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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: • JOTF Receives
Grant to Reduce Ex-Offender Employment Barriers
• Project
Bridge Hires New Director
• USDOJ Hosts National Conference on Offender Reentry (Cleveland, OH, Sep. 19-22)
• Neighborhood Excellence Initiative
Grants
• BJS Report Looks at Cost
of Running Prisons JOTF NEWS JOTF Receives Grant to Reduce Ex-Offender Employment Barriers JOTF recently was awarded a two-year grant from the JEHT Foundation to work on a project to eliminate barriers to employment in Maryland among people with criminal records. We will be working in partnership with the Legal Action Center and the Homeless Persons Representation Project. For more information, contact Deborah Povich.
Low-Wage Worker Snapshot: Missed Opportunities in Linking Working Adults to Post-Secondary Education Maryland is missing important opportunities to help workers who want to improve their skills through accessing post-secondary education. The state needs to target more of its financial assistance for post-secondary education towards working adults. • Families living in poverty tend to have wage
earners who lack a post-secondary education -- 62 percent of the state’s
working families with incomes under the federal poverty level had one
or more parent whose highest level of educational attainment was a high
school diploma or GED. For further details, see JOTF’s report,
Connecting Low-Income Families
to Good Jobs: A Policy Road Map for Maryland.
Baltimore Business Journal: Report highlights city's work force training needs A report released by the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board highlights the need for increased training and education for Baltimore City jobseekers, and for increased funding for the city's workforce development system, reports Baltimore Business Journal staff writer Dietrich Curry. The report, Baltimore's Workforce System at Work, shows that customized job training through the City's One-Stop Career Center Network results in a positive return on taxpayer's investments. However,cautions Deborah Povich in the article, in Baltimore there is too little investment in customized training. "Baltimore serves a large number of people in jobs but a smaller amount of people can get the training," she says. In June JOTF hosted a public forum where report author Christopher Thompson presented the findings and recommendations of Baltimore's Workforce System at Work. " Read "Report highlights city's work force training needs"
Business Gazette: "Federal bill targets unemployment fraud" The Maryland Business Gazette reports that a new federal bill seeks to close a loophole in the unemployment insurance tax laws. The bill would prevent employers from shifting their payrolls between companies in order to avoid paying unemployment insurance taxes. "I think we'd be very interested in strengthening the penalties, and changing the law as needed to make it as effective as possible," says JOTF executive director Deborah Povich, a member of the state legislature's Unemployment Insurance Task Force, in the article. "The truth is, strengthening the penalty for SUTA [State Unemployment Tax Act] dumping would probably be the easiest thing the task force could do ... it would be a welcome part of the solution." Read Federal bill targets unemployment fraud
OTHER NEWS
Project Bridge Hires New Director to Head Transitional Jobs Initiative Project Bridge, a transitional jobs project for ex-prisoners returning to Baltimore, is pleased to announce that it has hired Karen A. Pearson as its new director. Currently vice president and chief of operations for the Milwaukee Urban League, Ms. Pearson has extensive experience in organizational development, fiscal management and fund development, program development/implementation and contract administration. Project Bridge is a collaboration among Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake; Associated Catholic Charities; the Center for Fathers, Families and Workforce Development (CFWD/STRIVE); and the Second Chance Project. It is supported by public and private grant funding.
Caroline Center Named "Baltimore's Best Job Training Program" Congratulations to the Caroline Center on its being named "Baltimore's Best Job Training Program for 2004" in the August 2004 issue of Baltimore Magazine. The Caroline Center's mission is "to enable unemployed and underemployed women to find work in a career with potential for growth and advancement, thus creating a future of hope for themselves and their families." Its occupational skills services include training programs in the clerical, healthcare (Geriatric Nursing Assistant certification), childcare, and furniture upholstery fields. Sr. Pat McLaughlin, executive director of the Caroline Center, is a founding member of the JOTF board of directors.
Daily Record: Undocumented Immigrants Work "In the Shadows" Daily Record business writer Andrea Cecil examines the impact of the increasing number of undocumented immigrants working in Maryland. While proponents of stricter immigration policy claim that undocumented workers "are undercutting the U.S. wage system," others assert that immigrants contribute far more to the U.S. economy and society than they receive in return. Read "In the Shadows."
DLLR Research Shows Patterns of Commuters Into and Out of City The number of Baltimore County residents who work in Baltimore City is nearly twice that of city residents who commute to jobs in the county, according to research by the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation (DLLR). At a presentation to the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board in June, DLLR researcher Patrick Arnold presented charts that showed nearly 110,000 Baltimore County residents leave their homes to work in the City, compared to approximately 60,000 city dwellers who travel to Baltimore County for work. The DLLR data reveal that similar ratios hold true for other jurisdictions in central Maryland. For example, 14,446 Howard County residents commute into Baltimore City, while 8,415 city residents commute to Howard County; and 3,203 residents of Montgomery County work in Baltimore City, as opposed to the 1,764 city residents who work in Montgomery County. For more details, contact DLLR's Office of Labor Market Analysis and Information at (410) 767-2250.
New York Times: "After Doing Time, Work and Trust Are Hard to Find" New York Times journalist David Gonzalez reports on the difficulties ex-prisoners experience finding work in New York City. He recounts the story of Ramon Cabrera, who several years ago opened his home to former inmates who needed a place to live, pray, and work. Cabrera has struggled to keep his ministry alive, since many businesses are averse to hiring people with criminal records. Read "After Doing Time, Work and Trust Are Hard to Find."
Wall Street Journal on Benefits of Raising Minimum Wage Gwendolyn Bounds of the Wall
Street Journal writes how some economists argue that increases in
the minimum wage help small businesses retain workers and compete with
larger businesses. Many small firms already pay at or near the minimum
wage in order to retain employees and reduce absenteeism. Raising the
minimum wage can help these businesses compete with larger firms, which
often pay lower wages in order to undercut prices. Read "Enterprise."
Barron's: Alan Abelson on Shift in Job Quality In his regular column for Barron's, Alan Abelson notes that of the million-plus jobs created in the U.S. over the past four months, most of the job creation has taken place in "low-end industries" such as food service, construction, retail, and hospitality, among others. Abelson points to the shift in quality of new jobs, as well as the increasing willingness among U.S. employers to outsource jobs overseas, as potential obstacles to full economic recovery. Read Alan Abelson's July 12 column.
UPCOMING EVENTS
USDOJ Hosts National Conference on Offender Reentry The U.S Department of Justice presents its National Conference on Offender Reentry — Coming Together, Strengthening Partnerships, and Planning for the Future — to be held September 19–22, 2004, in Cleveland, OH, at the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. The conference is designed to "increase participants' knowledge and enhance their skills in collaborating, leveraging resources, and sustaining their reentry-related programs." There is no fee to attend the
conference. The deadline for online
registration is August 30. For more information, click
here.
OPPORTUNITIES
Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Grants Bank of America has extended the deadline to apply for its Neighborhood Excellence Initiative until August 25, 2004. The program will award $200,000 in grant funding and leadership training over two years to two neighborhood nonprofit organizations in Baltimore. Bank of America is also inviting nominations of neighborhood leaders under its Local Heroes program and Student Leaders program. Five Local Heroes will receive a $5,000 award to be donated to an eligible nonprofit of their choice, and five high school students will be selected to receive eight-week paid internships with community-based organizations. More information and application materials can be found here or by calling 1-800-218-9946.
BioTechnical Institute Offers Tuition-Free Laboratory Associates Course The BioTechnical
Institute of Maryland is currently recruiting for its upcoming tuition-free
Laboratory Associates Class, which will begin on Monday September 13,
2004. Upon the successful completion of this 12 week program, which will
meet Monday thru Friday evenings from For more information please contact Kathleen Weiss,
executive director, BioTechnical Institute of Maryland, (410) 752-4224.
FIRN Offers Training for Medical/Community Interpreters Foreign-Born Information and Referral Network (FIRN) an immigrant services organization in Howard County, is currently organizing a training session for those interested in becoming professional medical/community interpreters. The 40 hour basic/intermediate training course covers: The training will be held at the BTC Gateway Campus in Columbia, MD. Prospective dates are October 22, 23, 29, 30, and November 6 from 8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. For more information or to register, contact Laura
Pfeifer at (410) 992-1923, ext. 30.
U.S. Census Jobs Available The U.S. Census Bureau
is hiring for the position of Field Representative. This part-time, long-term
position involves conducting survey interviews in person and by telephone.
Field Representatives must be able to work mornings, afternoons and evenings,
both during the week and on the weekend. The hours and days depend on
when respondents are home and To qualify as a Field Representative, you must be a citizen of the United States, be at least 18 years old, pass a 30 minute test, have a telephone, a valid driver’s license, and have the use of an insured car. A car is necessary since Field Representatives go in person to selected addresses. The salary range is between $10.53 and $13.30 per hour, with reimbursement of 37 ½ cents for each mile driven on official Census business. For more information or to apply, call 1-800-262-4236, then press number 1. NEW PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
BJS Report Looks at Cost of Running Prisons State Prison Expenditures, a study by James J. Stephan of the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, presents comparative data on the cost of operating the nation's state prisons, including state-level spending on prison employee salaries and wages, supplies, food, inmate medical care, utilities, contractual services, and capital expenditures. During FY2001 Maryland spent a total of $645,620,000 to maintain its prisons. California reported the largest prison expenditure, ($4.2 billion) while North Dakota reported the smallest ($26.8 million). Maryland reported $26,398 as its annual average operating cost per inmate. Maine spent the most per inmate ($44,379) and Alabama spent the least ($ 8,128). Read State Prison Expenditures.
"New Beginnings" Report Points to Ex-Prisoners' Need for Housing A new report by the Common Ground Community and the Corporation for Supportive Housing examines the housing and service needs of formerly incarcerated people, particularly those with special needs. New Beginnings: The Need for Supportive Housing for Previously Incarcerated People makes the case for supportive housing as a proven mechanism for reducing and preventing homelessness and criminal recidivism among people with special needs and chronic health challenges. Read New Beginnings: The Need for Supportive Housing for Previously Incarcerated People.
Aspen's Workforce Strategies Initiative Debuts Newsletter The Aspen Institute's Workforce Strategies Initiative has launched the inaugural issue of its newsletter. Each issue of Update will take an in-depth look at a single workforce-related topic. The debut issue is devoted to a subject many workforce programs struggle with: how to build better working relationships with employers. Read Update No. 1
Newsletter Co-Editors: Kevin Griffin Moreno and Larry Schugam If you would like to unsubscribe from the JOTF E-Newsletter, send e-mail to info@jotf.org.
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