Gov. Gregoire, Employment Security Dept. announce $27 million in economic recovery grants

For Immediate Release: April 8, 2009

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire and Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee announced today that $27 million in federal stimulus grants are being distributed throughout Washington to provide training opportunities, financial assistance and employment services to low-income adults and dislocated workers.

�By improving the skills of our work force, Washingtonians will be better able to fill jobs that are currently in demand in our state. Equally imperative is that our communities will be in a better position to attract new jobs and emerge from the recession faster,� Gregoire said.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) authorized additional funding for local training and employment-assistance programs sponsored through the federal Workforce Investment Act. The goal is to substantially increase the number of adults who have the skills to fill jobs that are in demand in their communities.

Training services for low-income adults range from basic education to a wide variety of training programs, including on-the-job training, classroom education, occupational skills training, private-sector training programs, entrepreneurship training, job-readiness training, a combination of workplace training and classroom instruction, and customized training.

Eligible participants include people receiving public assistance, low-income veterans and their spouses, low-income foster families, homeless individuals and other families who meet the income criteria.

Dislocated workers qualify for skill assessments and a broad array of personalized employment and training services. A dislocated worker is someone who is unemployed or has received a layoff notice and is unlikely to return to his previous occupation or industry.

�The more skills you have, the more likely you are to get and keep a good job,� Lee said. �And just as importantly, these funds will help ensure that there�s a healthy supply of skilled workers for employers who have jobs to fill.�

The Employment Security Department will distribute the money among the state�s 12 workforce development councils based on a federal formula linked to local poverty and unemployment rates.

The training and employment services are made available through local WorkSource centers. Locations are printed the blue pages of telephone books or online at www.Go2WorkSource.com.

The grants are as follows for these workforce development areas:

� Olympic (Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap counties), $1.2 million

� Pacific Mountain (Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Thurston counties), $2.5 million

� Northwest (Island, San Juan, Skagit, Whatcom counties), $1.5 million

� Snohomish County, $2.2 million

� Seattle-King County, $5.4 million

� Tacoma-Pierce, $3.3 million

� Southwest Washington (Clark, Cowlitz, Wahkiakum counties), $2.7 million

� North-Central Washington (Adams, Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Okanogan counties), $1.5 million

� South-Central Washington (Kittitas, Klickitat, Skamania, Yakima counties), $2.2 million

� Eastern Washington (Asotin, Columbia, Ferry, Garfield, Lincoln, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman counties), $852,623

� Benton-Franklin, $1.2 million

� Spokane County, $2.2 million

These grants are in addition to the approximately $20 million awarded to the workforce development councils last week for summer-employment programs for youths and young adults.

Washington state is administering the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investments with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability. Gov. Gregoire created a Web site, www.recovery.wa.gov, so every Washingtonian can see where tax dollars are going and hold government accountable for the results. On the federal level, President Obama has appointed Vice President Biden to oversee all states� recovery efforts and to root out waste and fraud. This combined oversight will ensure taxpayer dollars are put to good use and recharge the economy.

To track economic recovery funding invested through Employment Security, visit www.esd.wa.gov/recovery.