[Mwa] Mass Workforce Alliance Update -- Economic Stimulus and More!

[Deborah Mutschler]

Dear Mass Workforce Alliance listserv:

It's getting to the end of our fiscal year and there is a lot to catch up on! See below for information on:

  a.. The Economic Stimulus Package  - end game of the legislative process; 
  b.. Mass Workforce Alliance Updates; and 
  c.. The new Mass Workforce Alliance Working to Succeed Project. 
 

 A. Economic Stimulus Package!

Last week the Massachusetts House and Senate sent an economic stimulus bill to the Governor after many months of hard work. The Mass Workforce Alliance wants to congratulate and thank all those that partnered and worked diligently to see that this legislation made it through the process - particularly Workforce Solutions Group and MACDC.

 

Governor Romney is expected to respond within the week. Stay tuned to respond to any vetoes from the Governor's office. There are number of exciting things about the legislation. The top three priorities for Mass Workforce Alliance all made it into the final bill:

  a.. Performance Standards and Workforce Accountability Task Force -- A multi-stakeholder taskforce that will work to ensure that the workforce development system gets the attention it deserves. The Mass Workforce Alliance, as well as two of its members - MACDC and MCAE - will have seats on this Task Force. 
  b.. $11 million in new money for a Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund. 
  c.. $3 million in new money for Adult Basic Education and English for Speakers of Other Languages 
Please call your Senator and Rep today and thank him/her for supporting these items in the final bill. Representatives Rodrigues and Bosley, and Senators McGee and Hart all deserve special thanks. You can get your Senators information from: the State House Switchboard (617) 722-2140, or at http://www.mass.gov/legis/memmenus.htm. 

If you're not sure who your senator is, you can find him/her quickly at www.wheredoivotema.com. 

 

 B. Updates on the Mass Workforce Alliance

State House Event: On Valentines Day, the Mass Workforce Alliance held a very successful (and first!) event at the State House to highlight the need to pass the economic stimulus package. Representative Michael Rodrigues was our main speaker and he was joined by Senators McGee, and Rosenberg. We were graced by the passionate testimony of three workforce development graduates who spoke to the packed room and conveyed the urgency and importance of the community-based services that had helped them gain the skills they need to advance.

 

CWC Conference: Mass Workforce Alliance was a co-sponsor of the third annual CWC conference in March, and the lead sponsor for the policy track. We arranged three workshops at the conference, all of which were well attended and received great evaluations! They included: "The Workforce Development Maze: The View from 10,000 Feet," "What is Policy and What Does It Have to Do with Me?" and "From Frustrations to Opportunities - Your Experience can Strengthen the System!"

 

MWA PEER Project: The Mass Workforce Alliance has completed 9 PEER trainings across the state, is currently delivering one and will launch another over the summer. In each of the trainings, participants focus on a workforce development policy issue of importance to them and create an advocacy action plan to move toward changing and improving workforce development policy. Groups have looked at the following policy concerns: 

  a.. ensuring that Empowerment Zone voucher funds are fully expended 
  b.. matching outcome measures with student barriers so that youth participant progress is acknowledged 
  c.. modifying Boston residency requirements for funding to allow for services to be delivered to those in need who cannot afford to live in Boston but work there. 
  d.. coordinated advocacy for available and affordable childcare 
  e.. the need for additional funding for workforce development, particularly more money for subsidized training and jobs 
  f.. funding for locally-developed program models that integrate ABE and skills training 
  g.. increased capacity for low-literacy programming & funding 

Contact Alex Risley Schroeder  if you are interested in bringing a PEER Training to your area! Alex can be reached at 413-586-1683 or alex at massworkforcealliance.com

 

C. Buy-in to our new Working to Succeed Project

 

The Mass Workforce Alliance has developed an exciting new project that we are currently fundraising for. The Working to Succeed Project will seek successful graduates or current students/clients/learners to receive training that will help them to make connections between their success and ways that the system might be adapted that would make success for others a smoother journey. Participants from across the state will receive training in public speaking and other leadership skills, and will have several opportunities to speak to legislators and other policy makers. 

 

If you want to have two of your clients/students or graduates participate in this training, conditional upon grant funding, we will guarantee your organization two slots, as space provides. Benefits to your program will include either copies or electronic access to the publication of the graduate stories. In addition, the results of training these participant/graduate speakers will increase your program's visibility and build support for all our programs. In return, we need you to pledge to support this project.  If the budget of your organization is under $100,000, we would like a $100 pledge.  If it is more than $100,000 a pledge of at least $200 is required. Programs that do not take advantage of this early adopter opportunity will still be considered, but they will not be guaranteed slots. If interested in Working to Succeed, please call Executive Director, Deborah Mutschler at 617-372-9400 x205 and make a pledge. We will take pledges through the end of June.

 

 

Deborah Mutschler
Executive Director
Massachusetts Workforce Alliance (MWA)
6 Beacon Street, Suite 415
Boston, MA  02108

Ph: 617-372-9400 x205
Cell: 617-780-1770
deborah at massworkforcealliance.com
www.peer.mwapolicy.org

 

The Massachusetts Workforce Alliance unites state and community coalitions to advance sensible workforce development policies that create true economic opportunity for low-income people.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.literacytent.org/pipermail/mwa/attachments/20060619/94c7f37b/attachment.html
-------------- next part --------------
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.9.0/368 - Release Date: 6/16/2006