US Labor Department awards $65M to help unemployed workers with job searches, maintain integrity of Unemployment Insurance program

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration today awarded $65 million to 52 state workforce agencies, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and the District of Columbia, to operate Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment programs for unemployment insurance beneficiaries.

“Unemployment insurance claimants in danger of exhausting their benefits require responsive, timely services to avoid becoming long-term unemployed,” said Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Portia Wu. “The RESEA program offers these claimants access to the wide array of services available in the workforce system to help them find good jobs. The grants also help us maintain the integrity of the UI program by ensuring their continued eligibility for benefits.”

The funding will allow states to continue operating their RESEA programs through April 2017. Upon receipt of a full year’s appropriation for 2017, ETA expects to provide additional funding to administer these programs through December 2017.      

The funds will be used to conduct in-person assessments in American Job Centers. The assessments include:

• Developing an individual re-employment plan for each claimant selected for services.
• Providing career and labor market information to inform their job search.
• Help developed job skills and employment prospects.
• Customizing reemployment services.
• Review the claimant’s continued eligibility for UI benefits.

The target populations for RESEA services include individuals who are identified as most likely to exhaust their UI benefits and transitioning veterans receiving Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers. 

This is the 13th year that the department has awarded grants through this initiative. Several studies have shown that this type of program is effective in helping unemployed individuals successfully get back to work. Participating claimants need benefits for a shorter period of time, are less likely to exhaust their benefits, and are more successful in returning to work. Every dollar invested produced a savings of $2.60, one study found.

Information about the positive impact and effectiveness of these types of services can be found in research conducted by Impaq International LLC on the department’s Web site at:  http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/uirelprojects.asp#reacongress; and

http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/ETAOP_2012_08_REA_Nevada_Follow_up_Report.pdf

Another recently completed evaluation will soon be made available.  

Editor’s Note: A listing of states and their initial awards (under the Continuing Resolution that provides federal funding through April 28, 2017) follows: