The PGWorks Employment and Training Program—KRA-operated for the Prince George’s County Department of Social Services—has 30 days to place TANF/TCA applicants in jobs, prior to processing them for public-assistance benefits.
Many face barriers to employment—outside the scope of our in-house Job-Readiness Program—challenging our Career Agents to access auxiliary support services to address the barrier(s) as efficiency and effectively as possible.
Through a webinar, Rhonda Feimster had learned about the Maryland Community Service Locator, a web-based index of 9,000+ directories, events, hotlines, materials, and links to other resource websites that is searchable in 25+ categories, from Adult Education to Victim Services.
Related to Adult Ed, but coincidental to Rhonda’s discovery, Ashelley Wilder had decided to tackle the “language barrier” faced by jobseekers with limited, or no, proficiency in English, and connected with the Continuing Education Department of the PG County Community College.
Ashelley learned that ESL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses were free for students receiving State public-assistance benefits! Not stopping there, she contacted the PG County Workforce Division to initiate a formal process, to include proof of benefits, for referring KRA/PGWorks customers to the ESL Program.
One webinar, two phones, and a lot of dedication led to some truly rewarding results!
