Younger Workers Committee

January 18, 2018: 9:30 AM
Frances Perkins rm, 45 Commerce Dr, Augusta

YOUNGER WORKERS COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA 01/18/2018 Frances Perkins room, CMCC Augusta Dial-in number: 1-877-455-0244 Conference code: 9218175360 WELCOMES AND INTRODUCTIONS APPROVAL OF THE 06/15/17 AND 11/16/17 MINUTES UPDATE ON WIOA TITLE 1B FUNDING ? GARRET OSWALD DISCUSSION/DRILL DOWN ON WHAT WE ARE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH (TAKE ACTION ON) AUTA MAIN, VETERANS PROGRAM MANAGER WILL EXPLAIN HOW TO MOVE FROM IDEA TO SUCCESS AS SHE DID WITH THE HIRE-A-VET CAMPAIGN. 2018 MEETING SCHEDULE OTHER MEETING ADJOURN NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 15 FROM 9:30 ? NOON IN THE FRANCES PERKINS ROOM, CMCC AUGUSTA

YOUNGER WORKERS COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES 01/18/2018 Present: Ginny Carroll, Tammy Richardson, Adrian Cohen, Janie Small (Phone)

Staff: Cheryl Moran, Garret Oswald

WELCOMES AND INTRODUCTIONS/APPROVAL OF THE 06/15/17 AND 11/16/17 MINUTES

Cheryl Moran opened the meeting with welcomes and introductions and asked for approval of the 06/15/17 and 11/16/17 minutes. (06/15/17) Adrian Cohen motioned. Ginny Carroll seconded. 06/15/17 minutes approved after correction. (11/16/17) Tammy Richardson motioned. Adrian Cohen seconded. 11/16/17 minutes approved after correction.

UPDATE ON WIOA TITLE 1B FUNDING ? GARRET OSWALD

Garret stated he will provide an update and explain the best he can since he is not an attorney.
Three weeks ago, Coastal Counties filed a Lawsuit in reference to the 2017 WIOA Title 1B funding. The Judge?s decision was in favor of Coastal Counties. Garret stated the Judge was not biased in the ruling because he knows that Federal Law states when funding is received by the State, the State needs to disburse monies within a timeframe and it was not. A week ago, the Governor?s attorneys filed a Stay, which will be an opportunity to file an appeal if the Stay is granted. In the event the Stay is denied; the Governor will have to disburse the money. If granted, he will not have to disburse the money. Over the 2-week time period, attorneys from both sides can figure out how to disburse the money and work things out. Garret pointed out that the Order specifically states the 3 million dollars is awarded to Coastal Counties. The Order does not mention about the other 2 LWBs. A question was asked, what will happen to the other 2 LWBs and Garret responded, the answer is unknown.
What is happening now: Locals are working on budgets and we anticipate by the end of next week, a decision will be made on the Stay. Garret wanted to make clear again that it was never the Governor?s intent not to disburse the money or to eliminate the LWBs but to eliminate 1 layer of administrative cost. He wanted to make the System more effective and efficient in order to serve the people of Maine the way they should be served. Ginny Carroll stated she feels there is a lot to WIOA that needs to change. There is a lot of bureaucratic waste and reporting is very expensive. Maine and other small states are required to have the same systems but receive less funding.

DISCUSSION/DRILL DOWN ON WHAT WE ARE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH (TAKE ACTION ON)

The following outline provided by Ginny Carroll of what she captured during the group discussion:

How can we continue to ensure youth have access to some level of service other than Title IB funded programs? ? Continue to assess immediate need and connect youth to any other available resources. ? Create a waiting list in case WIOA funding is released in the future and continue to engage with them as long as possible. ? Identify eligibility for other existing programs and make referrals. ? Assist with applying for college scholarships. ? Make sure they all leave with something ? even if it is information.

What other agencies are WIOA partners referring youth clients to? ? Vocational Rehabilitation, although priority for service is tiered based on level of disability, many of the youth clients we serve can/do qualify for VR services, many of them require the level of one-on-on assistance (job coaches for example) that VR and the community service providers they contract with can provide. ? Competitive Skills Scholarship Program - we can refer those youth that are ready to go into programs of study that will culminate in a specific degree or credential and who qualify under CSSP eligibility guidelines. ? Job Corps may be a good option for those youth who are in need of room, board, support services and occupational skills training and willing to live on a campus and abide by the program rules. ? DHHS Grant Funded Youth Program Tammy will send Cheryl the name of the one she was thinking of. ? LEAP program with Workforce Solutions for youth in Foster Care. ? Gateway program for In-school youth offered by Workforce Solutions.

Unique Title IB youth needs that are most important to this population, are: ? Work experience program and the capacity for program staff to develop these opportunities. ? Need for funding while learning as most are on their own, homeless, have basic needs. ? Ongoing guidance/ mentoring. ? Supportive services ? particularly transportation, child care and clothing.

Immediate concerns: ? One center alone has a waiting list of 49 youth seeking services. ? Eligibility from the date of application needs to be completed within 60 days. Sometimes it may take longer if parents and/or students cannot meet, cancel appointments or do not respond to the VR counselor but the rule is within 60 days. ? Seasoned and knowledgeable staff of the system are gone and/or going. ? High expectations of staff (Job development, Career Counseling, Data Management, etc. ) for relatively low wages. ? Loss of and damage to system?s provider relationships.

How can we address some of these issues? ? Identify other sources to fund program counselors, job developers ? philanthropic organizations for example. ? Launch a campaign like Hire-a-Vet that reaches out directly to employers to hire youth or provide a work-experience opportunity.
? Divvy up homework to research various philanthropic organizations that multiple agencies can partner together to propose a method for meeting the needs of this particular population. ? Identify youth grants being made available at the national level. ? Collaborate with partner agencies to write and submit grant proposals.

What are the philanthropic organizations in Maine that we can reach out to in order to identify resources to meet the needs of this population? I took the liberty of assigning these out to folks ? hope you don?t mind ? I don?t know much about any of them but the goal is to identify whether they can provide any type of assistance to benefit this population and if so, which and what. ? The Libra Foundation ? Ginny ? The Maine Community Foundation Ginny ? The Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation - Janie ? The Gates Foundation - Janie ? TD Charitable Foundation- Cheryl ? Davis Educational Foundation -Cheryl ? Lunder Foundation ? Tammy ? Davis Family Foundation ? Tammy ? Hannaford Charitable Foundation ? Adrian ? The Sam L. Cohen Foundation ? Adrian ? The Avangrid Foundation ? The Orchard Foundation ? Horizon Foundation, Inc. ? Bangor Savings Bank Foundation ? Unity Foundation ? Maine Initiatives, Inc. ? Maine Women?s Fund ? Machias Savings Bank Community Development Foundation

AUTA MAIN, VETERANS PROGRAM MANAGER WILL EXPLAIN HOW TO MOVE FROM IDEA TO SUCCESS AS SHE DID WITH THE HIRE-A-VET-CAMPAIGN

Auta provided a PowerPoint handout on the Maine-Hire-A-Vet Campaign. Auta stated they had a discussion on how to get Veterans on the radar. In 2015, she reported hiring and wages improved. She also stated that the State of Maryland has a 90 day hire a Vet program and she obtained a copy of their best practices. Initially, the question was asked, should we do the Campaign 100 days or all year. It was not hard to get people to support Veterans. She did point out that some employers worry about Veterans with PTSD however; most employers embrace the idea. Most recently, refugees and immigrants in Portland are doing something similar to Hire-A-Vet. Statistically, Veterans are the highest population with education but no degree. Maine Hire A Vet Goals: 100/100/100 ? 100 Days ? 100 Employers Participating ? 100 Veterans Hired Campaign Begin/End Timeline Launched Labor Day ? September 1 Concluded ? Mid ? December

2017 is the 3rd year of the Campaign. The Campaign is marketed on Facebook. Hired Vets 2015 - 269 2016 ? 197 2017 ? 297

Employers Participating 2015 ? 137 2016 ? 147 2017 ? 151

2018 MEETING SCHEDULE

Cheryl Moran passed out the 2018 Younger Workers Committee meeting schedule and stated she will send out an Outlook Calendar reminder to committee members.

OTHER

Agenda for next meeting; ? Divvy up homework to research various philanthropic organizations that multiple agencies can partner together to propose a method for meeting the needs of this particular population. ? And whether they can provide any type of assistance to benefit this population and if so, which and what. Purpose of this assignment is: How can we continue to ensure youth have access to some level of service other than Title IB funded programs? MEETING ADJOURNED NEXT MEETING WILL BE HELD ON THURSDAY, MARCH 15 FROM 9:30 ? NOON IN THE FRANCES PERKINS ROOM, CMCC AUGUSTA. Respectfully submitted by Cheryl Moran

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