December 2015

 

Executive Director's

E-Newsletter  
We have had a wonderful 2015! At this month's Board meeting we will recognize some of those individuals who contributed to this year's success. Join us on Wednesday as we thank all of those that help make this a grand year!
 
Thank you to all of our Elected Officials, Board Members, Business and Economic Development, Community and Education Partners as well as staff for the continued support and work you do with the Workforce Board. Your efforts are always appreciated. You helped make this year one for the record books.
 
May you have a safe and Happy Holiday Season!
 
 - Judy McDonald
 Executive Director
In This Issue
Awards, Awards, Awards
Growing Tarrant County Talent
4th Annual RWY
Manufacturing Day in Tarrant County
Early Child Care Matters
Successful Outcomes - A Grant Wrap-Up
Other Workforce News
Calendar of Events
Connect with Us on Social Media
Join Our Mailing List!
Awards, Awards, Awards
Three checks.... I would say it was a successful TWC Conference for Tarrant County! Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County was recognized for outstanding board performance, receiving two
board awards for Service to Community, for our work with our Fatherhood Initiative and Industry Sector Outreach, for our work with the Mansfield Manufacturing Partnership. Workforce Solutions additionally received a Performance Incentive award for Choices Employment, which offers training assistance and employment opportunities to citizens on public assistance. The TWC Performance Incentive awards recognize boards that display increased accountability and improved efficiencies. Monetary awards in these categories will be used to enhance workforce service programs during the next year. Thank you to everyone who made this possible. 

Also we would like to congratulate Louise Appleman and Carlos De La Torre who were recognized at the TWC Conference for being a "Pioneering Board Member", with over 19 years of service on the Board. 

         
Growing Tarrant County Talent - Workforce Solutions hosts Community Collaboration Summit
The Tarrant County Alliance for Economic Independence Summit was held on October 28, 2015 at Lena Pope Amon Carter Center. It was designed for workforce/employment  services providers with the purpose of introducing the new Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Workforce Solutions' role as it relates to WIOA. The TCAEI's purpose is to "establish a community-wide collaboration that is focused on achieving economic independence for all work able customers through career pathways, identifying and removing barriers to employment." The work of the committee and the workgroups that came out of the summit will result in a portal that members of the Alliance can use and collaborate on to better serve the citizens of Tarrant County. 



Our Speakers From left to right:
Debby Kratky, Estrus Tucker, Mike Doyle, Jill Navarrete, Judy McDonald, Nick Lalpuis, Keith Muskrat and Jon Gustafson. Job well done to our fabulous speakers and the planning committee who made this event a success.  
4th Annual Hiring Red, White & You! Job Fair - 104 hired
What a wonderful day we had for the 4th Annual Hiring Red, White & You! Job Fair at the Ballpark. Excellent weather and many special guests. We are still gathering information, but initial reports show that we had 104 on-site hires that day! Over 266 employers and more than 1002 job seekers (451 of which were Veterans) took part in our event! Thank you to everyone who participated!

 
Manufacturing Day in Tarrant County 


Mother Parker's Tea and Coffee one of our Manufacturing Day sponsors. Board Member,
Leslie Sisk was conducting on the site interviews for Mother Parker at the Resource Connection Workforce Center. 


Another Manufacturing Day sponsor, Klein Tools. Klein Tools conducted on the spot interviews at both the Arlington Workforce Center and the Alliance Opportunity Center. Thank you to Board Member, Michael Klein for your support. 
Early Child Care Matters


The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) will hold public hearings at three locations throughout the state to give the public an opportunity to provide feedback on the administration of the state's subsidized child care program and the draft Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) 2016-2018 State Plan. TWC welcomes input on all aspects of the state's subsidized child care system including:
  • the delivery of subsidized child care services
  • alignment of early education programs
  • quality initiatives and standards, including Texas Rising Star  other topics central to early childhood education
For the complete press release click here.
Successful Outcomes - A Grant Wrap-Up
As you know, Workforce Solutions has been very fortunate over the last few years to be able to help some of the most in need with specialized grants such as our Next STEP (Subsidized Transitional Employment Project), FACT (Fathers And Children Together) and EJC (Engineer Job Connect). At our board meetings over the past few years you have heard some of the success stories and read about the program challenges and highlights. We are always thankful to have the opportunity to better serve the citizens of Tarrant County. Here are some of the final numbers for each of the grants:

Next STEP (Subsidized Transitional Employment Project):
  • Employers hired over 320 reentry customers and assisted over 76% of them to maintain their jobs over the course of the program.
  • The goal of the project was to reduce the recidivism rate to 22%. As the customers reached their individual one year anniversary, the recidivism rate for the project stands at under 5%.
    • Average Hourly Wage Rate: $11.48  (27.556% increase from $9 per hour required by the grant)
    • By the end of the grant, Next STEP participants had over 1,680+ hours of volunteering. Participants volunteered at a variety of places, including our local food bank, Habitat for Humanity, Cornerstone Assistance Network, and the Boys and Girls Club Greater Fort Worth Gang Intervention Project.  In Texas, pay calculation for volunteer hours stands at $24.66 per hour for a total of $41,428 donated to our local community. 
    • For Child Support Payments made:
      • $27,205.63 (with garnishment fee included)
      • $26,845.62 (without garnishment fee)
FACT (Fathers And Children Together): 
  • Over 1,200 participants consisting of 816 fathers and 433 mothers enrolled in the program.
  • Altogether, these 1,249 parents completed approximately 3,000 service activities provided by 8 community partners collaborating with Workforce Solutions to improve their economic stability, parenting and relationship skills.
  • The greatest number of completed activities (2,152) was for the core component of economic stability- achieved by obtaining employment, completing assessments and training, and/or participating in transitional employment.
  • 78 Tarrant County zip codes were represented by participants over the four year grant period, with the greatest participation from targeted low-income areas.
  • Finally, 2,717 children will benefit from the improved economic stability, parenting and relationship skills obtained by the fathers and mothers who participated in this program.
EJC (Engineer Job Connect)
  • 406 individuals received on the job training as engineers with 37 different companies, the projected goal was 385
  • Average wage was $65,000 projected goal was $60,000
  • Veterans enrolled in the program 23 projected goal was 20
Other Workforce News

The last few months have been busy, busy for Workforce, many of our initiatives you will hear information on at the board meeting. Here is a quick rundown of what we have been up to since the October 14, 2015 meeting:

  • TEDC Conference
  • North Texas Regional Job Fair 
  • Manufacturing Month Activities
  • Arlington State of the City Luncheon
  • Governor's Small Business Conference
  • HR Southwest Conference 
  • Tarrant County Alliance for Economic Independence Summit
  • Mayors International Luncheon 
  • Mansfield Job Fair
  • Luna Awards Conference 
  • Veterans Luncheon
  • Hiring Red, White & You! Job Fair
  • North Texas LEAD Board Meeting Presentation
  • Joint Improvement Committee / Quality Workforce and Education Meeting
  • EDC / TAWB Meetings
  • TWC Conference
  • Congressman Veasey Job Fair
  • Investment Committee Meeting 
  • AND MORE.........
Calendar of Events
Board and Committee Meetings:  
(for the latest information please make sure to check our website calendar)
 
December 
  • December 9, 2015 - Joint WDB/WGB Meeting - Botanic Gardens - 9:00 a.m.
  • December 24-25, 2015 - Workforce Centers and Board Office Closed for Christmas Eve and Day
January
  • January, 1, 2016 - Workforce Centers and Board Office Closed for New Year's Day
  • January 14, 2016 - DFW Aerospace Consortium Meeting, Board Offices - 8:00 a.m.
  • January 18, 2016 - Workforce Centers Closed in observance of Martin Luther King's Birthday
  • January 20, 2016 - Workforce Improvement Committee Meeting - Large Conference Room - 3:30 p.m.
  • January 28, 2016 - Workforce Delivery Systems Committee Meeting - Large Conference Room - 11:45 a.m. 
  • We do not have any board meeting in the month of January 


New events are being added all the time!
For the latest Job Fair and Event Information please visit our calendar of events on our website www.workforcesolutions.net. 
 
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Workforce Solutions for Tarrant is committed to Keeping Tarrant County Working!

 

More information about our events, services, programs and Workforce Center locations is available on our website.

 

 

Need more information about something listed in this newsletter?  Contact Lacey Douglas, Communications and Events Manager at lacey.douglas@workforcesolutions.net

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