Missouri Governor Blunt Announces Job Training Grants for Welfare Recipients

August 24, 2007 -- JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Governor Matt Blunt today announced that eight community action agencies are the recipients of $3,221,236 million dollars in Community Work Support Grant Awards to help welfare recipients gain the skills they need to move from poverty and dependence and into jobs and productive lives. The grant money will be used to provide workforce training for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients to help them acquire the needed skills to secure family supporting jobs.

“Missourians want to work and these grants will provide them with training and other supportive services that will help them successfully enter the job force,” Gov. Blunt said. “Providing welfare recipients with the tools and skills to make a family supporting wage has enormous benefits for the worker as well as our growing economy.”

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Last year, the federal government revised it’s method for calculating states’ credit for reducing the TANF caseload and increased the importance of people finding employment sooner. The Department of Social Services’ (DSS) Family Support Division (FSD) is collaborating with the Division of Workforce Development (DWD) to develop individual employment plans to assist recipients in locating full time employment.

The Community Work Support Grants will be used by the eight grantees to offer services such as job training, employment counseling and other work/employment related services. The monies will also be used to provide transportation, child care assistance to job seekers and case management.

“Our goal is to ensure that TANF recipients have the resources and training needed to find a good paying job that will support their families,” FSD Director Janel Luck said.

The eight grantees for state fiscal year 2008:

ARCHS (Area Resources for Community and Human Services) $1,169,000

St. Louis County and City

Central Missouri Community Action $196,193

Boone and Cole Counties

East Missouri Action Agency $309,409

Bollinger, Iron, Madison, Perry, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve

and Cape Girardeau Counties

Green Hills Community Action Agency $103,448

Caldwell, Daviess, Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Livingston, Mercer,

Putnam, and Sullivan Counties

LINC (Local Investment Commission) $1,100,000

Jackson, Ray, Clay and Platte Counties

Missouri Valley Community Action $166,494

Carroll, Chariton, Johnson, Lafayette, Pettis and Saline Counties

Phelps County Community Partnership $131,837

Crawford, Dent, Maries, Phelps, Pulaski and Texas Counties

Washington County Community Partnership $44,855

Washington County

The Community Work Support Grants are awarded to facilities who offer employment services not offered by FSD and DWD.

Source: Missouri Governor