This is a cooperative grant agreement between the department and the national association of state workforce agencies (naswa)/ center for employment security education and research (ceser)

This $21.7 million cooperative agreement between the Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies/Center for Employment Security Education and Research will support the Unemployment Insurance program (CFDA 17.225) from April 1, 2022 through December 31, 2024.

NASWA/CESER will manage the Interstate Connection Network, a system facilitating data exchange between state workforce agencies. Key activities include maintaining current ICON operations and applications that support interstate benefits claims, wage data exchange, and federal reporting. NASWA/CESER will also lead ICON modernization planning and the next procurement cycle. As the established manager of multiple unemployment insurance entities, NASWA/CESER is well positioned to leverage existing investments and promote efficiencies under this cooperative agreement.

Naswa/ceser is the only qualified entity to do this work. Naswa/ceser is the only qualified entity to do this work. They have the organizational capacity and expertise (subject matter and technical) to ensure that icon maintains operations through the existing contractor with no break in service and to immediately engage in preparing for modernization of icon and managing the next procurement cycle. Nasw a/ceser has a unique relationship to state UI agencies and already plays key roles in icon operations that position them to take on the new functions of managing icon overall. Activities performed icon supports an environment comprised of several mainframes, personal computers, workstations, operating systems and telecommunication methodologies. Each of the fifty-three states accesses the network via different communication protocols. Current icon applications supporting unemployment insurance (UI) activities include: 1) interstate benefits (IB) claims data exchange; 2) interstate statistical exchange; 3) interstate wage data exchange; 4) data exchange between swas and social security administration (SSA); 5) interstate cross-match andlocator; 6) UI federal reporting; 7) unemployment compensation for federal employees (ucfe)wage transfer; 8) ucfe/ unemployment compensation for EX-service members (UCX) query verification; 9) federal claims control center (fccc); 10) fccc exceptions; 11) UI mail; 12) liable/data agent transfer (ladt); 13) automated claims handbook; 14) vessels handbook; 15) state unemployment tax act (suta) dumping information collaboration (sdic) system; 16) combine wage claims (CWC 02-12); 17) military state data exchange system (msdes); and 18) federal employee compensation act (feca) crossmatch. Deliverables/ deliverables the naswa UI committee and interstate benefits subcommittee function as a "users group" for icon and help steer icon functionality. In addition naswa manages the memoranda of understanding among the states that enables the information sharing across states. Naswa/ceser also operates the UI information technology support center (itsc) which is already playing a key role in shaping the business requirements and architecture of a modernized icon system in partnership with ETA. Intended beneficiary naswa/ceser has a strong relationship with ETA as a result of managing multiple UI entities as discussed above and the ability to leverage these investments in ways that will promote efficiencies and save money subrecipient activities y