$80M awarded to help unemployment insurance beneficiariesthrough improved reemployment services, eligibility assessments

WASHINGTON — Unemployment Insurance benefits and state workforce agencies are vital to unemployed Americans who rely on both as they work to find new employment. To support their efforts, the U.S. Department of Labor today awarded $80 million to workforce agencies — in 44 states and in Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia — to provide re-employment and eligibility assessments. The funds will also implement the new Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments program.

"Unemployment disrupts the lives of individuals and families and hurts our nation's economy," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez. "These grants will help the newly unemployed reduce the time between jobs and strengthen the integrity of the Unemployment Insurance program by preventing improper payments. By doing so, we can ensure unemployment benefits remain available for those who truly need them."

The grants will fund services such as in-person assessments at American Job Centers. These assessments of eligible claimants include the following:

• Development of an individual re-employment plan
• Access to labor market information specific to the individual's location, job skills and employment prospects
• A complete review of the claimant's eligibility for UI benefits
• Referrals to re-employment services or training at American Job Center

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded grants through this initiative for 11 years. Alabama and Arkansas are receiving a grant to implement an RESEA program for the first time, while additional funds will continue programs in the other states to continue their programs through 2015.

For the first time these grants will be available to fund reemployment services for these beneficiaries. States will be transitioning to a new, targeted population during 2015 and will begin serving claimants who are identified as most likely to exhaust their UI benefits and claimants receiving Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Service members.

Recent evaluations of the program have shown that Reemployment Assessments reduce the number of weeks claimants seek UI benefits by expediting the re-employment of UI claimants. Information about the positive impact and effectiveness of REAs can be found in a report by Impaq International LLC. An additional evaluation is currently underway in four participating states and results are expected to be available in 2016.

Editor's Note: The following chart lists the award recipients and the grant amounts: