Glossary

All A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Acronyms

  • Same-day Service
    Same-day services are those staff-assisted activities that are completed in one day. The same activity could be delivered again on one or more additional days but each occurrence is considered another episode.
  • School Dropout
    An individual who is no longer attending any school and who has not received a secondary school diploma or its recognized equivalent. A youth’s dropout status is determined at the time of registration. A youth attending an alternative school at the time of registration is not a dropout. An individual who is out-of-school at the time of registration and subsequently placed in an alternative school may be considered an out-of-school youth for the purposes of the 30 percent expenditure requirement for out-of-school youth.
  • Sealed Bid

    A procurement method in which bids are publicly solicited and a firm fixed price contract (lump sum or unit price) is awarded to the responsible bidder whose bid, conforming with all material terms and conditions of the invitation for bids, is the lowest in price.

  • Secondary School
    Means the term given in section 9101 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801).
  • Section 504 Plan

    Section 504, of the Rehabilitation Act, 29 U.S.C. § 794, is a federal law that protects students with disabilities that interfere with their ability to learn or access school programs from discrimination by schools receiving Federal financial assistance.  Under Section 503 students are entitled to receive a free and appropriate education comparable to students without disabilities.  A Section 504 Plan can be used to get reasonable accommodations for an individual with a disability that falls outside of the 13 disability categories required under IDEA, or who does not need special education and related services. A 504 plan outlines how the individual’s specific needs will be met through accommodations, modifications and other services.

  • Self-Service
    Occurs when participants serve themselves, or are served without significant staff involvement, in accessing workforce investment system information and activities in either a physical location and/or remotely via the use of electronic technologies (e.g., Illinois workNet).
  • Self-Service Participant (Individuals)
    Those individuals who receive self-service and informational services, without significant staff involvement, at a physical location and/or remotely via the use of electronic technologies. Self-service participants are further defined by the following classifications, based on the data provided: a) Basic self-service customer; or b) customers receiving facilitated self-help, or c) Reportable/Non-registered self-service participant. They are individuals that have minimal interaction with the program and minimal resources are spent on their behalf.
  • Self-sufficiency
    The ability to support oneself without external assistance.
  • SFY
    State Fiscal Year
  • Short-Term Pre-Vocational Training Program

    A classroom activity which provides youth or adults who have had little or no employment experience with a set of work habits and skills which are prerequisite for participation in the workforce. Training may include survival/daily living skills, positive work habits, attitudes and behavior, developing motivation and adaptability, learning coping and problem-solving skills and acquiring an improved self-image.

  • Significant Event
    An event that creates a sudden need for assistance that cannot reasonably be expected to be accommodated within the on-going operation of the formula-funded Dislocated Worker program.
  • Significant Staff Involvement
    Any assistance provided by staff beyond self-service and informational activities regardless of the length of time involved in providing such assistance. Significant staff involvement includes a staff member’s assessment of a participant’s skills, education, or career objectives in order to achieve the following: a) Assist participants in deciding on appropriate next steps in the search for employment, training, and related services, including job referral; b) Assist participants in assessing their personal barriers to employment; or c) Assist participants in accessing other related services necessary to enhance their employability and individual employment related needs.
  • Simplified Acquisition Threshold

    The dollar amount below which a non-federal entity may purchase property or services using small purchase methods/procedures. 

  • Skill Attainment
    Skills that directly benefit the workers receiving the training by making them more qualified in their field of employment, and/or provide new skills for new product lines or processes.
  • Small Business

    Means one that is “independently owned and operated and which is not dominant in its field of operation”. For purposes of WIOA, USDOL and USDOE have adopted the use of the Small Business Administration definition as outlined in the publication, “Table of Small Business Size Standards Matched to North American Industry Classification System Codes.”

  • SNAP
    Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
  • Social Security Disability Insurance

    Social Security Disability Insurance is a payroll tax-funded federal program that provides income supplements to individuals that are physically restricted in their ability to be employed because of a notable disability (physical disability). The individual must have worked in recent years and paid FICA payroll taxes for a certain period of time to be eligible for SSDI.

  • Social Security Number

    A Social Security Number is the 9-digit identification number assigned to an individual by the Social Security Administration under the Social Security Act.

  • Sole Source

    Also referred to as “exceptional purchase.” Any purchase of commodities or contractual services excepted by law or rule from the requirements for competitive solicitation, including, but not limited to, purchases from a single source; purchases upon receipt of less than two responsive bids, proposals, or replies; purchases made by an agency after receiving approval from the department, from a contract procured, pursuant to s. 287.057(1), or by another agency; and purchases made without advertisement in the manner required under s. 287.042(3)(b).

  • Specialized Centers

    1. LWIBs may designate a specialized center to meet the needs of a specific population, such as youth, veterans, or individuals with disabilities; key industry sectors or clusters (20 CFR 678.320, 34 CFR 361.320, and 34 CFR 463.320); or a specific group of dislocated workers affected by a regional lay-off.

    2. Specialized centers need not provide access to every required partner, but should be knowledgeable about, and prepared to make referrals to, partners in the comprehensive or affiliate one-stop centers.

    3. As described in the "Affiliate Centers" section above, Wagner-Peyser employment services cannot stand alone in a specialized center and must include other programs besides Wagner-Peyser Act employment services, local veterans' employment representatives, disabled veterans' outreach program specialists, and unemployment compensation.

    4. Specialized centers must connect, physically or technologically, to a comprehensive center and any appropriate affiliate centers (20 CFR 678.320).

    5. Partner services provided through specialized one-stop centers must be determined by partner negotiations at the local level and incorporated into the MOU.

  • SSA
    Social Security Administration
  • SSDI

    Social Security Disability Insurance is a payroll tax-funded federal program that provides income supplements to individuals that are physically restricted in their ability to be employed because of a notable disability (physical disability). The individual must have worked in recent years and paid FICA payroll taxes for a certain period of time to be eligible for SSDI.

  • SSI

    Supplemental Security Income is an income benefit program for disabled individuals under the age of 65 who are unable to engage in any Substantial Gainful Activity. It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people who have little or no income. It also provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. Eligibility for the program is based on financial need established by income and asset requirements.

  • SSN

    A Social Security Number is the 9-digit identification number assigned to an individual by the Social Security Administration under the Social Security Act.

  • State Board
    Means a State workforce development board established under section 101.
  • State Plan
    Used without further description, means a unified State plan under section 102 or a combined State plan under section 103.
  • Statewide Event
    A dislocation event affecting 200 or more workers from the same company at multiple locations in one or more LWIAs.
  • Statewide List of Eligible Providers
    The statewide list of eligible providers is a compilation of all programs, listed by provider, that have been approved by a local board. The statewide list of eligible providers, according to WIOA Section 122, must be widely disseminated and available through the state’s Illinois workNet® system to be available to participants in employment and training activities.
  • Statistical Adjustment Model

    an objective regression model used to estimate levels of performance and adjusted levels of performance. Before the program year, the statistical adjustment model determines estimates that are used as a factor in the negotiations process. After the program year, the estimates derived from the statistical adjustment model are applied to the actual economic conditions and characteristics of participants served to determine the adjustment factor (WIOA section 116(b)(3)(A)(viii)). Economic conditions include differences in unemployment rates and job losses or gains in particular industries. Characteristics of participants include, but are not limited to, indicators of poor work history, lack of work experience, lack of educational or occupational skills attainment, dislocation from high-wage and high-benefit employment, low levels of literacy or English proficiency, disability status, homelessness, ex-offender status, and welfare dependency. The statistical adjustment model also takes into account other factors that, through empirical support, are determined to have an effect on predicting state outcomes.

  • Subject to Adult or Juvenile Justice System

    ​An individual who is or has been subject to any stage of the criminal justice system or process and has been recorded as such.  In other words, they are “in the system”.

  • Subsidies
    Cash assistance or similar payments for transportation, housing, food or other basic expenses.
  • Suitable Work
    Work that is determined to be reasonable for a claimant considering his or her skills, training, education and experience.
  • Summer Youth Employment
    For purposes of the use of Recovery Act funds, the summer youth employment period extends from May 1 through September 30. To be considered in Summer Youth Employment participants must have a work experience component.
  • Supplemental Security Income

    Supplemental Security Income is an income benefit program for disabled individuals under the age of 65 who are unable to engage in any Substantial Gainful Activity. It is designed to help aged, blind, and disabled people who have little or no income. It also provides cash to meet basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. Eligibility for the program is based on financial need established by income and asset requirements.

  • Supplies

    Means all tangible personal property other than those described in the definition of equipment.  A computing device is a supply if the acquisition cost is less than $5,000, regardless of the length of its useful life.

  • Supportive Services
    Services such as transportation, child care, dependent care, housing, and needs-related payments, that are necessary to enable an individual to participate in activities authorized under this Act.
  • Sustained Fiscal Integrity
    Means for the purpose of determining initial and subsequent local area designation, that the Secretary has not made a formal determination that either the grant recipient or any other entity charged with expending local area funds misexpended such funds due to willful disregard of the requirements of the provision involved, gross negligence, or failure to comply with accepted standards of administration for the 2-year period preceding the determination.