Archives for Workforce & Government

Reprint – Courtesy of Washington Update, the newsletter of the USCM Workforce Development Council

May 27, 2019 | No Comments

Opinion: Big Talk but Short Shrift from Trump Administration on Workforce Development The Trump administration has made workforce and education a high-profile issue. Recent efforts include last week’s inaugural meeting of the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, support for last year’s passage of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act, and a focus on creating a new industry-recognized apprenticeship system. Sounds good, right? Unfortunately, the administration’s apparent enthusiasm for skills training and workforce development isn’t matched with the kind of robust investments needed to support diverse training programs — services that work. Instead of investing at
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Reprint – USCM Workforce Development Council Weekly Newsletter – May 6

May 7, 2019 | No Comments

Washington Update – Appropriations/Budget On Tuesday, April 30, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies approved a Labor-HHS spending bill that provides $13.3 billion for the Department of Labor for fiscal year 2020 (FY20) — a 10 percent or nearly $1.2 billion increase from FY19 enacted levels, and far above the Trump administration’s proposed cuts of nearly 10 percent. The bill also includes $75.9 billion in funding for the Department of Education, a $4.4 billion or 6 percent increase. The bill makes available almost $4 billion, plus reimbursements, for the Workforce Innovation Opportunity
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Reprint from USCM Weekly Newsletter – April 16, 2019

April 17, 2019 | No Comments

DOL Announces $87.6 Million in Grants to Improve Employment Opportunities for Americans Exiting the Criminal Justice System – The U.S. Department of Labor recently made available $82.5 million in Reentry Employment Opportunity [REO] grants and $5 million in Fidelity Bonding Demonstration [FBD] grants to improve employment opportunities for young adults and adults exiting the criminal justice system. The grants are part of the effort on criminal justice reform. In December 2018, President Donald J. Trump signed the First Step Act, which endeavors to reduce recidivism and ensure successful reentry of ex-offenders back into the community. On April 1, the Department
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KRA Takes Leadership Role in Community Walkway Clean Up

December 28, 2018 | No Comments

Recently, under the headline “Mud damaged trail in January becoming refurbished Montecito walking path this month”, John Palminteri [KEYT.com] reported, “A once mud covered section of Jameson Lane is getting refurbished to make a new neighborhood walkway. Covered in mud and debris in the January Montecito disaster, a newly refurbished trail is about to open.” Though the project was on county land, the site-restoration work, coordinated by KRA and the Santa Barbara Workforce Resource Center, was funded by a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant. Colin Ayers, KRA Site Supervisor, worked with the FEMA representatives and the non-profit Santa Barbara Bucket Brigade,
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House Education and the Workforce Committee Hearing on Minimum Wage

December 11, 2018 | No Comments

A reprint from the December 10th Washington Update, the weekly newsletter of the US Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council “On Wednesday, December 12, the House Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Workforce Protections will hold the hearing ‘Mandating a $15 Minimum Wage: Consequences for Workers and Small Businesses’ in the Rayburn House Office Building at 10:00 a.m. EST. Republicans, in their last hearing in the majority, will use the hearing to make the case that a $15 minimum will hurt businesses. Congressman Bobby Scott (VA), who is expected to take over as chairman, said last month that the committee
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Why the Current Workforce System is Not Suited to Help Medicaid Beneficiaries Meet Work Requirements

November 7, 2018 | No Comments

(A Center for Law and Social Policy October 31, 2018 Newsletter Reprint) For the first time in the 53-year history of Medicaid, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued guidance in January saying it would consider state proposals to take health coverage away from people who don’t meet work requirements. Since then, over a dozen states have requested such waivers from CMS, with Arkansas the first to implement. However, the January guidance made clear that CMS would not allow states to use Medicaid funds for the costs of providing job training or related services to Medicaid recipients. Many states have therefore
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KRA Selected to Support Office of Family Assistance TANF Webinar

August 20, 2018 | No Comments

On August 22, 2018, from 1:00 -2:30pm (ET), Anthony Featherstone, KRA Director of Workforce Operations, and Sylvelt Walker, KRA Education & Business Services Manager, DC TANF Employment Program, will serve as panelists for the OFA Peer TA Webinar on Developing Stable Employer Partnerships. Recognizing that strong partnerships between TANF programs and employers can lead to better long-term employment outcomes for participants, the Webinar will stress that through partnering with employers, TANF programs gain direct access to information about potential and existing job openings, current occupational and skill needs, and anticipated changes within the organization that may impact jobs. Featherstone and
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Congress Passes Perkins CTE Act Reauthorization

July 31, 2018 | No Comments

A reprint from the USCM Workforce Development Council July 30 Washington Update newsletter. On Wednesday, July 25, the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 2353) passed the House, two days after being approved by the Senate. The legislation reauthorizes and revamps the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act and is the first overhaul of the legislation in more than a decade. The Senate adopted a substitute amendment from Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (TN) to limit the Department of Education’s role in how the federal government doles out funding. The
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KRA Monthly Spotlight!

May 31, 2018 | No Comments

KRA Supports National OSY Cohort Challenge – Launched in November 2017, by the Innovation and Opportunity Network Community of Practice, the OSY Cohort Challenge was “to unpack out-of-school youth (OSY) engagement and retention, and develop solutions that the field will want.” To achieve its goals, Cohort Teams examined and developed resources in three areas: Empowering Youth as Active Participants; Recruitment, Marketing, and Outreach Strategies; and Using Technology in Innovative Ways through Programming—led by Shawna Wright, KRA Director of Workforce Operations. Between February-May 2018, Team members—selected through an approved-application process—collaborated in sharing their challenges, presenting their own community models, and partnering with
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Loophole in Federal Law Allows Companies to Pay Disabled Workers $1 an Hour

May 7, 2018 | No Comments

Reprinted from VOX, May 4, 2018, by Alexia Fernández Campbell Rock River Valley Self Help Enterprises, an Illinois nonprofit, billed itself as a vocational training program for people with disabilities. But it essentially operated as a subcontractor for local factories, providing menial tasks to workers with developmental disabilities, such as scraping debris from metal casts. Last week, the Department of Labor took action against the company “after finding nearly 250 workers with disabilities were being exploited.” One of the ways they were being exploited? Self Help paid some workers with gift cards instead of money. The DOL’s announcement underscores the
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