The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared COVID-19 a nationwide public health emergency on January 27, 2020, enabling eligible applicants to request funding for Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs). The President also declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020. Economic Recovery DWGs are also available to states and other eligible applicants that are affected by major economic dislocations, such as mass layoffs. The National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance transmitted by Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 12-19 explains how eligible applicants can apply for DWGs, including emergency funding requests. The U.S. Department of Labor accepts applications on a rolling basis, which are then reviewed in the order received.

The approved emergency applications collectively include disaster-relief cleanup and humanitarian assistance activities for those communities the applicants identified as significantly impacted, along with employment and training activities for grant participants. Based on the current availability of federal funds, as well as the anticipated large volume of funding requests from across the nation, the Department approved reduced initial funding amounts to address the critical community needs in areas hardest impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency. The amount initially provided is the lesser of 33% of the grant amount requested or a set initial award amount correlated to a severity rating. The rating is based on the following data points: COVID-19 cases per 10,000 people (reported daily by the CDC), unemployment insurance initial claims data (reported weekly by the Department), and population data (provided in the July 2019 Census estimate).

Grantees must submit a full budget and implementation plan to the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) within 60 days of the initial award. Additional time and the continued evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on a project’s proposed service area may lead to further revisions to project size and scope. Should grantees require additional resources beyond the initial award, they may incorporate a request for additional funding in the submission of the full budget and plan. ETA will review their expenditure levels and performance outcomes prior to the recommendation of any additional funding.

COVID-19 Dislocated Worker Grant Recipients
  Recipient Award
1 Oregon Department of Education $3,000,000
2 Government of Guam – Department of Administration $1,500,000
3 Florida Department of Economic Opportunity $12,000,000
4 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) DOL – Workforce Investment Agency Division $1,500,000
5 Job Service North Dakota $509,615
6 Republic of Palau $102,306
7 Colorado Department of Labor and Employment $4,995,000
8 Texas Workforce Commission $12,000,000
9 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training $2,326,005
10 Mississippi Department of Employment Security $3,000,000
11 Virginia Community College System $3,330,000
12 Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity $8,325,000
13 Alabama Department of Commerce $1,998,000
14 South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation* $281,968
15 New York State Department of Labor $12,000,000
16 North Carolina Department of Commerce – Division of Workforce Solutions $6,000,000
17 Indiana Department of Workforce Development $1,665,000
18 Colorado Department of Labor and Employment* $4,995,000
19 Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development $6,993,000
20 California Department of Employment Development* $11,655,000
21 California Department of Employment Development $12,000,000
22 District of Columbia Department of Employment Services $1,245,969
23 State of Wyoming Department of Workforce Services* $200,000
24 Technical College System of Georgia $12,000,000
25 Kentucky Office of Employment and Training $6,000,000
26 Maryland Department of Labor $1,665,000
27 Connecticut Department of Labor $2,331,000
28 Louisiana Workforce Commission $6,000,000
29 Washington State Department of Employment Security $12,000,000
30 Oregon Department of Education* $3,000,000
31 Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development $999,000
32 Arizona Department of Economic Security $1,332,000
33 Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation $4,508,311
34 Idaho Department of Labor $2,722,281
35 Oklahoma Department of Commerce $999,000
36 Virgin Islands Department of Labor $1,500,000
37 South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce $459,540
38 New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions $3,000,000
39 Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development $1,332,000
40 Upper Shore (Maryland) Workforce Investment Board* $356,909
41 Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development $6,000,000
42 Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations $1,500,000
43 Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity* $8,325,000
44 Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations* $1,500,000
45 Montana Department of Labor and Industry* $582,750
46 New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development $8,487,304
47 Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry $6,993,000
48 Maine Department of Labor $1,500,000
49 Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity $3,330,000
50 Washington State Department of Employment Security* $12,000,000
51 Iowa Workforce Development* $1,665,000
52 Ohio Department of Job and Family Services* $8,511,480
53 Indiana Department of Workforce Development* $6,660,000
54 Tanana Chiefs Conference (Alaska) $832,717
55 Cherokee Nation (Oklahoma) $3,000,000
56 Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development $2,535,795
57 Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation $3,000,000
Awarded Funds $248,249,950

*Denotes application for Employment Recovery DWG.

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