August 10, 2004
SUBJECT: Authorization for NOVA to accept funding from the California Employment Development Department in the amount of $72,086 to extend the Disability Program Navigator position at the CONNECT! Job Seeker Center through June 30, 2005
REPORT IN BRIEF
The Employment Development Department, in collaboration with the California Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities, announced availability of funds for extending the Disability Program Navigator positions in California One-Stop Career Centers through June 30, 2005. NOVA received authorization for funding last year when RTC 03-309 was approved at the September 16, 2003 council meeting.
NOVA currently employs a Disability Program Navigator and the funding for that position ends September 2004. The State has been appropriately satisfied with NOVA’s work to date and has offered a second year of funding for the project. The funding will allow NOVA to continue to expand our disability-related resources and provide customers with integrated disability-focused employment services. Services are initiated at the CONNECT! Job Seeker Center and include referrals to CONNECT! partners that have specialized services for customers with disabilities, when appropriate.
The NOVA Workforce Board, at its June 28, 2004 meeting, approved acceptance of second year funding.
Staff recommends that the Sunnyvale City Council, on behalf of the seven-city NOVA consortium, concur with the NOVA Workforce Board and accept second year funding for our Disability Program Navigator position in the amount of $72,086.
BACKGROUND
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) provides a system in which multiple programs and agencies that assist people with obtaining and retaining employment are accessible to the customer in a One-Stop environment. The U.S. DOL Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) entered into an Interagency Agreement to jointly fund a Disability Program Navigator pilot demonstration project in One-stop Career Centers of selected states. The funding for a Disability Program Navigator was made available in 2003 through a grant opportunity extended from the California EDD and the California Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. Sunnyvale City Council authorized submission of an initial proposal when RTC 03-309 was approved on September 16, 2003. NOVA was the successful recipient of a grant to fund a Disability Program Navigator at the CONNECT! Job Seeker Center from October 2003 through September 2004. The Disability Program Navigator has been instrumental in developing processes to create a coordinated and streamlined employment system for customers with disabilities.
Individuals with disabilities are a population greatly in need of employment assistance. The unemployment rate of the workforce with disabilities in Silicon Valley is 55 percent. In addition, the earnings of workers with disabilities are considerably lower than those of non-disabled workers. The median monthly earnings in the region for a non-disabled worker is $4,500 compared with $3,816 for people with a non-severe disability and $2,593 for those with a severe disability. The Disability Program Navigator currently employed at the CONNECT! Job Seeker Center has increased the number of people with disabilities who take advantage of the employment resources available in the One-Stop by providing integrated services on site to meet their employment needs.
EXISTING POLICY
The proposed activities are consistent with the City of Sunnyvale's Socio-Economic Goal 5.1F: Provide job training and employment services within constraints of operative, federal regulations and available federal funding, to address the locally-determined employment and training needs of economically disadvantaged residents and others with special needs.
DISCUSSION
The initial funding of an on-site Disability Program Navigator has enabled the CONNECT! Job Seeker Center to adopt a service delivery model that more effectively responds to the needs of job seekers with disabilities. The Navigator is our local expert on the services provided by the partner organizations and is responsible for coordinating these services to create an integrated approach to service delivery. The Navigator also conducts individualized assessments of clients with disabilities and provides these clients with referrals to the most appropriate partner organizations, given the type and severity of the disability and the services required. In addition, the Navigator has been active in outreach to the both job seekers with disabilities and in creating linkages with employers to promote the hiring of individuals with disabilities.
This grant would extend the funding for the Disability Program Navigator position in the Job Seeker Center through June 2005. The total project is budgeted at $72,086.
FISCAL IMPACT
There will be no fiscal impact to the City because funds received will offset program expenditures.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the Council agenda on the City's official notice bulletin board, posting of the agenda and report on the City's web page and the availability of the report in the Library and City Clerk's Office.
ALTERNATIVES
1. Council approves acceptance of second year funding from the California Employment Development Department to fund a Disability Program Navigator to serve individuals with disabilities.
2. Council rejects acceptance of second year funding from EDD.
3. Other action as determined by Council.
RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended by staff that the Sunnyvale City Council, on behalf of the NOVA seven-city consortium concur with the NOVA Workforce Board and adopt Alternative 1: Council approves acceptance of second year funding from the State of California Employment Development Department to fund a Disability Program Navigator to serve individuals with disabilities. It is further recommended that the City Manager or her designee be authorized to execute the necessary grant agreement.
Prepared By:
Kathy Puryear
Employment Training Program Coordinator
Department of Employment Development
Reviewed By:
Michael J. Curran, Director
Department of Employment Development
Approved by:
Amy Chan
City Manger