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Contact: David West
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
5/26/98
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES - Northwestern State University's Office of Continuing Education has received a grant of $361,482 from the Coordinating and Development Corporation of Shreveport. The grant is to establish a welfare to work program, providing job readiness, job development and job placement for eligible welfare recipients in Natchitoches, Red River and Sabine Parishes.
"Northwestern has had a longtime commitment to the community and a history of post graduate employment. This is a logical way to help part of the area we serve in a new way by providing pre-employment education and placement," said Dr. Alvin Brossette, Jr., director of the Office of Continuing Education. "A variety of training approaches will be used to develop a successful program that will have a positive impact in the three-parish area."
The plan, "Northwestern Works" will link education, business, government and community agencies together in a way which will utilize available resources most effectively, said Brossette. The grant will assist up to 415 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients in Natchitoches, Red River and Sabine Parishes.
According to Brossette, the plan will focus on welfare recipients with 30 or more months of receipt or who face termination from TANF assistance within 12 months and face specified labor market deficiencies (lack of a high school diploma or GED and low reading/math skills; require substance abuse treatment or have little or no job history. The plan will also target individuals who have characteristics associated with long-term welfare dependence such as school dropout, teen pregnancy or poor work history and are recipients of TANF assistance. The Office of Family Support will identify "hard to employ" TANF recipients and refer them to the appropriate services.
Through traditional job development, new training approaches, transportation and child care opportunities, the "Northwestern Works" plan will place 368 TANF recipients in unsubsidized employment. The plan will retain 224 of the placements in jobs for a minimum of 13 weeks, through continued job coaching/mentoring and continued life skills training, Brossette said.
According to Brossette, "Northwestern Works," has some innovative elements which allows the plan to better serve recipients. Under the program, recipients will learn how to obtain job promotions leading to additional earnings. That training will be coupled with money management classes which can allow individuals to become financially self-sufficient.