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JOTF E-Newsletter The Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF) is pleased to bring you the latest edition of its electronic newsletter. The JOTF E-Newsletter includes news, announcements, and information about upcoming events in the Baltimore area that we hope will be of interest to you. If your organization would like to publicize an event, job announcement, or other information, please send e-mail to info@jotf.org. In this issue:
OTHER NEWS:
UPCOMING EVENTS:
OPPORTUNITIES:
NEW PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES:
JOTF NEWS
8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. This forum is an opportunity for Baltimore-area employment and training practitioners to engage in a dialogue with their peers and leaders in the field on issues that affect professionals who work on the front lines of workforce development. Panelists and attendees will discuss topics such as job satisfaction, best practices, performance measures, standards, and avenues for career growth in this evolving profession. The event is intended for frontline workforce development professionals and managers in public and private agencies; colleges and universities; and community groups that assist low-income job seekers find and keep employment. Join us on May 11 to share your perspective and learn from others what workforce development professionals must do and know in order to grow in their careers and improve outcomes for job seekers, employers, organizations, and the public. Continental breakfast and a buffet lunch will be provided. Space is limited. Cost: $20 For more information or to register, contact Kevin Griffin Moreno at (410) 234-8046 or kevin@jotf.org.
On Sunday, March 28, 2004, the Washington Post published an opinion piece by JOTF executive director Deborah Povich and Brandon Roberts, manager of Annie E. Casey Foundations' Working Poor Families Project. The article urges state policymakers in Maryland to provide more substantive work and educational opportunities for low-income families. "Maryland is the fourth-most-affluent state in the Union, but it also has more than 100,000 families that are struggling to get by. Ten of the state's 24 major jurisdictions have more than 8 percent of their families living in poverty..." Read Moving From The Margins In Maryland.
Read Baltimore isn't working because its people don't.
At its March monthly meeting the Baltimore Employment Roundtable discussed foreign-born workers in Baltimore City with Jill Wrigley of CASA of Maryland, and Emily Burtt and Igor Milosevic of Lutheran Social Services. Speakers and attendees shed light on the challenges that immigrant workers in Baltimore City face, especially with regard to documentation, employer attitudes, and misconceptions about this burgeoning population. The speakers also explained the difference among immigrants, refugees, and asylees, and the types of federal and non-governmental assistance they may receive to achieve self-sufficiency. The next meeting of the Baltimore Employment Roundtable will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, April 15. The topic will be 'JOTF Building and Construction Trades Pilot Project.' These meetings are free and open to anyone involved in workforce development in the Baltimore region. For more information contact Kevin Griffin Moreno at (410) 234-8046.
Throughout the 2004 state legislative session (January 14-May 12), JOTF monitors and takes action on a number of bills and budget items related to increasing economic opportunities for low-income workers and job seekers. Visit the Annapolis Watch section of our website to get the latest from the state capital. For more information, contact Deborah Povich at (410) 234-8045.
Since 1999, when we published our first report on workforce development in the Baltimore region, JOTF has received news coverage from a variety of regional media outlets, including the Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City Paper, Maryland Daily Record, and the Washington Post, among others. Visit the Media Clippings section of our website to read news articles that feature JOTF and its work. OTHER NEWS
On March 25, Maryland's House of Delegates passed a plan that would raise approximately $800 million per year in state revenues by increasing the sales tax by a penny and creating a new income tax bracket for the richest Marylanders. The General Assembly is deliberating this plan to balance the state's FY 2005 budget. The Maryland Budget and Tax Policy Institute says that " failure to make progress toward a long-term solution will likely lead to additional major cuts in education, health, public safety, and other state-funded services in the immediate future." Read The House Tax Plan: A Major Step Toward Addressing Maryland’s Revenue Shortfall.
JOHNS HOPKINS, DLLR RECEIVE FEDERAL WORKFORCE GRANTS Johns Hopkins Health System and Maryland's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation are the first beneficiaries of the U.S. Department of Labor's new $24.4 million program to address skilled worker shortages in the health care industry. The national Health Care Initiative is designed to meet the workforce needs of the expanding sector, which is expected to add 3.5 million new jobs by 2012. A March 12 labor department press release says that the "Johns Hopkins Health System grant will fund training for current workers, provide GED and diploma preparation and upgrade training for positions experiencing critical worker shortages. Between 450 and 500 employees will benefit from the project." The second grant will be administered by the Governor's Workforce Investment Board and will provide funding for nursing scholarships and incumbent worker training. Read the Department of Labor press release.
There's More Welfare to Reform "When the landmark 1996 welfare reform law came up for reauthorization in 2002, easy approval was expected. After all, the legislation was popular, it had originally passed with significant bipartisan support and, well, it was working, with the number of people on welfare down an astonishing 60 percent since states started putting reforms in place. "But instead of sailing through Congress, the reauthorization effort became trapped in a political tug of war between Republicans (who wanted tougher work requirements added to the law) and Democrats (who wanted increased federal money for child care). Instead of reauthorizing the law, Congress has simply extended it several times, and now it looks as if there will be yet another extension..." Read There's More Welfare to Reform. Read the latest in the welfare reform debate: Senate Deadlocks on Wages, Welfare.
Wall Street Journal staff reporter David Wessel writes that emerging technology and the flight of American job overseas threaten to "widen the gap between the wages of well-paying brainpower jobs and poorly paid hands-on jobs." Read The Future of Jobs: New Ones Arise, Wage Gap Widens.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Jobs Initiative Quarterly Update cites a new report by Jobs for the Future on businesses that help their employees obtain government aid. Private Employers and Public Benefits examines a strategy that engages employers in the provision of public benefit programs to their employees, with an eye towards programs that increase recruitment and retention of low-income workers. Read Private Employers and Public Benefits. (free registration required)
The Legal Aid Bureau and the Maryland Legal Assistance Network have collaborated to help low-income residents gain access to Earned Income Tax software online, the Daily Record reported on March 11, 2004. "The two organizations have prepared an online tax preparation program, called I-CAN, to help qualified people get refunds of up to $4,900 through the Earned Income Tax Credit. " Taxpayers who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit can use the free tax preparation program by visiting www.peoples-law.org/tax/EITC.html. Read Legal service groups develop free EITC software.
In March, the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board recently launched an online "employer toolkit" designed to help area businesses access workforce information and services provided by public and nonprofit organizations. Visit www.employertoolkit.com.
The Maryland Job Service in Anne Arundel County and the Anne Arundel Community College are co-sponsoring a Spring Job Fair at Anne Arundel Community College, 101 College Parkway, Arnold, MD 21012 on Thursday, April 8, 2004 in the Gymnasium from 12p.m.-4p.m. The job fair is free and open to all job seekers. More than 80 employers are expected to attend the fair. The job fair will feature two free seminars: "Interviewing for Success" at 11:30 a.m. and "Effective Resume Preparation" at 1:00 p.m. For more information, call 410-315-8873, 443-572-0352 or 410-674-5240.
The Center for Mental Health Services and Criminal Justice Research, a unit of the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University, is holding its first biennial conference on "Reentry to Recovery: People with Mental Illness Coming Home from Prison or Jail" at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia, PA on April 14-16. The conference will bring together policymakers, practitioners, academics, advocates, and consumers to explore issues facing persons with mental illness returning to the community from correctional facilities. For more information, check the Conference main page.
As part of its Criminal Justice and Education & Youth Development Program Series, the Open Society Institute–Baltimore is hosting Alternatives to Zero Tolerance School Discipline Policies, a presentation led by Dr. Pedro Noguera, a professor at the Steinhardt School of Education at New York University. The event will take place on Wednesday April 21, 2004 between 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. at the Open Society Institute–Baltimore, 201 North Charles Street, Suite 1300, Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Noguera will discuss specific strategies that schools may capitalize on as an alternative to zero tolerance school discipline policies. RSVP to Justin Schaberg via email, or call (410) 234-1092, ext. 213 by April 19, 2004.
The Maryland Workforce Development Association,a coalition of state workforce agency directors, will hold its 2004 workforce development conference "Raising the Bar 2004" on June 8-9, 2004 at Turf Valley Resort and Conference Center in Ellicott City, MD. The opening day will feature a keynote presentation and workshops in five key areas: Job Seeker Services; Business Services; Program Planning/Management; Leadership; and Professional/Personal Development. The second day will offer intensive half-day workshops that will explore these topics in greater depth. Download
the Conference brochure in PDF format. For more information and to
register, visit
MWDA 2004 Conference. OPPORTUNITIES If your organization
would like to publicize a service, job announcement, grant, or other opportunity,
send e-mail to info@jotf.org.
The Workforce Alliance (TWA)--a national coalition of community-based organizations, business leaders, community colleges, labor unions and local officials advocating for expanded federal investments in job training and vocational education--is currently seeking to fill the positions of policy director, field coordinator, and higher education specialist. Visit the Opportunities in the Field section of our website to find out more.
The Greater Homewood Community Corporation is seeking a project organizer for the Neighborhood Improvement Project. The Neighborhood Improvement Project Organizer will work with the neighborhood revitalization team in organizing community block projects and help facilitate neighborhood block projects through interacting with current and emerging resident leaders. The job opportunity is a temporary, hourly, part-time contract position. NEW PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
Workforce Development Politics: Civic Capacity and Performance, a new collection of essays published by Temple University Press, examines the role that politics plays in crafting local and regional workforce development policies. The anthology was edited by Robert Giloth, director of the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Family Economic Success initiative. The essays focus on five cities--Denver, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Seattle--and analyzing the current systems they foster and the prospects for reform in that domain. Order Workforce Development Politics: Civic Capacity and Performance.
In its March update, the Center for Law and Social Policy announced the release of a publication about how access to education and training can poistively impact parents' earnings in the long run. The report finds that long-term training, in combination with employment services, is effective in helping welfare recipients obtain stable, higher-paying jobs. Read Long-Term Training Makes a Difference in the CLASP Update-March 2004 in PDF format.
Public/Private Ventures has released a guidebook on employment retention essentials and a publication on engaging employers in workforce development organizations. User-friendly and filled with practical ideas, Employment Retention Essentials offers concrete tools for keeping people on the job, including tips on how to involve employers, build relationships, and stay in contact with workers. Click here to order a copy of the guidebook (cost: $29)By Design: Engaging Employers in Workforce Development Organizations describes strategies used by three organizations to effectively engage employers in workforce development efforts. The publication outlines employer-engagement strategies in detail to help other organizations substantively involve employers in daily activities and services. Download By Design: Engaging Employers in Workforce Development Organizations in PDF format. E-Newsletter Co-Editors:
Kevin Griffin Moreno
and Doha Melhem |
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