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News Release

US Labor Department awards nearly $147 million in Workforce Innovation Fund grants, announces 'Pay for Success' funding

Grants will support, enhance and evaluate innovative employment and training opportunities

WASHINGTON – Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis today announced nearly $147 million in grants to develop and expand innovative strategies to help Americans return to work by delivering services more efficiently, facilitating cooperation across programs and funding streams, and focusing on partnerships with specific employers or industry sectors to develop programs that reflect current and future skill needs.

"The Workforce Innovation Fund was created to cultivate and test innovative approaches to workforce training and encourage the replication of evidence-based practices in the workforce development field," said Secretary Solis. "Developing new and creative strategies and expanding existing programs we know work will help make the workforce system more effective to unemployed Americans and employers looking for qualified employees."

One of the overarching goals of the Workforce Innovation Fund is to better assess the effectiveness of each workforce strategy, so all grants include an evaluation component. By evaluating projects, the fund will significantly increase the body of knowledge about the most effective strategies in workforce development.

Twenty-six grants, ranging from $1 million to $12 million each, have been awarded to a combination of state workforce agencies and local workforce investment boards, as well as one Workforce Investment Act Section 166 grantee serving Indian and Native American communities.

The original solicitation for grant applications announced that $98 million would be awarded. Because of a tremendous response, the quality of applications received and the immediate need for additional resources, the department has elected to provide additional grants using $49 million from fiscal years 2011 and 2012 funds.

The Labor Department also is highlighting the availability of up to $20 million through the second round of Workforce Innovation Fund funding – expected to be announced in spring 2013 – to pilot the "Pay for Success" model. This model represents a new way of financing workforce investment projects through which the government only pays for services that achieve measurable results, shifting the risk of investment from the government to the private sector.

For more information about Pay for Success and to view the solicitation for grant applications, visit http://www.doleta.gov/grants/find_grants.cfm. To learn more about the Workforce Innovation Fund, visit http://www.doleta.gov/workforce_innovation/.

Editor's note: A list of Workforce Innovation Fund grantees, their locations and award amounts follows this news release.

GRANTEE

CITY

STATE

AWARD AMOUNT

Gila River Indian Community

Sacaton

Ariz.

$3,000,000

City of Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Calif.

12,000,000

County of Orange

Santa Ana

Calif.

3,000,000

Riverside County Economic Development Agency

Riverside

Calif.

6,000,000

City and County of San Francisco

San Francisco

Calif.

3,000,000

San Mateo County

Belmont

Calif.

2,632,250

Alachua Bradford Regional Workforce Board doing business as FloridaWorks

Gainesville

Fla.

11,954,813

Pasco-Hernando Workforce Board Inc.

Brooksville

Fla.

1,430,998

County of DeKalb

Decatur

Ga.

1,740,743

Chicago Workforce Investment Council

Chicago

Ill.

3,000,000

Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity

Springfield

Ill.

11,999,985

Metro North Regional Employment Board

Cambridge

Mass.

3,000,000

Baltimore County

Towson

Md.

11,869,725

Newark Workforce Investment Board

Newark

N.J,

2,998,899

FMS Workforce Development Board Inc.

Amsterdam

N.Y,

2,999,970

Ohio Department of Job and Family Services

Columbus

Ohio

12,000,000

Workforce Initiative Association

Canton

Ohio

6,000,000

Worksystems Inc.

Portland

Ore.

5,496,330

TRWIB Inc. (Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board)

Pittsburgh

Pa.

3,000,000

West Central Job Partnership Inc.

New Castle

Pa.

6,000,000

Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training

Cranston

R.I.

2,782,122

Workforce Solutions Inc.

McAllen

Texas

5,999,998

Utah Department of Workforce Services

Salt Lake City

Utah

4,637,238

The SkillSource Group Inc.

Vienna

Va.

8,355,590

WorkForce Central

Tacoma

Wash.

6,000,000

Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin

Madison

Wis.

6,000,000

TOTAL

$146,898,661

Agency
Employment and Training Administration
Date
June 14, 2012
Release Number
12-1237-NAT