34:15B-38 Counseling requirement.

4. a. No individual shall receive employment and training services paid for with federal job training funds other than counseling unless the individual first receives counseling pursuant to this section. The counseling shall be provided by a job counselor hired and employed by the State pursuant to Title 11A, Civil Service, of the New Jersey Statutes, or hired and employed by a political subdivision of the State, or be provided by a qualified job counselor hired and employed by a non-profit organization which began functioning as the One Stop Career Center operator with the written consent of the chief elected official and the commissioner prior to the effective date of P.L.2004, c.39 (C.34:1A-1.2 et al.), or be provided by a qualified job counselor hired and employed by an approved community-based or faith-based organization to provide counseling which the organization entered into an agreement to provide before the effective date of P.L.2004, c.39 (C.34:1A-1.2 et al.), or be provided by a qualified business counselor hired and employed by an approved community-based or faith-based organization to provide counseling for individuals seeking to embark upon a microenterprise self-employment venture. The purpose of any job counseling provided pursuant to this section is to assist each individual in obtaining the employment and training services most likely to enable the individual to obtain employment providing self-sufficiency for the individual and also to provide the individual with the greatest opportunity for long-range career advancement with high levels of productivity and earning power. The purpose of any business counseling provided pursuant to this section is to assist each individual seeking to embark upon a microenterprise self-employment venture with counseling by qualified business counselors determined to be necessary and appropriate for the success of the microenterprise self-employment venture. The counseling shall include:

(1) Testing and assessment of the individual's job skills and aptitudes, including the individual's literacy skills and other basic skills. Basic skills testing and assessment shall be provided to the individual unless information is provided regarding the individual's educational background and occupational or professional experience which clearly demonstrates that the individual's basic skill level meets the standards established pursuant to section 14 of P.L.1989, c.293 (C.34:15C-11) or unless the individual is already participating in a remedial instruction program which meets those standards;

(2) An evaluation by a qualified job counselor of what remedial instruction, or by a qualified business counselor of what microenterprise self-employment training, if any, is determined to be necessary for the individual to advance in his current career or occupation, or microenterprise self-employment venture, or to succeed in any particular occupational training which the individual would undertake under the program, provided that the remedial instruction shall be at a level not lower than that needed to meet the standards established pursuant to section 14 of P.L.1989, c.293 (C.34:15C-11);

(3) The provision of information to the individual regarding the labor demand occupations, including the information about the wage levels in those occupations, the profitability of self-employed microentrepreneurs in those occupations, and information regarding the effectiveness of approved service providers of occupational training or microenterprise training in labor demand occupations which the individual is considering, including a consumer report card on service providers showing the long-term success of former trainees of each provider in obtaining permanent employment, or establishing a microenterprise self-employed business and increasing earnings over one or more time periods following the completion or other termination of training, including a period of two years following the completion or other termination of training;

(4) The timely provision of information to the individual regarding the services and benefits available to the individual, and all actions required of the individual to obtain the services and benefits, under programs supported by federal job training funds or the provisions of P.L.1992, c.47 (C.43:21-57 et al.), and the provision to the individual of a written statement of the individual's rights and responsibilities with respect to programs for which the individual is eligible, which includes a full disclosure to the individual of his right to obtain the services most likely to enable the individual to obtain employment providing self-sufficiency and the individual's right not to be denied employment and training services for any of the reasons indicated in section 5 of P.L.1992, c.48 (C.34:15B-39), including the individual's right not to be denied training services because the individual already has identifiable vocational skills, if those existing skills are for employment with a level of earnings lower than the level of self-sufficiency;

(5) Discussion with the counselor of the results of the testing and evaluation; and

(6) The development of a written Employability Development Plan identifying the training and employment services or other workforce investment services, including any needed remedial instruction, to be provided to the individual.

b. Federal job training funds shall be used to provide training and employment services, microenterprise self-employment training, or other workforce investment services to an individual identified in an Employability Development Plan developed pursuant to this section only if the counselor who evaluates the individual pursuant to this section determines that the individual can reasonably be expected to successfully complete the training and instruction identified in the plan.

c. All information regarding an individual applicant or trainee which is obtained or compiled in connection with the testing, assessment and evaluation and which may be identified with the individual shall be confidential and shall not be released to an entity other than the individual, the counselor, the department, the commission or partners of the One-Stop system as necessary for them to provide training and employment services or other workforce investment services to the individual, unless the individual provides written permission to the department for the release of the information or the information is used solely for program evaluation.

L.1992, c.48, s.4; amended 2004, c.39, s.8; 2005, c.354, s.3; 2017, c.25, s.1.