The fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriated funds will support the cooperative agreement between the employment and training administration (ETA) and the center for employment security education and…

The Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration awarded a $18 million cooperative agreement to the Center for Employment Security Education and Research Inc. (doing business as NASWA Services) from September 2022 through March 2024 under the Unemployment Insurance federal grant program (CFDA 17.225).

Under this cooperative agreement, NASWA Services will operate the Unemployment Insurance Integrity Center of Excellence to provide education, research, and information technology support focused on ensuring UI program integrity for state workforce agencies nationwide. Specific deliverables include activities to support states' implementation of strategies to prevent, detect, and recover improper payments and reduce UI fraud. The Integrity Center will also develop and support integrity-related products for state usage. Oversight is provided through the Integrity Center's State Technical Committee, which includes representatives from the Department of Labor, state UI directors, and NASWA.

The fiscal year (FY) 2022 appropriated funds will support the cooperative agreement between the employment and training administration (ETA) and the center for employment security education and research (ceser) for continued support and operation of the unemployment insurance (UI) integrity center of excellence (integrity center). Ceser, a 501(c)(3) entity, incorporated in august 1994 as an education and research arm of the national association of state workforce agencies (naswa), is a national organization of state administrators of the publicly-funded state workforce system and a leading provider of information technology (IT), education, and research support focused exclusively on UI and workforce development initiatives and activities. Ceser, as a subsidiary of naswa, is uniquely qualified to provide a forum for states to exchange information and ideas related to program requirements and peer-to-peer collaboration to help ensure the integrity of UI program operations. Naswa/ceser fosters and supports relationships to help ensure program integrity and quality performance of the UI system nationwide. Naswa/ceser also serves as a liaison between state workforce agencies, ETA and other federal government agencies, congress, business, labor, and intergovernmental groups. Naswa serves as the collective voice of state agencies on UI matters, and through its subsidiary, ceser, provides and/or facilitates education, research and IT support for the UI program nationwide. Naswa/ceser is a trusted broker to support states receipt of technical assistance tools and resources to improve program integrity. Activities performed the UI integrity center activities and product development, product support activities, functions, and/or projects referred to as UI integrity center core activities are addressed in the cooperative agreement between the US department of labor (usdol) and the naswa/ceser. The activities/deliverables outlined in the cooperative agreement are established to meet ETA's needs to support the state UI agencies in implementing strategies to ensure program integrity; to prevent, detect, and recover improper payments; and to reduce fraud in the UI program. Deliverables these funds will be used by ceser to perform work consistent with the scope of work and deliverables/outcomes included in the current cooperative agreement. Intended beneficiary the UI integrity center's stco acts as a board of governors, which provides guidance, direction, and monitors the progress of UI integrity center projects. The UI integrity center's stco is currently comprised of voting members from: • usdol's office of unemployment insurance (OUI), • the naswa board of directors • the new york state department of labor (nysdol), and • state UI directors (or equivalents). ETA/OUI represents two seats on the UI integrity center stco, which is the governance, strategic planning, and oversight entity for the UI integrity center. Any project initiated by the UI integrity center must be approved by the UI integrity center stco subrecipient activities y