Secure Jobs Advisory Committee
July 11, 2017
In attendance: Bud Delphin, CareerPoint, Madeline Martinez, Way Finders, Johnny Miranda, Way Finders, Maegan Pedemonti, Way Finders, Pamela Schwartz, Network, Rep. Aaron Vega, Holyoke
Progress Report: The program met its own internal goal of 100 job placements in FY17. Fantastic work! Congratulations!
Click here for further breakdowns.
Maegan will be updating the housing retention data for FY17 in the next few weeks.
Rep. Vega suggested breaking out the data to compare the housing outcomes for families who receive HomeBASE or shelter without Secure Jobs assistance and those who do, i.e., the difference Secure Jobs makes. Maegan said she can pull that out in her analysis.
We also discussed the value of more closely understanding the breakdown between full and part-time employment; the numbers who began in part-time and evolved to full-time; and/ the numbers who needed to work only part-time in order to avoid the “cliff effect” (loss of other benefits with too much income). Rep. Vega underscored how valuable it would be to collect data regarding the cliff effect and how it impacts the people the program serves.
We will check back in on this data at our next meeting.
CareerPoint Update: – Bud provided an update on various programs, including:
the Disability Employment Institute for youth ages 14 -24 years. It is a 3 year grant, in partnership with FutureWorks, that provides a wide range of services to a wide range of individuals (it is self-attested disability).
Ticket to Work program, which is a program to assist people on SSI/SSDI to create a path to employment without risking loss of income through loss of benefits (a slow and steady path). a
Workforce Investment Opportunity Act: training funds are now available through WIOA – eligible adults include low-income and dislocated workers
Bud also reported on the increased collaboration between CareerPoint and FutureWorks, including a regional approach with businesses, the creation of a regional talent bank, and a shared triage process to determine job readiness and best matches for available positions. This is a great development!
FY18 State Budget Update:
The Conference Committee completed its budget and unfortunately cut funding for Secure Jobs from $800,000 last year to $650,000 in FY18. The budget now awaits the Governor’s signature or vetoes. The budget also moved the program to DTA. Maegan reported her understanding that DTA was likely to apportion funding equally across all 7 programs statewide as opposed to on a performance basis (less advantageous to our program since we are a very high performer).
However, despite this cut, Way Finders is leveraging its resources internally to keep the program intact and growing. A new employment specialist has been hired (internally) and they are now integrating RAFT, Stabilization and Secure Jobs in a way that maximizes the combination of workforce development and financial literacy skill development.
The one clear consequence of this state funding loss is the lack of capacity to expand Secure Jobs funding in the Three County region.
Also click here for the breakdown of the Conference Committee budget in relation to all Network priorities.
Homelessness Resource Fair: The group exchanged on the success of this year’s fair and Pamela shared Holyoke Community College’s offer of space for next year. We have set a date: Thursday, June 14, 2018, 9 am – 1 pm. We will have the Kittredge Center’s multi-purpose room and 4 classrooms for break-out sessions.
Hampden County training/resource sharing? Rep. Vega noted his attendance at a legislative breakfast offered at Way Finders where WF walked through all of its resources. He was very impressed and suggested that a similar sharing – with other partners – could be useful to people across the region. We discussed further and the group agreed to plan for a training/orientation in October. Pamela will follow-up after Maegan returns from vacation in early August and we will be prepared to talk further at our Sept. meeting and set a date for October.
Next meeting date: Wed., 9/6, 11 am, Holyoke Public Library (subject to confirmation)
