NRDP-DOL Partnerships
Here are some of the successful partnerships that State Councils have had
with the Department of Labor. For more information, contact
Rick Wetherill in the Office of
Community Development .
In May 2001, the Connecticut Rural Development Council and the University of Connecticut Cooperative Extension System sponsored a one-day Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) workshop in Cromwell, Connecticut. The training was conducted to increase knowledge about asset-based mapping and facilitate collaborations that used this technique among community organizations. The workshop attracted 52 participants including planners, workforce, economic, and community development practitioners, municipal staff; community leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors; and state, federal, and regional agency staff. With the help of UCONN extension service, CT-RDC, executed the logistics of the workshop, obtaining funding from the DOL and CSREES. Speakers included experts in the field, including the Coordinator of Special Program Initiatives at Penn State Cooperative Extension and the Assistant Director of the Maine Rural Development Council.
As an extension of its existing Americorps/VISTA Rural Development Project, the Florida State Rural Development Council has been a catalyst in the development of YouthBuild Gadsden, a rural outreach effort. This innovative project benefits the small community of Gadsden by providing economically disadvantaged youth with educational opportunities and employment skills, and by assisting elderly and low-income residents with housing repair.
The Idaho Rural Partnership helped organize the Rural Workforce 2000 Conference, a northwest regional conference on workforce issues. IRP helped recruit partners that included: the Oregon Consortium, Idaho Department of Labor, US Department of Labor-Seattle Region, California Workforce Association, Oregon Rural Development Council. In January 2000, about 220 participants from Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, and California converged on Coeur d'Alene and participated in tracks on WIA implementation, rural one-stops, technology applications, community issues, and serving the rural customer. In addition, the eBITS Computer Lab offered Internet training during the conference.
Convened by the Maine Rural Development Council the Piscataquis' Rural Workforce and Entrepreneurial Development Network (RWED) was formed in response to the imminent shut down of Dexter Shoes at the end of 1999. Meeting monthly, the network's goal is to help communities build capacity through locally-designed-and-delivered workforce and entrepreneurial development programs. The Department of Labor Rapid Employment Initiative team implemented a short-term program that meets weekly to provide training and services for laid off workers. RWED's long-term program and policy adjustment efforts call for a one-stop delivery system on the local level (called Local Career Center), increased accountability in terms of both job development and placement, locally designed and delivered programs to meet the competitive needs of businesses, and a stronger role for local boards and officials.
The Missouri Rural Opportunities Council, in conjunction with the University of MO-Kansas City, University of MO-Columbia, the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership, the Rural Development Group, MO Valley Human Resources and Raytheon Training Services, is creating and implementing the Virtual Training Initiative. This initiative is a regional capacity building program that supports the development of business opportunities within the fields of precision farming, information management and technical support by providing current workers in rural Missouri with training in these vital areas. The mission of the initiative is to position rural Missouri as a center of advanced technology industries and knowledge-based economic development by encouraging the establishment of entrepreneurial businesses through community-based activities and investments.
The South Carolina Rural Development Council is focusing on efforts to ensure that workforce development services and adult education programs are accessible to rural communities. During the spring of 1999, SCRDC Executive Director Frank Garcia chaired key planning sessions for the development of South Carolina's 5-Year Adult Education Strategic Plan under the provisions of the Workforce Investment Act. This is an avenue for assuring that workforce development services, family literacy and adult education programs are delivered effectively in rural South Carolina.
The South Carolina Rural Development Council was also a vital contributor to the National Dislocated Worker Conference, held in October 2000 in Minneapolis. In addition to providing a national forum for policy-makers and practitioners to learn about dislocated worker issues that impact states and local communities, this conference addressed how implementation of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) can be leveraged to resolve those issues. Attendees included over 500 representatives from federal, state, and local governments and public interest groups responsible for implementing WIA. SCRDC represented rural interests on a national taskforce and the national planning group for this conference. The Council secured speakers, who discussed leveraging major resources for rural communities, multi-cultural workforce issues, effective entrepreneurial training, and rural workforce issues and strategies. SCRDC also moderated a panel on Rural Workforce Issues.
The Wyoming Rural Development Council has been active for years in leadership programs throughout the state. Several years ago, WRDC brought together several entities that had an interest in providing affordable leadership programs to rural communities in Wyoming. The Wyoming Association of Municipalities coordinates the program, called Leadership Training Services. Along with WRDC, other partners include the Wyoming Association of County Commissioners, the University of Wyoming, and the Wyoming Business Council. WRDC developed a Continuing Education Program, which provides leadership training and resources to help elected and appointed officials be more effective in their jobs. Participants receive credit, and they are recognized as Leadership Fellows for the State of Wyoming when they complete all levels of the program. This year WRDC created brochures and presentations for marketing the program and developed a handbook for participants.
In 1998, the National Rural Development Partnership Office and several State Executive Directors from the Midwest helped design a workshop for the US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration for Regions VII and VIII. The purpose of the conference, held in Kansas City, was to help identify problems and remedies for rural Welfare to Work projects. The Executive Directors helped design the workshop, identified successful projects, and solicited workshop presenters. The Executive Directors also served as facilitators for the various sessions at the workshop. The primary audience was employment and job training personnel and social workers from rural areas.
