Work First 104C - First Stop Employment Assistance

Change #07-2004

July 1, 2004

I. WHAT IS FIRST STOP?

In SL 1997-443, the North Carolina General Assembly enacted the First Stop Employment Assistance Program. It is administered by the Employment Security Commission (ESC) and is established to assist applicants and participants of Work First Family Assistance to become employed.

All Work First adult applicants (except those applying for Benefit Diversion), recipients, re-applicants and individuals requesting inclusion (unless exempt), are required to register with the First Stop Employment Assistance Program at ESC before their application or inclusion request can be approved or their assistance continued. This requirement applies to all counties, regardless of their status as Electing or Standard.

There are also some optional components of the First Stop Program. As part of First Stop, counties may contract with the Employment Security Commission for a continuum of services including job search, job preparedness, and community service. Whether your county chooses to contract for these services is a local decision and must be reflected in a contract between your agencies. This policy does not address the optional services.

Counties have options regarding how the First Stop requirement is implemented locally. The option your county chooses must be used for all applicants, re-applicants, and recipients in the county.

NOTE: The term “applicant” as used in this policy refers to a Work First applicant or re-applicant, an individual applying to be added to a pending application, and an individual requesting inclusion to an on-going case.