State Boards or Local Boards must set the criteria for determining whether employment leads to self-sufficiency. At a minimum, such criteria must provide that self-sufficiency means employment that pays at least the lower living standard income level, as defined in WIA section 101(24). Self-sufficiency for a dislocated worker may be defined in relation to a percentage of the layoff wage. The special needs of individuals with disabilities or other barriers to employment should be taken into account when setting criteria to determine self-sufficiency.
20 C.F.R. §663.230