TX-32 DISASTER – HURRICANE HARVEY – OFFICE OF DISABILITY AND EMPLOYMENT POLICY (ODEP) AND WOMEN’S BUREAU (WB) FUNDS
DISCUSSION PAPER
Background
On August 27, 2017, Hurricane Harvey made landfall on the Texas coast. In response, the Department of Labor (DOL) awarded $30M in Disaster Dislocated Worker Grant funds to expedite disaster relief services, and an additional $1,550,000 from the Women’s Bureau (WB) and the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) through cooperative agreements through August 31, 2019.For these resources, we worked with impacted Boards and our Vocational Rehabilitation colleagues to develop implementation plans that leverage these resources for our Harvey impacted customers. The projects share four overarching goals:
1) To increase stability in living status for individuals with disabilities and women and their dependent children impacted by Hurricane Harvey in terms of safety, security, privacy, and access to water, food, sanitation, and health care;
2) To improve access to mainstream relief and recovery services for displaced individuals
with disabilities;
3) To mitigate against unemployment and underemployment for affected or displaced low-income women, by providing access to workforce development, supplies and equipment needed to do their job; and,
4) To provide supportive services to further help individuals with disabilities and women reconnect with employment and provide for themselves and their dependents.
The ODEP and Women’s Bureau funds have not yet been distributed. These funds are flexible, and the allowable use of funds include the following: 1) communication devices and technology; 2) housing, to include funds for apartment rental deposits; 3) transportation; 4) assistance with procurement of tools of the trade, whether it be for the building trades or personal services trade such as hair, barber and other salon services; 5) access to and assistance with tuition or fees for child care services provided during workforce development and job search including strategies such as non-standard hour care, emergency backup care when standard care options fall through, or care for children with disabilities to ensure safe, reliable and consistent child care services; 6) benefits eligibility counseling and financial education; 7) basic needs provision, to include clothing, supplies, work-related gear and equipment, diapers, formula and other fundamental pre-requisites for individual and family subsistence and work-readiness; 8) Personal assistance services; 9) prosthetics, durable medical equipment, medical supplies, medication, and funds for apartment rental deposits; and, 10) other reasonable and necessary expenses associated with the identification, stabilization, and employment of participants including the purchase of: (1) employment-related equipment and supplies; (2) supportive services; and (3) supplies to meet basic personal needs.
Participants eligible to receive ODEP services are individuals with disabilities that have been
impacted by Hurricane Harvey (within any of the counties included in the disaster declaration), and an individual must have a disability as defined in Section 3 of WIOA, which is aligned with
Section 3 of the American with Disabilities Act of 1990. Participants eligible to receive Women’s Bureau funded services are women, with a particular emphasis on low-income women and women with dependent children.
These funds are designed to connect individuals with disabilities and women with the workforce system to support their efforts to return to the labor force as soon as possible through sub-awards to local workforce entities.
Issue
Women’s Bureau ($300,000):
TWC staff sent the broad project parameters out to the Harvey impacted Local Workforce Development
Boards and asked them to develop and submit potential projects: Two applications were received for the WB funds:
Coastal Bend ($100,000)
Workforce Solutions of the Coastal Bend will partner with local Disaster Recovery Groups, the Women’s Shelter of South Texas, Corpus Christi Metro Ministries, and the Salvation Army to identify women and their dependent children who have been impacted by Hurricane Harvey. These organizations will assist with the assessment of their needs and connect them with workforce career center services. These services will include orientations, program eligibility, assessments, and assistance with support services that will allow them to become work-ready. WFSCB Contract Managers will establish MOU’s with each of the partnering organizations to establish roles and responsibilities. Through WFSCB’s work with the Homeless Issues Partnership group we intend to strengthen strategic partnerships with the above-named organizations and move these impacted women and their children closer to self-sufficiency. Providing support services that will assist these women in replacing work-search related clothing and basic necessities will help them become more independent. Once these basic needs are met, these funds or funds available through other workforce programs will be utilized to provide in-demand training opportunities for participants.
Gulf Coast ($200,000)
Workforce Solutions of Gulf Coast will develop a Women in Construction project to assist TD Industries in recruiting and hiring women for apprentice positions as sheet metal workers and pipefitters in construction, facility management and maintenance at the Texas Medical Center. United Way leads the project and Workforce Solutions powers it. The funds will provide financial aid to participants for child care, transportation, and possible housing needs so that they can go to work as apprentices for TD Industries. Additional Workforce Solutions funds will support recruiting and selection of participants and provide talent development dollars to TD Industries for these participants. Basic skills assessment and upgrading will be provided through Workforce Solutions’ adult education provider. United Way THRIVE partner agencies will provide counseling support, financial coaching, and wrap-around services not funded by Workforce Solutions. TD Industries will hire participants as apprentices/employees and pay wages and benefits.
Office of Disability Employment Policy ($1,250,000)
The Vocational Rehabilitation Division can use these funds to provide services to individuals with disabilities.
Vocational Rehabilitation Division
TWC’s Vocational Rehabilitation Division will use these funds to provide services to current and new customers with disabilities (using the current VR disability eligibility criteria) that were impacted by Harvey. Funds will be used to assist customers with VR services needed to recover from the disaster to achieve their employment goals. The VR Division will ensure that expenditures comply with existing VR policies and procedures.
Recommendation
Staff seeks the Commission guidance on:
1)Approval of projects to Coastal Bend and Gulf Coast to expend the WB resources totaling $300,000.
2)Approval of TWC’s Vocational Rehabilitation Division to expend the ODEP resources totaling $1,250,000.
DP Harvey Funding – Notebook January 30, 2018
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