Source + trust record
Source checked as of September 18, 2026. Primary authority: EDD WSIN25-03.
Check result: EDD and DOR launched an $18 million Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation initiative involving 18 Local Workforce Development Areas, with Loyola Marymount University serving as the statewide technical-assistance and developmental-evaluation provider. Cross-training, co-enrollment, co-case management, and systems integration are explicit project strategies. Local self-assessment questions on this page are implementation aids, not added state requirements. This AI-assisted brief does not receive human legal or compliance review. Official sources control.
California is testing what real Title I and Vocational Rehabilitation integration looks like at the local level
EDD and the Department of Rehabilitation launched an $18 million initiative across 18 Local Workforce Development Areas to strengthen cross-training, co-enrollment, co-case management, and integrated services for people with disabilities. The project is explicitly designed as a systems-change effort, not a short-term referral campaign.
At a glance
Funding
$18 million Title IV VR
Participating Local Areas
18
TA / evaluation
Loyola Marymount University
Core strategies
Cross-training, co-enrollment, co-case management
Executive takeaway
The DOR-AJCC Collaboration project is one of California’s clearest attempts to move beyond partner co-location toward operational integration between WIOA Title I and Title IV Vocational Rehabilitation. Participating Local Areas are expected to change how staff learn each other’s programs, identify shared customers, coordinate plans, and support employment and career advancement for people with disabilities.
What the initiative is testing
| Strategy | What stronger implementation looks like |
|---|---|
| Cross-training | Frontline staff understand partner eligibility, services, terminology, referral paths, and where combined services add value. |
| Co-enrollment | Shared customers can access complementary Title I and Title IV services without unnecessary duplication or sequencing delays. |
| Co-case management | Staff coordinate goals, responsibilities, communication, and service timing rather than managing two disconnected plans. |
| Systems change | Processes and relationships become routine enough to continue beyond the grant period. |
Why nonparticipating WDBs should watch
- The project can produce practical models for WIOA partner integration that are transferable statewide.
- LMU’s technical-assistance and developmental-evaluation role should generate implementation lessons, not only end-of-project results.
- Local Boards can compare their own DOR referral, co-enrollment, and communication processes with what the 18 pilot areas are testing.
- The initiative may shape future California expectations for Title I and Title IV collaboration.
Questions for a local self-assessment
- Can AJCC staff explain when a customer may benefit from DOR?
- Can DOR staff make a warm handoff into WIOA services?
- Do shared customers repeat assessments, documents, or plans unnecessarily?
- Is co-enrollment tracked intentionally, or does it happen only when individual staff know one another?
- Who owns communication when both systems are actively serving the same customer?
Source basis
Primary source: EDD WSIN25-03 — DOR-AJCC Collaboration Launch
The self-assessment questions above are implementation considerations, not additional EDD or DOR requirements.