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VETS News Release: [12/22/2004]
Contact Name: Deanne
Amaden or Mike Biddle
Phone Number: (415) 975-4741 or (202)
693-5051
Labor Department Awards Los Angeles Group Grant
to Place More Veterans in Jobs Under the Workforce Investment Act
SAN FRANCISCO - Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced that
more than 1,600 veterans in 17 communities in 15 states, including Los Angeles,
will be placed in new jobs thanks to $3.78 million in Department of Labor (DOL)
grants awarded this week. In addition, the Labor Department expects another 600
veterans to receive employment and training services as a result of these
grants, which are awarded under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).
"The Workforce Investment Act has expanded the eligibility criteria for
veterans who might not be covered by other programs," said U.S. Secretary of
Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This again demonstrates President Bush's commitment and
resolve to help America's veterans who have so honorably served our nation."
"We can now offer services to any honorably discharged veteran that
served on active duty during a war or received a campaign or expedition badge,
in addition to those with service-connected disabilities or who have recently
separated or faced other significant barriers to employment." said Frederico
Juarbe Jr., DOL assistant secretary for veterans' employment and training.
The grant is providing $250,000 to the United States Veterans
Initiative in Los Angeles. The grants make possible a range of services for
veterans including: assessing job skills, career counseling, current
labor-market information, classroom or on-the-job training, skills upgrading or
retraining, and job-placement assistance. The applicants this year have been
asked to focus their training efforts on career fields where the lack of a
license or a certification has become a barrier to employment. The grants are
administered by public agencies and nonprofit organizations that the Secretary
of Labor determines have an understanding of veterans' unemployment problems.
Authorized by Section 168 of the WIA, the grants are being awarded on a
competitive basis by the department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service
(VETS). At the end of these six-month, first-year grants, VETS will award
second-year funding to the grantees that meet or exceed the performance
criteria set forth in their original award.
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