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Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
For more information call: 202-219-8211
Regulations Implementing New $3 Billion Welfare-To-Work Initiative Now
Available
U.S. Labor Secretary Alexis M. Herman today begins a nationwide
grassroots tour as the eyes and ears of the Administration to examine what
works and doesn't work in local welfare-to-work strategies. The goal of the
tour is to discover how Americans are responding to the resulting changes as
welfare reform takes hold in communities around the country. The tour is timed
to coincide with the 60-day comment period of welfare-to-work regulations.
"I have always believed that a paycheck is the passport to dignity,"
said Herman. "States and local communities are moving full-steam ahead to put
into place innovative, coordinated approaches to help welfare recipients
achieve that dignity. Getting a better understanding of what works and sharing
successful strategies with other communities will help these new workers earn a
decent paycheck and build a better life for themselves and their families."
Herman kicked off her tour today with President Clinton at the Cessna
aircraft plant in Wichita, Kansas, a welfare-to-work training facility that has
employed more than 200 former welfare recipients. The President unveiled Labor
Department regulations that will guide communities as they establish their own
welfare-to-work initiatives. Herman promised the President that she will report
back to him her findings when the tour is complete.
Other stops on Herman's tour will include Cleveland, Ohio; Las Vegas,
Nevada; New York, New York; Racine, Wisconsin as well as other cities. She will
share her findings in a speech at the end of the tour, tentatively in
Washington, D.C., in mid-January.
Herman also announced that beginning in January, the U.S. Department of
Labor will make available to states, local communities and private entities $3
billion in welfare-to-work grant money over the next 2 years. These funds will
provide additional resources to help transition new workers with significant
employment barriers directly into jobs. The grants will fund collaborative,
community-wide efforts to help new workers acquire the skills, experience and
support services they need to find and keep permanent unsubsidized employment.
The grants will be designed to meet local labor market needs and may be used to
fund public and private sector jobs; on-the-job training; job readiness, job
placement and post-employment services; community service and work experience;
and job retention or support services, such as child care and transportation
assistance.
The comment period for the regulations implementing this new grant
initiative, intended to serve as a road map for states and local communities as
they work to coordinate and integrate welfare-to-work transition services, will
end mid January. The regulations are expected to appear in the Tuesday,
November 18 issue of the Federal Register.
Archived News Release--Caution:
information may be out of date.
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