Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Services RFA




Background

The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program was first established at the United States Department of Labor by the Trade Act of 1974, and has been amended several times. The Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance (ATAA) provide aid to workers who have become unemployed as a result of increased imports from, or shifts in production to, foreign countries. The TAA program is also a required partner in the one-stop delivery system, established under Section 121 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).

TAA offers a very specific list of benefits and reemployment services to assist these trade-affected workers to prepare for and obtain suitable reemployment. To obtain Trade reemployment services and benefits, a petition must be filed with the U.S. Department of Labor's Division of Trade Adjustment Assistance requesting certification for workers adversely affected by foreign trade. If the worker group meets the necessary group eligibility criteria, a certification will be issued.

After a worker group certification is issued, each worker in the group may then apply for individual services and benefits. Individual workers who meet the qualifying criteria may receive the following:

  • Income support in the form of Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA);
  • Job Training assistance;
  • Out-of-area job search and out-of-area relocation assistance;
  • Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) (as determined by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS));
  • A wage supplement in the form of RTAA for workers age 50 and older;
  • Case Management; and
  • Travel-to-Training Reimbursements.



Project Goal

​The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (Commerce) is issuing this Request for Application (RFA) to identify qualified organizations to assist with the administration of TAA programs in Cook County, Northeast Region in Illinois.  Commerce will designate a qualified organization to assist with the trade program administration to provide TAA services to workers impacted or at-risk of being impacted by foreign trade, and will provide grant funding to support allowable TAA activities based on the level of TAA Program activities during the grant period. Grantees will provide trade-affected workers with opportunities to obtain the skills, resources, and support they need to become reemployed.  Grantees will be primarily responsible for providing TAA services to eligible workers in Cook County as directed by the Department.  The Grantee may also be required to support the Department in the regional coordination of the TAA Program in Illinois’ Northeast Economic Development Region including Lake, McHenry, DuPage, Kane, DeKalb, Kendall, Grundy, and Kankakee Counties. 





Materials

  • Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Program Funding for TAA Services RFA (PDF)
  • Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Cook County RFA Application (Excel)
  • Rapid Response Guidance (PDF)