By: James Fritz
Over 150 million dollars in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds has been distributed to 28 local workforce boards throughout Texas. The 28 boards have partnered with local job training providers to create programs that will put people back to work.
ARRA funds, or stimulus funds, come from the federal level and are injected into existing state programs. For instance, the Texas Workforce Commission’s ARRA funds are received through the existing Workforce Investment Act. The Texas Workforce Commission then distributes the ARRA funds to its 28 boards throughout Texas. The amount received by each of the 28 boards is determined by three primary factors in each region: population level, unemployment level, and poverty level. The higher each region ranks among these factors, the more funding they receive.
The Texoma workforce board, region 25 located just north of Dallas, is one of the smallest of the 28. The Texoma board will receive over 1 million dollars to use on workforce training. Each of the 28 boards in Texas has been allocated a specific amount of funds in three different areas: adult, dislocated worker, and youth. Texoma has received the bulk of their funds for youth programs.
Texoma Board Executive Director Janie Bates said her board plans to use the $550,000 plus in youth funds received to serve 200 youth ages 16-24 that are economically disadvantaged.
The Texoma board’s youth program will consist of both on-the-job training and education. The on-the-job training program is currently recruiting employers to train youth in technical skills. The program will be held over the summer and will consist of six-to-eight weeks of employment.
“We pay all their [participants in the program] wages and their insurance and that sort of thing. But the employer has to supervise them and provide some type of training experience for them during the summer program,” Bates said.
The Texoma board has shared information with local community colleges and other workforce training centers throughout the region to inform people about the program. There have also been advertisements on the radio and TV.
The 28 Commission Board Regions in Texas
Austin’s local workforce board, region 14 called the Capital Area board, has received over 5 million dollars to spend among the three fields of worker programs, with the majority going to youth workers.
Weston Sythoff, communication director, said that Capital Area distributes their funds according to the specific needs and preferences of eligible individuals. The eligibility of individuals is set by federal guidelines and differs among youth, adults, and dislocated workers.
“If they are eligible, they are assessed on a number of different things. What their work history is, what kind of skills they have, and what they want to do as far as training. Then they actually choose the training they want” said Sythoff.
Workers eligible for training funds are assigned a program specialist from the Capital Area board. The specialist assists individuals in finding jobs that are in need of workers in the area. Each of the 28 boards publishes a list called the demand occupation list that is used as a resource to identify these jobs. The jobs on the list for the Austin area include computer software engineers, carpenters, electricians, medical fields, and many more.
The ARRA funding then follows the individual to the workforce training center of their choosing. In Austin, most recipients use their funds to receive training at Austin Community College because of their large number of available programs.
Vice President for Workforce Education and Business Development at ACC, Mike Midgley, said that because of the school’s position as a big training provider, they will probably receive the largest amount of ARRA funding in the Austin area.
“We are in a really interesting situation because we suddenly have significant training funds for an economy where few people are hiring,” said Midgley.
ACC is working closely with the Texas Workforce Commission, other community colleges, and numerous employers to determine which work areas will see significant recovery and be able to put people back to work in the near future.
Another training provider in Austin that could potentially receive ARRA funding is the Austin Academy, a non-profit adult educational service agency.
Lynore Brown, founder and director of Austin Academy, said that she is unsure if any of the ARRA funds will reach her organization. She said that she believes most of the funding will be used at ACC and other local job training agencies.
Brown said that the Austin Academy is forming their budget right now with the understanding that they will not receive any ARRA funds. She said she is skeptical that any of the recipients of the ARRA funds will be referred to her organization.
“We had a whole lot of hurricane victims come through our center. We never saw a dime of that money. We didn’t get any additional funding to help them. So I’m thinking the same thing will probably happen with this other one.”
All of the 28 workforce boards in Texas spend their ARRA funds in different ways. However, the Texas Workforce Commission has currently held meetings to gather workforce boards, training providers, and employers together to discuss future plans for spending of ARRA funds.
