COMPETITIVE CONTRACTING PROPOSAL FOR CAREER PATHWAY ENABLING SERVICES (CPES)

The Middlesex County Office of Workforce and Career Development is soliciting proposals for the provision of Career Pathway Enabling Services (CPES) to support eligible individuals under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Adult, Dislocated Worker, Youth programs, and Work First New Jersey (WFNJ) in achieving education, training, and employment outcomes. CPES providers will deliver contracted services in coordination with OWCD and the American Job Center (AJC) system, in alignment with Individual Employment Plans (IEPs) or Individual Service Strategies (ISS). Services are intended to reduce barriers to participation and support successful engagement through structured, skill-based interventions aligned with career pathway development. Services shall support outcomes consistent with WIOA Primary Indicators of Performance (20 CFR 677.155), including measurable skill gains, credential attainment, and employment outcomes. Funding may be provided through Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), WorkFirst New Jersey (WFNJ), or a coordinated (braided) funding approach, in accordance with all applicable federal and State of New Jersey laws, including, but not limited to, regulations and guidance issued by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (NJDOL) and requirements related to cost allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and non-duplication of costs in accordance with 2 CFR Part 200 and NJDOL requirements, including strict cost allocation methodologies to ensure allowability, allocability, reasonableness, and non-duplication of costs across funding streams. Eligibility determination and enrollment decisions are responsibility of OWCD and / or its designated subrecipient(s), and CPES providers shall not determine eligibility. Where WIOA Adult funding is utilized, services will align with federal priority of service requirements for individuals who are recipients of public assistance, low-income, or basic skills deficient. Services shall be delivered in a manner that ensures equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in accordance with WIOA Section 188 and 29 CFR Part 38. Services are contingent upon the availability of funding and do not constitute an entitlement to services.