Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County held its Annual Joint Workforce Governing and Workforce Development Board and Awards Meeting December 14, 2011 at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens. At this meeting the members of the Workforce Development Board (WDB) along with the audience heard the latest information impacting the county from our elected officials, including the Mayors of Arlington, Fort Worth and the County Judge. This is by far the most attended meeting of the year for Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County with many guests in the audience. We were also excited to have the 4 year old Pre-K class from the downtown YWCA back for a second year to sing and entertain the audience.

Representatives from the Department of Labor (DOL), Health and Human Services (HHS) and The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) were also on hand for a few special check presentations:

• The first check presentation was made to the board on behalf of DOL, HHS and TWC for the recent grant money we have been awarded this year. The total for the new grants is $13,044,599.00, which includes funds for subcontractors and client services. Several of these grants are over multiple years. This grant awarded money is going to really help Keep Tarrant County Funded which leads to Keeping Tarrant County Working!
• The second check was an awards check presentation made by TWC Commissioner Andres Alcantar, Commissioner Representing the Public for the Texas Workforce Commission. Commissioner Alcantar was there on behalf of TWC to present to the board the Check for $25,000 that was awarded at the recent annual TWC Conference. Workforce Solutions was awarded the check as the Service to Community Award Winner, for organizing the Fatherhood Coalition of Tarrant County to highlight the important role of fathers in the positive development and well-being of children.
• The third check presentation was made by DOL to Cornerstone Assistance Network. Cornerstone recently received a grant in the amount of 1.2 million for the Reintegration of Ex-Offenders (REXO) program. Workforce Solutions is proud to partner with Cornerstone on this important initiative.

This meeting is also a venue to thank some of the individuals and organizations that have helped make 2011 a banner year! The list of awards and winners included:

• Tarrant County's Employer Award of Excellence - Benchmark Hospitality International
• UnSung Hero Award State and Local - Judy West, TWC (State) and Gracie Vega, Gaylord Texan Resort (Local)
• Keeping Tarrant County Working Award - ArlingtonAnswers.com also recognized was: The Gaylord Texan Job Fair, Alliance Opportunity Job Fair, Cinco de Mayo Job Fair and Workforce Centers job fairs.
• Keeping Tarrant County Youth Connected Award - Career Technology Education (CTE) Directors' Advisory Committee
• Keeping Tarrant County Cared For Award - Child Care Associates
• Keeping Tarrant County Partnering Award - The eSkills Job Center and Library/City of Fort Worth. A few additional partnerships we recognized at the meeting included: The Arlington Chamber of Commerce for their work on the Governor's Small Business Forum and The Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce for their work on the Distinguished Employers of Fort Worth Teens.
• 2011 Vandergriff Leadership Award - Regional Workforce Leadership Council (RWLC) which is made up of Dallas and North Central Texas Workforce Boards as well at the Arlington, Dallas and Fort Worth Chambers of Commerce, and other employer partners.

 The audience looks on while the wonderful 4 year old Pre-K class from the downtown YWCA sang a medley of holiday songs. 

Beginning February 13, 2012, Project FACT will begin providing services to low-income fathers and families in Tarrant County. FACT, an acronym for Fathers And Children Together, is one of the recent grants awarded to Workforce Solutions, funded by the Office of Family Assistance, Department of Health and Human Services. Workforce Solutions, together with nine partner agencies, will offer a broad range of services to Tarrant County fathers and families.  The services offered are comprehensive and will be designed to assist in enhancing fathers and families in three key areas:

• Responsible Fatherhood and Parenting Skills
• Economic Stability
• Marriage and Relationships

Participating fathers and other eligible participants will participate in fatherhood classes, parenting skills training, job readiness and employment assistance, relationship training, individualized and group counseling, financial literacy, and more. Target populations for Project FACT include: low-income fathers who are high school dropouts, non-custodial fathers and single parents, fathers who are ex-offenders, teens and expectant teen fathers, TANF parents and other low-income parents, including veterans, refugees, and immigrants. Mentor-navigators will serve to ensure access to systems and services through intensive case-management, close monitoring and proactive follow-up.

Partner agencies collaborating with Workforce Solutions to serve these families include: Catholic Charities, Dispute Resolution Services, Family Pathfinders, Guinn & Associates, Legal Aid of Northwest Texas, NewDay Services, SafeHaven, Texas ReEntry Services, and The Parenting Center. Start-up training for all project staff began in mid-January and will continue through February 10.   FACT program brochures and referral forms will be distributed to community partners at the February 7th meeting of the Fatherhood Coalition of Tarrant County.

Additional information about Project FACT as well as referral forms can be found at the Workforce Solutions website, www.workforcesolutions.net or by contacting FACT Project Director, Mervil Johnson at 817.413.4438 or FACT Project Coordinator, Erin Lewis at 817.413.2898.

Case Management Training by Debby Kratky for the Project FACT staff

Training by Office of the Attorney General (OAG), Michael Hayes for the Project FACT Staff

The Inter-Agency Workforce Group is the catalyst that brings workforce professionals together from the private and public sectors to network and offer workforce development programs that bring knowledge and enrichment to its members.

The group was formed over 15 years ago and has been going strong ever since. This group is hosted by Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and meeting space is graciously donated by Goodwill Industries of Fort Worth. The Inter-Agency Workforce Group meets seven times during the year and has a longstanding reputation in the community as a source of vital information for businesses to share with their employees, and for the partnering organizations to more effectively serve their clients through community cooperation.

IAWG meets on the third Thursday during these months: January, February, April, May, June, September and October. At each meeting, a volunteer speaker, subject matter expert or organization provides pertinent information to the members of the group. Meetings are open to any community organization, non- profit or business who is interested in networking with other workforce professionals and gaining information about new training opportunities, grants, programs and other items of interest.

IAWG also features an email distribution list of over 1000 members who receive job leads, resource information, community news, training opportunities and a lot more. This distribution feature allows businesses and community organizations to share their resource information with community organizations through one channel and also allows these organizations to pass important information and job leads on to their clients.

This month, IAWG meets on February 16, 2012. The topic will be: Make Change Work: Don't Fight it! Move with it! 

Come hear Marcia Zidle, CEO of Leaders at All Levels. She helps leaders and organizations get on the right track, off the wrong track and not sidetracked in order to make a difference.

For more information about IAWG please contact Renee Parker at iawgtarrantcounty@gmail.com  or phone 817.413.4473.