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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:
NEW PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES:
JOTF NEWS
One of the most affluent states in the nation, Maryland nonetheless is home to more than 100,000 working families who are struggling to make ends meet in jobs that provide low wages, poor benefits and little hope for advancement, a new JOTF report finds. The report, Connecting Low-Income Families to Good Jobs: A Policy Road Map for Maryland, finds that Maryland's efforts to assist these low-wage workers achieve financial security are inadequate and in need of reform. The 40-page report proposes more than a dozen policy changes in higher education, economic development, job training and other areas. "Too many Maryland families work and pay taxes but do not earn enough to provide a decent standard of living for themselves," the report concludes. "Maryland's policies and programs can do more to help working poor families become financially secure." Recognizing the state's budgetary problems, the report proposes policy reforms, changes in certain funding and program criteria and some crucial spending increases. Among its recommendations, the report calls for:
Connecting Low-Income Workers to Good Jobs was to have been released at a January 26 forum hosted by the University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute and featuring remarks from Congressman Benjamin Cardin and a panel discussion with local policy experts. Although the forum was cancelled due to inclement weather, the report can be viewed on the JOTF website in PDF format at http://www.jotf.org/research. The report is part of a national initiative designed and supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Ford Foundation. The report received financial support from the Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the France Merrick Foundation. For more information about Connecting Low-Income
Families to Good Jobs: A Policy Road Map for Maryland, contact Deborah
Povich at (410) 234-8045.
Read below the news coverage from the Baltimore Sun, the Maryland Daily Record, and the Baltimore Business Journal about the release of JOTF’s 2004 report, Connecting Low-Income Families To Good Jobs: A Policy Road Map for Maryland. Breaking Poverty's Grip "More than 100,000 low-income working families in Maryland are in desperate need of the kind of chance that [Vacountess] Drummond grabbed. But the state falls far short in helping to provide them, according to a report released yesterday by the Job Opportunities Task Force. "The study says these workers don't have adequate access to basic education and affordable job training, and urges increased funding of programs that help set them on a career path to financial stability..."
Read Report finds policies to combat poverty. Maryland Must Do More To Connect The Poor To
Good Jobs, Study Says Read Maryland must do more to connect the poor to good jobs, study says.
JOTF presents a workforce development forum: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 Levi Conference Room With: JOTF and the Maryland State Department of Education invite you to learn about a new state proposal for High School Completion Policy, and discuss how the proposed changes might impact employment among low-skill workers and job seekers in the Baltimore region and throughout Maryland. This policy, proposed by State Superintendent of Schools Nancy Grasmick, would redesign diploma routes to incorporate the High School Assessments as a requirement to receive a high school diploma in Maryland. Among the elements of the proposal is a track for “Non-Enrolled Student Routes,” which includes “Diploma by Examination” alternatives such as the GED and the Maryland Adult External High School Program. This free public forum is an opportunity for anyone concerned with youth development to speak with state education officials and offer feedback on this important issue. Parking is available in pay lots on Charles St. and at parking meters along Charles and Read Sts. Space is limited to the first 75 respondents. RSVP to Jessica Traskey at (410) 234-8040 or jessica@jotf.org.
The Baltimore Healthcare Consortium -- a coalition of area hospitals, workforce development providers, foundations, labor unions, and public agencies -- will host a symposium on March 2 to examine national and local models for building a skilled healthcare workforce. The healthcare industry is one of the five local growth sectors identified by the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board as having a severe shortage of skilled workers. The symposium will spotlight successful financing strategies for training entry-level and incumbent workers. The symposium will take place from 8:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. on March 2 at the Mount Washington Conference Center. Participation is open to healthcare institutions, workforce agencies, and others involved in preparing job seekers for healthcare careers. While there is no cost to attend, registration is required and attendance is limited 100 participants. For more information contact Kevin Griffin Moreno at (410) 234-8046. This event is presented by JOTF, Open
Society Institute-Baltimore , the Abell
Foundation, the Annie
E. Casey Foundation, and the Association
of Baltimore Area Grantmakers.
At its first meeting of 2004, the Baltimore Employment Roundtable welcomed Nancy Pelton, training director with the Baltimore City Child Care Resource Center, to discuss childcare resources for working parents. Ms. Pelton provided information on Locate Child Care, a referral service with listings of childcare providers throughout Maryland. She also offered tips for workforce development providers to help their clients identify qualified childcare providers, and discussed the policy outlook for state assistance to childcare programs. The next meeting of the Baltimore Employment Roundtable
will take place at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, February 26, at Morgan State
University. The topic will be 'Educational Opportunities for Working Adults.'
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. OTHER NEWS Bush's immigration plan under fire "Local labor and immigrant advocacy groups in Baltimore...sharply
criticized President Bush's proposed changes in U.S. immigration law,
saying the reform benefits only employers and could create more problems
for immigrant workers.
2 GOP delegates target illegal immigrants Two GOP delegates, Baltimore County's Richard K. Impallaria and Patrick L. McDonough, have recently introduced a legislative package aiming "to crack down on illegal immigrants in Maryland," appearing to challenge President Bush's recent immigration policy proposal. Read 2
GOP delegates target illegal immigrants.
Overcoming obstacles to re-entry "President Bush’s proposal to create a four-year, $300 million program to help ex-offenders adjust to life outside prison made next to no impression on the pundits who parsed his State of the Union address, but it came as a welcome surprise for Marylanders who struggle with the problem on a day-to-day basis..." Read Overcoming obstacles to re-entry.
In the past two months, the U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $88.5 million in grants to 32 organizations in 23 states. Grants ranged from $532,000 to $8 million and averaged nearly $2.9 million. The organizations awarded ranged from public agencies and private organizations to employers and business-led partnerships. Press releases about individual grants are available at www.doleta.gov/New_release.cfm
The Baltimore CASH Campaign and the Maryland Center for Community Development will sponsor an Economic Empowerment Fair at Mondawmin Mall, lower level, on Saturday, February 7 between 10A.M. - 2P.M. Mayor O'Malley will be joining the fair at 1P.M. The event is open and free to the public. For more information, call 1-888-949-6677.
Maryland
Works will hold its annual meeting on Friday, February 27, 2004, from
9:30A.M. -1:00P.M. at Loyola College, Columbia, MD. The meeting will consist
of panel and roundtable discussions on workforce development, and a luncheon
with Dave Leedy, a nationally renowed motivational speaker.
OPPORTUNITIES If your organization would like to publicize a service, job announcement, grant, or other opportunity, send e-mail to info@jotf.org.
Open Society Institute-Baltimore is pleased to announce the seventh round of its Community Fellowships Program which will provide up to ten awards to individuals who wish to work in Baltimore City in public or community service. The goal of these fellowships is to encourage public and community service careers, to expand the number of mentors and role models available to youth in inner-city neighborhoods, and to promote initiatives and entrepreneurship that will empower those communities to increase opportunities and improve the quality of life for their residents. Fellowship awards are in the amount of $48,750 for a term of 18 months. For more information about Community Fellowships or to receive an application, please contact Open Society Institute-Baltimore at (410) 234-1091.
Nomination criteria and a short questionnaire are available at www.petrafoundation.org and more information about the foundation is also available in the Leadership Learning Community Directory.
The National HIRE Network, a national clearinghouse for information and an advocate for policy change, requests assistance in helping to identify people with criminal records who have faced difficulties in getting jobs, public housing, educational student loans, drivers licenses, and voting privileges as a result of state laws. The Network's goal is to write a short synopsis of their stories and post them on a new website that is currently under construction. Read the request for assistance announcement.
The Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor is currently seeking two full-time room service captains and three full-time front desk clerks. Read the full job descriptions.
The Washington Village/ Pigtown Neighborhood Planning Council’s (WPNPC) Family Support and Career Center is seeking to fill the positions of ex-offender advocate/ liaison and a substance abuse counselor. The Family Support and Career Center provides access to life skills and job readiness training, job placement services, skills training programs, literacy classes, health services and general case management services. Read the ex-offender advocate job description. Read the substance
abuse counselor job description.
NEW PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES
The Vera Institute for Justice recently released a new report that examines homelessness among former inmates; shares examples of local corrections agencies' efforts to address it; and offers insights from Vera's Project Greenlight, an in- prison program that provided comprehensive transition services -- including housing assistance -- to felony offenders reentering communities in New York City. Download Preventing Homelessness Among People Leaving Prison in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released a revised publication on the effects accruing from the end of the temporary federal unemployment benefits program. The estimated number of unemployed running out of regular unemployment benefits and qualifying for no further aid will be higher in January than in any other month on record, and is also expected to hit a record level for the first half of the year. Download Unmet Need Hits Record Level for the Unemployed in Adobe (PDF) format.
The U.S. Department of Labor recently released new guidelines for common reporting measures for all federal job training and employment programs, in advance of any Congressional action identifying new performance measures under WIA and other programs. A copy of the Training and Employment Guidance Letter is available by contacting the Workforce Alliance.
On January 15, the Employment Policy Foundation launched EducationPays.org, an educational outreach program designed to show students the economic advantages of continuing their education. The centerpiece of the program's web site is the Education Pays Calculator. The calculator allows students to select an occupation and education level. Students can learn the median income for workers in that occupation with that level of education and see comparisons between the overall unemployment rate and the unemployment rate for those workers. Additionally, the calculator provides comparisons between income at the chosen level of education and other levels of education within the occupation selected.
E-Newsletter Co-Editors:
Kevin Griffin Moreno
and Doha Melhem |
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