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Workforce Division Gets Stimulus Funds
to Help Unemployed in Somerset & Hunterdon
The Workforce Division of the Somerset County Department of Human Services has received an additional $315,000 in federal stimulus funds to enhance and expand its training and educational services for displaced workers in Somerset and Hunterdon counties.
“The majority of our Workforce Division’s clients have degrees or some type of higher education,” said Freeholder Patricia Walsh, liaison to Somerset County’s human services programs. “This additional funding will enable us to continue to find innovative ways to assist these residents through entrepreneurial programs and professional development and certification.”
In Somerset and Hunterdon counties, 52 percent of downsized workers have some type of higher education, and 32 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher – twice the state average.
Unemployment at all job levels is 7.8 percent in the bi-county region but the adjusted rate – which includes the underemployed, those whose unemployment benefits have run out and those who have stopped looking for work – is pegged at 19 percent.
The new stimulus funds, provided through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), are in addition to approximately $900,000 in ARRA money already awarded to the local agency during the past year.
The Workforce Division is a partner in the One-Stop Career Center that serves residents of Somerset and Hunterdon counties. Planning and policy oversight are handled by the Greater Raritan Workforce Investment Board, whose freeholder-appointed members include business, education and nonprofit representatives from both counties.
The One-Stop Career Training Services Office, located at 27 Warren St. in Somerville, experienced a 150-percent increase in the volume of unemployed residents seeking career counseling services and training grants between July 2009 and June 2010. In all, 710 clients received training and education counseling and grants during the last fiscal year.
For more information, visit www.grwib.com or call (908) 541-5721.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is now accepting applications for the upcoming heating season which runs from November 1,
2011 to April 30, 2012. The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs administers this federal program which provides low-income households with money to help pay heating bills. Information about the program is available online at www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/dhcr/offices/hea.html or call 1-800-510-3102.
The New Jersey Housing Mortgage Finance Agency has announced the "New Jersey HomeKeeper Program" funded thru a grant from United States Treasury's Hardest Hit Fund. The program offers financial help to homeowners who are in danger of losing their home as a direct result of unemployment or underemployment. It provides assistance in the form of a second mortgage loan whereby the proceeds may be used to cover arrearages and/or an approved amount of the homeowner's monthly mortgage payment, including property taxes, property insurance, and mortgage insurance. Program details are available online at www.njhomekeeper.gov or the toll-free HomeKeeper call center at (855)-NJ-KEEP-
Reminders:
The New Jersey State Library has created a web site that assists New Jersey residents and businesses to help them through tough economic times.
The site has a wide range of useful links that may be of assistance to local officials that are trying to assist their residents address their concerns.
Local officials http://gethelp.njlibraries.org/ has links and references in the following areas:
- New Jersey Work Tools
- New Jersey Financial Tools
- New Jersey Housing Tools
- New Jersey Health Tools
- New Jersey Parental Tools
- Tools for Seniors
The following information concerns actions local officials can take to help homeowners that are facing foreclosure or other housing related problems facing residents:
- Foreclosure Fast Facts: A 2-page listing of assistance, numbers to call, and general assistance, including counseling agencies experienced in
foreclosure: http://www.nj.gov/dca/hmfa/foreclosureprevention_resources.pdf
- The Mayor's Combat Kit: Materials and sources of information on buying a home, mortgage assistance and foreclosure, designed especially for Mayors:
http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/njhope/mayorkit.html
_ The NJ HOPE (Home Ownership Preservation Effort) website provides information about resources that are available for homeowners who are delinquent in their mortgage payments, need counseling or have questions:
http://www.state.nj.us/dobi/njhope/
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