November 22, 2002

While the Bloomberg Administration is still finalizing the details of its transfer of Workforce Investment Act (WIA) adult funds from the Human Resources Administration (HRA) to the Department of Employment (DOE), a number of key actions have already been taken.  HRA has transferred 13 out of 30 contracts serving WIA Special Populations to DOE, and limited their ESP (Employment Service and Placement) providers to serving public assistance and food stamp recipients only.  The Special Population contracts primarily serve individuals who are not on public assistance, but have substantial language and cultural barriers or who are ex offenders, homeless individuals and other hard to serve populations.  The ESP contracts were created to serve the public assistance and non-public assistance populations with a combination of TANF, Safety Net, Welfare to Work, WIA and food stamp funds.

From the information that is available at this time, it appears that the 13 contracts moving to DOE are those serving individuals with language and cultural barriers and disabilities, including Opportunities for a Better Tomorrow, East Harlem Council for Community Improvement (EHCCI), HANAC, NY Work Alliance, NYS Association of Retarded Children, Project Care of Brooklyn, Job Path, National Puerto Rican Forum, Seedco, Chinese-American Planning Council, CAMBA, Chinatown Manpower Project, and Agudath Israel. Those remaining at HRA primarily serve ex offenders, the homeless and individuals with substance abuse problems.  They include Grant Associates, Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO), the Osborne Association, Binding Together, Midtown Community Court, the HOPE Program, the New York Foundation for Senior Citizens, WHEDCO, Kings County Hospital Center Educational Vocational Rehabilitation (EVR) Program, Multitasking Systems of NY, Inc., EMC Business Institute, Bronx Community College, Institute for Responsible Fatherhood, Friends of Island Academy, STRIVE, and NYU Medical Center/Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine.

Organizations moving to DOE will only serve the non-public assistance population, while those remaining at HRA will only serve the public assistance and food stamp population. This means that organizations remaining at HRA and serving non-PA recipients (many ex offenders, for example) will have to first ensure the participants are enrolled in the food stamp program before they can offer them employment services.  It appears to be DOE’s intention to serve the non-public assistance recipients previously served through the ESP contracts through core and intensive services and training vouchers at the One Stop Centers. (There are currently three One Stop Centers in Queens, Harlem and the Bronx.  DOE plans to RFP services at the five One Stops – one in each borough – in December).

The city’s allocation for WIA adult funds was $38 million for the 2002 program year.  We expect that the Administration will make public the precise allocation and use of these funds once the transfer of WIA funds is finalized.

 DOE has issued a new summer youth employment RFP, due December 23^rd, that radically restructures the administration and design of the stand-alone summer youth employment program.  Instead of having individual organizations administer and provide employment services, each summer youth program will operate through a consortium consisting of a lead agency that will administer funds and manage the programs, and subcontractors that will recruit youth, develop worksites, and place youth in summer jobs.  Each consortium must designate a lead organization as the contractor.  Proposers will include subcontracts in their submissions.  There will be eight consortia, each covering a discrete geographic area; two consortia will be selected for parts of the Bronx and Brooklyn, respectively; Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island will each have one consortium and one consortium will operate citywide.

It is anticipated that the contract term will be from April 1, 2003 through March 31, 2006. There is currently $1.7 million for the first year. The unit fee per youth served cannot exceed $300, covering the total cost of services offered by both the proposer and subcontractors. Subcontractors will only be compensated for worksite development and job placement costs. At least 60% of the total service level/job slots must be allocated to the subcontractors. The payment structure will be based on a combination of 70% line item and 30% performance. The program is expected to serve 5,645 youth, at least 80 percent of whom must reside in community board areas designated by the RFP as “high need.”  Proposals will be selected on the basis of price and technical proficiency.

To ensure that bidders understand the new program structure, attendance at a pre-proposal conference on November 25^th is mandatory.  The conference will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, at 1 Centre St. North, Mezzanine.  To help organizations identify potential partners, the Coalition will sponsor a “Summer Youth Employment Program Fair” on November 26^th.  If you are interested in participating, please email Ann Marie Dusek at adusek@nycetc.org and tell her which area(s) you wish to serve and whether you seek to be the lead agency, a subcontractor or will be applying for both.  Because space is limited, advance reservations are necessary.

The meeting will be held at the lower conference room of the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA) at 281 Park Avenue South in Manhattan between 10 a.m. and 12 noon.  We recommend that you bring “leave behind” packages that describe your organization and your experience delivering services to youth and/or managing consortia-type arrangements.

For additional information, contact Margaret Stix at 212-253-6873, x304.

The Coalition has launched NYCETC Online—a “one stop” resource for information on New York City, State and federal workforce development policy, research and professional development opportunities.  Visit www.nycetc.org to access: a database of member training programs; a calendar of workshops and trainings; current and proposed statutes; Coalition policy positions; funding opportunities; job openings; best practices reports; labor market data; and more.  Suggestions for the site are encouraged—please email them to rbrown@nycetc.org.

In a recent concept paper, DOE recommends that one full-service One Stop Center be developed in each borough and that academic institutions, community based organizations, faith based organizations, employers, and others should be encouraged to collaborate on providing services in the Centers.  In addition to the full service centers, DOE proposes the development of satellite centers that would provide a limited range of services, but would allow communities to meet the particular needs of their populations.  DOE also recommends that the new system create a specialized center for business services to provide a single point of contact for employers, while interacting with other centers, as well as develop a sector approach for targeting high growth industries.  DOE plans to issue an RFP in December to solicit proposals for providers of core and intensive services at new full service One Stop Centers in Brooklyn and Staten Island, as well as in Queens, the Bronx and Harlem. 

 As a followup to NYCETC’s Employer Roundtables, members requested a “how-to” session on using the sector approach to training.  Jeff Jablow, President of Origin, Inc., and Bruce Herman, Director of CWE's Center for Workforce and Economic Development, will discuss steps that workforce development programs can take to develop and market training that targets growth industry sectors.  The workshop is free and will take place on December 3, 10:00 am-Noon, at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, 555 W. 57th St. (Between 10th/11th Aves., Manhattan), Room 614BMW.  Register by email (preferred) at adusek@nycetc.org or (Fax) 212-253-6968.  Include your name, title, organization, and contact information.

The City’s October unemployment rate rose to 7.8% in October after hitting an 8-month low of 7.1% in September.  According to The New York Stat, the City lost a total of 8,200 jobs in October, a sizeable increase from the 2,900 jobs lost during the previous month.  Government carried the bulk of job loss, losing a total of 5,900 jobs (6,100 of which were in local government).  Private sector industries with the greatest job losses included business services (-2,100); transportation and utilities (-1,500); manufacturing (-1,100); retail (-900); film (-800); and eating and drinking establishments (-700).  Industries with the greatest job gains included social services (1,500); health services (1,500); wholesale trade (1,300); and hotels (700).

A new Center for an Urban Future study reports that the City’s loss of airport-related jobs outpaced those of any other single industry.  A total of 16.5% of the workers were laid off as compared to the securities industry, which has lost 9% of its jobs since September 2001.  The New York Times reported that 54% of former airline workers remain jobless.

The Fiscal Policy Institute’s (FPI) new labor market analysis unit released a series of papers exploring hiring trends in the corporate services, health care, information technology and social services sectors. 

A recent Workforce Alliance report compellingly demonstrates the positive and proven effects of skills training.  Skills Training Works: Examining the Evidence compiles findings that show how skills training increases earnings, improves access to employer-paid benefits, and increases steady work.

FEMA’s Mortgage and Rental Assistance (MRA) Program covers rent or mortgage payments for those suffering financial hardship as a result of the WTC disaster.  To qualify, persons must meet the following criteria:

·          Lived or worked in Manhattan on/prior to Sept. 11, 2001, or worked for an employer that was economically dependent on companies based in Manhattan; and

·          Lost at least 25% of household income since Sept. 11, 2001; and is

·          Unable to pay rent or mortgage because of this lost income; and

·          At least one household member is a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national or a qualified alien.

To apply, your clients should contact FEMA at 1-800-462-9029 and request that an application packet be mailed to him/her.  Click here for more information.  Deadline: January 31, 2003.

For the past year, the Office of Child Support Enforcement (OCSE) has operated a pilot program out of the Manhattan Family Court that refers noncustodial parents to employment and training programs.  The program, STEP (Support Through Employment Program), is now expanding to the Bronx and Queens and will ultimately reach all five boroughs. 

OCSE seeks employment and training programs to refer noncustodial parents to through STEP and will sponsor an information session for interested providers on December 17, 10:00 am, at 2 Washington St., 19^th Floor, Room 1980.  RSVP by calling 212-487-5837.

Coalition Executive Director Appointed to NYC Procurement Policy Board Advisory Council

Executive Director Bonnie Potter has been appointed to the City’s Procurement Policy Board Advisory Council.  The Advisory Council consists of for-profit and non-profit City vendors.  Its purpose is to give the Procurement Board input on how proposed procurement rules will affect our communities.  Please see our upcoming Legislative and Contracting Update for information on current issues pending before the Board.