate for the CMJ placement.
Conversely, not all applicants assigned to up-front job search are appropriate for a CMJ. For example, the W-2 agency may learn that the applicant has significant barriers that make it difficult for the applicant to obtain employment within the next 30 days or no jobs are available that align with their skills and experience. These individuals must be placed in a W-2 paid placement.
CMJ is generally only available to W-2 applicants. However, in limited situations, participants in certain placements may move into CMJ if they meet CMJ eligibility criteria. (See 7.2.4.3) The table below outlines CMJ eligibility based on prior placement.
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W-2 Placement |
Eligible to move into a CMJ |
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Community Service Job (CSJ, CSJ 1/3, CSJ 1/2, CSJ 2/3)
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No |
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W-2 Transitions (W-2 T) |
No |
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Custodial Parent Trial Employment Match Program (TMP)
Noncustodial Parent Trial Employment Match Program (TNP) |
No |
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Custodial Parent of an Infant (CMC)
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Sometimes
The CMC participant may be considered for a CMJ placement if they were not in an ARP, CSJ (including partial CSJ), or W-2 T placement prior to going into CMC. |
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At-Risk Pregnancy (ARP)
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No |
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Case Management Follow-up (CMF)
Case Management Follow-up Plus (CMF+)
Case Management Underemployed (CMU)
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Yes
Individuals in a CMF, CMF+, or a CMU may be considered for a CMJ placement. However, moving from CMU, CMF+, or CMF to CMJ is only appropriate for individuals who are able to find and keep full-time employment. |
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Case Management Minor Parents (CMM)
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Sometimes
The minor parent may be considered for a CMJ placement if the minor parent turns 18, has a high school diploma or equivalent, and a work history. |
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Case Management Pregnant Woman (CMP)
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No |
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Case Management Noncustodial Parents (CMN)
Stipends for Noncustodial Parents (TSP) |
Sometimes
The NCP may be considered for a CMJ if they become a custodial parent. |
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Case Management Denied (CMD) |
Sometimes
The CMD participant may be considered for a CMJ if the extension denial reason was that the local labor market has jobs the participant could have gotten. (See 2.10.6.3)
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To be placed in a CMJ position, an individual must meet all the following:
1. Be willing to work (all W-2 applicants are presumed willing to work);
2. Have a recent or steady employment history; and
3. Not have barriers to work that cannot be addressed within 30 days through W-2 services.
When considering recent or steady employment, the FEP must consider the types of work performed, duration of any job, and reasons for leaving the job. If the applicant’s employment history is consistent with some long-term employment, a CMJ placement is appropriate.
The FEP must conduct an informal assessment to determine whether barriers to maintaining employment can be addressed with W-2 services and resolved within 30 days.
See Chapter 9 for more information on barriers that the W-2 agency can address through W-2 services.
Individuals who have more significant barriers, such as family crises, legal issues, housing instability, or serious physical or mental impairments, that cannot be resolved within 30 days are not appropriate for CMJ.
If the FEP identifies barriers that can be addressed through W-2 services so that the individual is ready for immediate employment, the barriers and the services to address those barriers must be documented on the appropriate WWP pages.
EXAMPLE 1: Maria applied for W-2 and met with the Resource Specialist. She did not have child care available when she applied, so she was not assigned up-front activities. When Maria later met with her FEP, she reported that she now had certified child care for her two children, ages 3 and 4. Maria’s informal assessment indicates that she has a high school diploma, no reported barriers to employment, and recent work history that has prepared her for entry-level jobs in the local labor market. Based on the results of the informal assessment, Maria’s FEP determines that Maria is job-ready and appropriate for a CMJ placement.
EXAMPLE 2: Hussein applied for W-2 and completed an informal assessment with his FEP. The assessment showed that Hussein has a high school diploma, a welding certificate from a local technical college, and five years of experience working at a machine company. However, Hussein has been unemployed for the past year after a work related injury to both knees. Although his employer-covered physical therapy treatment has ended, Hussein reports ongoing knee pain and is unsure if he can return to physically demanding work. Based on the results of the informal assessment and the concerns about his physical limitations, the FEP places Hussein in a W-2 Transition (W-2 T) placement and refers him for a vocational assessment to help determine next steps. His FEP also reaches out to the DVR worker who they have referred people to previously, to understand how DVR can support Hussein.
Participants in a CMJ placement must be assigned intentional, individualized activities designed to support their workforce participation.
The agency must employ an intensive case management strategy to coach CMJ participants through the job search process and help resolve any short-term barriers that may arise.
7.2.4.4.1 CMJ Job Search Activities
The activities assigned to CMJ participants are similar to those assigned during up-front job search. Because these participants are expected to obtain full-time employment, FEPs must assign no fewer than 30 hours per week of appropriate activities and may assign up to 40 hours. Job Search activities include:
· Employment search (ES);
· Career planning and counseling (CE);
· Job readiness/motivation (MO); and
· Life skills (LF).
A CMJ participant may be assigned to education and training activities if further educational attainment would increase employment prospects. Education and training activities include:
· Adult Basic Education (BE);
· English as a Second Language (EL);
· General Educational Development (GED);
· High School Equivalency Diploma (HE);
· Literacy Skills (LS);
· Job Skills Training (JS); and
· Regular School (RS).
The W-2 agency shares an equal responsibility with the participant for finding employment. FEPs must schedule weekly contact with CMJ participants and provide an array of structured employment services and individualized case management, including:
Providing participants with information about specific job openings in the local labor market that match the individual’s skills and career assessment results;
Creating and updating the participant's Employability Plan (EP) with appropriate activities based on feedback obtained from the participant and from employers who did not offer the participant an interview or a job;
Offering career assessment services, providing guidance in career decision making, and identifying jobs that match the participant’s skills, interests, and abilities;
Monitoring a participant’s job search efforts to review specific jobs the participant has applied for and interviews outcomes to discuss with the participant why they did not receive an offer and help them adjust accordingly;
Discussing any nonparticipation with the participant and the reasons for the nonparticipation. FEPs must exercise due diligence in determining whether previously identified or unidentified barriers (such as personal and family challenges) are the underlying cause of the nonparticipation. The FEP must quickly re-engage CMJ participants in job search activities and place in a paid position CMJ participants who are found to have more severe barriers;
Connecting the CMJ participant with W-2 agency staff and community partners who assist in developing job leads and employer contacts; and
Discussing with the participant any barriers that may be preventing the participant from obtaining employment, including necessary supports, such as housing, transportation, and child care.
Participants with barriers that cannot be addressed with W-2 services within a 30-day timeframe must be placed in a paid W-2 employment position while these barriers are addressed. If barriers are discovered after the FEP has placed the participant in a CMJ, the FEP must not wait for the 30-day review period to move a CMJ participant to a paid W-2 employment position. (See 7.2.4.2)
W-2 agencies must pay for supportive services that are needed for participation in the W-2 program (work uniforms, transportation, etc.). Additionally, participants in a CMJ:
· Are eligible for Wisconsin Shares child care while in the placement;
· May apply for a Job Access Loan to meet immediate employment needs to get or keep a job (see 17.2.1); and
· Must have a Supportive Service Plan that is developed during a meeting between the case manager and the participant. (See 9.2)
CMJ participants are not eligible for family stabilization payments.
W-2 agency staff who assist with developing job leads must actively work with local area employers to:
· Solicit job openings;
· Market participants to employers with jobs that match the participant's skills, abilities, and interests;
· Set up job interviews;
· Provide bilingual support for job contacts and interviews for individuals who are fluent in another language and are learning English; and
· Follow up with employers to determine why a referred participant was not offered an interview or a job.
The FEP must review the appropriateness of the CMJ placement every 30 days to determine whether to:
Keep the individual in the CMJ placement;
Move the individual to a paid placement; or
End the CMJ placement.
If a CMJ participant has made a good faith effort to find employment but remains unemployed, the FEP must move the participant to a paid W-2 placement.
If the participant has not demonstrated a good faith effort to find employment, does not have any barriers to work, and the agency has provided appropriate case management services, the FEP may:
Keep the participant in a CMJ placement for another 30-day period; or
End the CMJ placement, depending upon the circumstances of the case. (See 7.2.4.8)
The FEP may also keep a participant in a CMJ placement for another 30-day period if requested by the participant.
The following must be considered when making a placement determination during the CMJ 30-day reassessment:
Was the participant given multiple, specific job leads in the local labor market that matched their skills, abilities, and interests?
Did the participant get any job offers in the local labor market compatible with the participant’s skills, abilities, and interests?
Did the participant refuse or fail to apply for any jobs in the local labor market compatible with their skills, abilities, and interests?
What were the reasons the participant did not get a job or apply for one?
Were other W-2 participants with similar skills, abilities, and interests able to secure jobs in the local labor market?
Did the participant have previously identified barriers that were addressed with W-2 services? If so, were the services effective? Did the participant have previously unidentified barriers preventing them from obtaining unsubsidized employment?
The FEP does not have to wait for the 30-day review period to move a CMJ participant to a paid W-2 employment position. The FEP must discuss with the participant, on a weekly basis, any barriers that may be preventing the participant from obtaining employment. (See 9.1)
The FEP must document the results of the 30-day review, including the reasons for the placement decision, in PIN comments.
When a CMJ participant obtains unsubsidized employment, the FEP must offer employment retention and advancement services through a Case Management Follow-up (CMF) placement.
CMJ participants must meet all financial and nonfinancial eligibility requirements. However, participants in a CMF placement are only required to meet nonfinancial eligibility requirements.
The FEP must address any noncooperation with ongoing job search activities at the participant’s weekly meetings. (See 11.1)
If a CMJ participant fails to cooperate with W-2 program requirements without good cause, the FEP must close the case. (See 11.5.1)
At the 30-day reassessment, if the participant has not received a job offer, and the W-2 agency has provided appropriate case management and job development services, the FEP must determine whether:
1. The CMJ participant is likely to obtain employment if they receive additional job search assistance by remaining in the CMJ placement for another 30-day period; or
2. The CMJ participant has not cooperated with ongoing job search activities and the FEP must close the case.
History: Release 25-04; Release 24-13; Release 22-05; Release 21-07; Release 20-03; Release 19-02; Release 18-02; Release 16-01; Release 14-03; Release 13-03.