WSIN26-09 gives career planners another tool for customers who need recent experience, skills, networks, or exposure to new careers: paid service and volunteer opportunities through California Volunteers. The key is to use the opportunity because it advances the participant’s employment plan, not because a slot happens to be available.
Source + trust record
Source checked as of September 18, 2026. Primary authority: EDD WSIN26-09.
Check result: EDD currently encourages workforce partners to incorporate California Volunteers opportunities into assessment, IEP development, career planning, and referrals. Paid service opportunities include California Climate Action Corps, Youth Service Corps, and AmeriCorps California. WIOA eligibility, funding, activity coding, and performance treatment remain separate program questions. This AI-assisted brief does not receive human legal or compliance review. Official sources control.
WDB decision strip
| Status | Action | Primary owner | Timing | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACTIVE REFERRAL RESOURCE | CONNECT WHEN IT FITS THE IEP | Career Services + Youth / Partner Leadership | As opportunities are available | Paid service · Experience · Skills · Networks · Career exposure |
The bottom line
A California Volunteers role can provide work experience without automatically becoming a WIOA-funded work experience.
EDD encourages workforce partners to use California Volunteers during assessment, Individual Employment Plan development, career planning, and referrals. The service opportunity and the WIOA service remain separate decisions. Staff should document what California Volunteers provides and, separately, any WIOA-funded activity, supportive service, or case-management support.
What participants may gain
| Value | Career-planning question |
|---|---|
| Hands-on experience | Will the participant have concrete recent work to discuss with an employer? |
| Skill development | Which technical, teamwork, communication, project, or workplace skills will be practiced? |
| Networks + mentors | Will the role connect the participant to people and organizations in the target field? |
| Career exposure | Does the service role provide a realistic look at public service, climate, education, health, resilience, or another pathway? |
| Paid service | What compensation, hours, duration, benefits, and service obligations apply? |
Paid service programs named by EDD
- California Climate Action Corps
- Youth Service Corps
- AmeriCorps California
Referral vs. WIOA service
| Question | California Volunteers referral | WIOA-funded WEX / OJT / other service |
|---|---|---|
| Who funds the role? | The California Volunteers program or host structure. | WIOA and/or employer under the applicable agreement and local/federal rules. |
| Is it automatically a WIOA activity? | No. | Only when it meets the applicable WIOA definition, authorization, documentation, and coding requirements. |
| What should staff document? | The career-planning purpose, referral, and follow-up. | The WIOA activity, agreement, cost, case notes, coding, and performance treatment required for that service. |
What career planners should do
- Start with the customer’s employment goal and IEP.
- Screen the role for relevant skills, experience, network, schedule, compensation, and next-step value.
- Explain what is paid service versus volunteer service before referral.
- Use California Volunteers when it fills a real experience or exposure gap.
- Keep WIOA eligibility, funding, activity coding, and performance treatment separate and accurate.
- Follow up on whether the experience actually advanced employment or training.
Watch out
- Do not label a California Volunteers role “WIOA work experience” simply because it provides experience.
- Do not refer customers without confirming compensation, expectations, and career relevance.
- Do not substitute volunteer service for paid employment when paid work is the appropriate goal.
Source authority
Official notice: EDD WSIN26-09 — California Volunteers Offers Work Experience and Paid Service Roles.
Interpretation note: EDD encourages use of these opportunities in assessment, IEP development, career planning, and referrals. The WIOA funding/coding distinctions above are implementation cautions, not a new EDD classification rule. Source checked September 16, 2026.
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