The Employment Social Enterprise (ESE) Technical Assistance (TA) Program

The Employment Pathways Technical Assistance (EPTA) grant for Program Year 2025–26 is a funding initiative led by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) in partnership with the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency (LWDA). This initiative is financed by $1.5 million in federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Governor’s Discretionary 15 percent funds from the U.S. Department of Labor. The grant is designed to support the Employment and Training Pathways Program (ETPP) grantees by providing both technical assistance (TA) and developmental evaluation (DE). This support ensures that grantees can meet the diverse needs of high-barrier populations, including Opportunity Youth (OYA), veterans, English Language Learners (ELLs), and justice-involved individuals. The EPTA initiative is distinct in that it not only provides individualized TA to each ETPP grantee but also establishes a broader, cross-program Community of Practice (COP). The selected awardee will act as a learning partner to ETPP grantees, helping refine program design, identify implementation challenges, and use real-time data to make adaptive decisions. This developmental evaluation approach is grounded in principles of transparency, inclusivity, and participant-centered design. The awardee will also evaluate the effectiveness of programs and share lessons learned through ongoing communication and knowledge products like toolkits and case studies. The EPTA provider will support ETPP grantees in tailoring their services to industry sectors experiencing moderate to high growth, with the ultimate goal of improving economic mobility through workforce readiness. Emphasis will be placed on high-touch, personalized support, the use of user-friendly data tools like dashboards, and ongoing feedback loops through coaching and peer learning. To ensure alignment with statewide workforce development goals, the TADE provider must help grantees adapt to labor market trends, enhance access to services, and implement trauma-informed and culturally responsive practices. Additionally, the EPTA grantee will coordinate a COP involving TA providers from other major state-funded workforce programs such as the Displaced Oil and Gas Workers Fund (DOGWF), English Language Learners (ELL) grant, Farmworkers Advancement Program (FAP), Employment Social Enterprise (ESE) grant, Opportunity Young Adult Career Pathways Program (OYACPP), and the Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) AJCC Collaboration Project. The COP aims to foster alignment, shared learning, and system-level improvements across these programs. Participants will engage in structured convenings and collaborative problem-solving sessions, contributing to a broader learning agenda that serves all stakeholders in California’s workforce system. Proposals for this grant are due by 3 p.m. PST on February 3, 2026. An informational webinar will be held on January 13, 2026, and a Notice of Intent to Apply is encouraged by January 16, 2026. The estimated start date for the selected project is June 2026, with a grant period lasting between 18 and 24 months. The funding must be expended by March 31, 2028. Only one award is expected to be made, and applicants must register with the System for Award Management (SAM). Required application components include a Cover/Signature Page, Executive Summary, Project Narrative, Budget Summary, Budget Narrative, Partner Roles and Responsibilities, and, if applicable, Partnership and Commitment Letters. Applicants may include a variety of public and nonprofit organizations such as community colleges, institutions of higher education, adult education providers, workforce intermediaries, and labor organizations. Individuals are not eligible to apply. Successful applicants must demonstrate capacity to conduct developmental evaluations, create user-centric data tools, and provide meaningful technical assistance informed by past experience. They must also have the infrastructure to manage the award and submit regular reporting to the EDD, including use of the CalJOBS system for data reporting. Contracts will be negotiated following award notification, with clear expectations for outcomes, timelines, and compliance requirements.

Ensure file naming conventions match required format. Applications missing any required document or received after the deadline will be disqualified. Partner roles and budget contributions must align exactly across narrative and forms.