UI Integrity Center of Excellence Operations

The Employment and Training Administration within the U.S. Department of Labor has issued a notice of intent to award additional funding on a sole source basis to the Center for Employment Security Education and Research, a subsidiary of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies. The purpose of this award is to continue operation of the Unemployment Insurance Integrity Center of Excellence, which has been managed by CESER since fiscal year 2017. CESER is a nonprofit entity established in 1994 to serve as the education and research arm of NASWA, a national membership organization composed of state workforce administrators. NASWA and CESER provide policy advocacy, technical expertise, and program support on unemployment insurance and workforce development initiatives. The funding is authorized under the Full Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, which extended fiscal year 2024 funding levels through fiscal year 2025. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, provided nine million dollars for continued support of the Integrity Center. This funding comes under the appropriation for State Unemployment Insurance and Employment Service Operations. CESER is uniquely positioned to operate this program due to its longstanding role as a liaison between state workforce agencies, the Department of Labor, Congress, and other partners. The Department of Labor Manual Series allows for sole source awards when a recipient has unique qualifications, which applies in this case given CESER’s expertise in research, education, and technology for unemployment insurance programs. The UI Integrity Center’s mission is to strengthen unemployment insurance program integrity by serving as a state-driven source of innovative strategies to prevent, detect, and recover improper payments, reduce fraud, and ensure compliance with the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019. The Center provides technical assistance and training to states, disseminates fraud prevention tools and resources, and issues alerts about emerging fraud schemes. These services are designed to be transferable and scalable across all states, ensuring national impact. This funding will allow CESER to complete existing initiatives and expand its capacity to develop new tools and deliverables. If resources were directed to another entity, it would cause duplication of work, increase government costs, and delay critical fraud prevention products. CESER is uniquely positioned to facilitate collaboration across states, enabling peer-to-peer information sharing and implementation of program integrity practices. The UI Integrity Center has already completed several of its core strategies in the past year and continues to develop new ones. Sustained funding will help CESER expand the Integrity Center’s reach and impact, ultimately improving the quality and performance of state-administered unemployment insurance programs nationwide. The Department of Labor has determined that CESER’s role is critical to ensuring program integrity, avoiding disruption of services, and safeguarding federal and state resources. There are no stated open or close application deadlines for this award because it is issued as a sole source continuation to CESER. Similarly, no application instructions, evaluation criteria, or contact information are provided in the notice, as this is not a competitive grant. Instead, the notice affirms the Department of Labor’s intention to continue supporting CESER’s operation of the UI Integrity Center under its unique qualifications and established role.