Monthly Archives July 2013

KRA Corporation has been providing management consulting and program operations services in the “education, employment, and training” arena for more than 30 years.  Our support of those Federal, State, and local agencies dedicated to improving the lives of individuals through our innovative workforce development programs across the country has aided us in accomplishing our mission of developing workers and strengthening communities.  But unfortunately, sometimes having a job isn’t enough. At the current wage of $7.25 per hour, a full-time employee at minimum wage would have an annual income of $14,500. It is a sum that leaves families below the poverty line. It is why KRA Corporation salutes President
Read More

Last month, the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration played host to the Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship. The 2-day conference drew from the collective expertise of leaders in the military, government, training providers, and veteran service organizations that focus on strategies to increase veterans’ participation in the Registered Apprenticeship Program (Program). The Program was created in 1937 to produce workers with in-demand skills from plumbing through turbine engineering.  The on-the-job training (OJT) and technical instruction are tailored to suit a particular industry.  Nationwide, the Program’s  network now boasts some 250,000 employers in 1,000 careers. In 2012, there were 147,000 new participants entering
Read More

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) has remained an invaluable port, for those Adults, Dislocated Workers, and Youth who are embroiled in storms both economic and circumstantial, since 1998. KRA Corporation believes that those designated as youth jobseekers are an important component of the Title I population, and as such we have placed much of our efforts and energy in offering WIA Youth Services through several of our workforce development programs. By identifying the needs of both in-school youth (ISY) and out-of-school youth (OSY), KRA’s WIA Youth Services’ programs address many of the barriers to successful employment facing at-risk, or disadvantaged youth
Read More

In a recent article Integrated Employment, Employment First and U.S. Federal Policy, Kathy Martinez, Assistant Secretary for Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, stated, “For almost forty years, U.S. policy has steadily advanced the idea of presumed employability for all people with disabilities, including those with significant disabilities. The time has come for us to build on this momentum to advance policy and practices so that integrated employment is the norm rather than the exception for all people with disabilities.” KRA Corporation has long been an active proponent of this philosophy, advocating for those
Read More

The economy has made the proposed 2010 reauthorization efforts in addressing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program more difficult for lawmakers.  The result has been a series of block grant extensions, the most recent of which runs through September 30, 2013. The argument among legislators has, and will continue to be, centered around what welfare and welfare-to-work programs should look like, but ultimately argument is all that is being accomplished—even though there are those in Washington DC that are ready to undertake a full TANF reauthorization. The short-term assistance that is provided to families in immediate need is
Read More

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced that they are providing almost $32 million of grant money through the Reintegration of Ex-Offender training program (RExO) to aid in reducing recidivism in young adults and women. A 1994 study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), regarding the rate of recidivism indicated that an estimated 67.5% of 272,111 persons released from prisons in 15 states, were rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within 3 years. The “why” has prompted much debate as well as numerous programs to ameliorate the issue. In this newest effort by the DOL, 12 faith-based
Read More