CDE Announcements Archive

2023–24 Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Title II: Adult Education Family Literacy Act (AEFLA)

Dear Adult Educator:

As we jump into the second half of the year, the Adult Education Office (AEO) would like to be the first to welcome you back from winter break. Thank you for the dedication you show to each of your students and your staff. Our hope is that the new year brings you a renewal of energy to support a strong finish to the first year of this new grant cycle.

Let’s take a closer look at some important things coming up in January and some other noteworthy activities.

• Second Quarter Expenditure Claims
• January Deliverables
• Reporting Site Updates
• 2024–25 Program Year Inquiry
• Payment Point Attestation Letters
• Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP)
• Award Amendments for 2023–24
• Steps to College 2024
• CalKids Savings Account Program
• Coming Soon

The Expenditure Claim Report (ECR) module for the second quarter is now open and second quarter claims are due to the California Department of Education (CDE) by Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Make any necessary budget updates within the claim and note any applicable justifications. Remember to update the budget column prior to entering expenditures when entering the data to reduce error messages. This is an electronic only deliverable.

• Second Quarter Data, TOPSpro® Enterprise
• Second Quarter Data Integrity Report
• California Accountability Training
• CASAS Implementation Training
• Employment and Earnings Follow-up Survey

For further information, please visit the WIOA, Title II: AEFLA Grant Information 2023–24 web page.

The Adult Education Online Application and Reporting Site, commonly known as the OAR, received two new updates this month. Agencies that receive billing requests from the AEO will now see any pending or paid amounts (for this grant only) on the Award and Claim Payment web page located within the WIOA Navigation menu. The WIOA Dashboard will also display any pending billing request and in addition, will display action items more prominently.

Preparation for next year’s funding has already begun. Agency response is requested to support this work. The 2024–25 Program Year Inquiry will be released on Monday, January 8, 2024, and will be due at the end of the month. The inquiry will be available from the Survey web page within the WIOA Navigation menu of the OAR. Neither a signature nor an approval is required when responding, but it is recommended the inquiry be completed by your agency’s Adult Education Director or a staff member with the OAR Role of an Approver or OAR Admin.

Payment Point Attestation Letter responses were due December 15, 2023. This deliverable plays an important part in future funding for your agency and provides transparency of the data match process. If your agency has questions regarding this process or if technical assistance is needed, please reach out to your Adult Education Regional Consultant to request further discussion. Adjustments for late discrepancies are disruptive to the funding process and create delays for all participants. This deliverable was shifted to an earlier date to support timely distribution of award notifications for the next program year.

The CIP deliverable is required this year. Both the CIP Plan Guide (Word Document) and a recorded webinar are now available and can be accessed from the CIP web page within the WIOA Navigation menu of the OAR. Please plan to review the webinar and develop a list of questions. Dr. Zachry and OTAN staff will be hosting a live Question and Answer session at noon on Tuesday, February 6, 2024. Sign up for the live Q and A session and additional CIP related webinars hosted by subject matter experts on the Professional Development Calendar. The CIP is due Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

The AEO is in the process of finalizing award amendments for the current year to distribute carryover funding in the form of additional subsidies. Amendments are now expected in the third quarter and include adjustments for agencies lacking a qualifying Integrated Education and Training program. Approximately forty percent of agencies are likely to receive an amendment. Subsidies are not a guarantee and are at the discretion of the state. Please refer to the July 20, 2023, letter, issued with your Grant Award Notification 2023 for additional information.

Have you remembered to save the date for Steps to College 2024 (STC), the largest bilingual & binational university fair in Northern California? The STC event will be held February 3, 2024. For more information visit: https://stepstocollegesac.org.

CalKIDS is California's children's savings account program administered by the ScholarShare Investment Board, a state agency overseen by State Treasurer Fiona Ma. CalKIDS provides college savings accounts, ranging from $25 to $1,500, dedicated to higher education for newborns and eligible low-income public-school students from First through Twelfth grade. For a comprehensive understanding of the program, please visit www.calkids.org.

Please share this information with your adult students, so that if they are parents, they can take advantage of this program. To enhance the visibility of this program, a marketing toolkit has been made available for schools and its contents may be utilized in flyers, social media posts, and mentions in agency newsletters. The official press release from the program’s launch by the Governor last year, Office of Governor | CalKIDS Press Release, provides additional details.

Keep an eye out for a new letter to Superintendents and College Presidents regarding the collection of Social Security Numbers and Individual Tax Identification Numbers coming out via email later this month. Adult Education Directors will be copied on the email.

If you have any questions, please contact the AEO at 916-322-2175, or by email at adulteducation@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

Carolyn Zachry, Ed.D.
Education Administrator and State Director
Adult Education Office
California Department of Education
916-322-2175
adulteducation@cde.ca.gov