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EDD awarded $7.5M in funding to create winter storm cleanup and recovery jobs

Published:

NR No. 23-19
Contact: Loree Levy/Aubrey Henry
916-654-9029
mediainquiries@edd.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO – The Employment Development Department (EDD) today announces it received a federal grant award of $7.5 million to create new cleanup and recovery jobs in response to winter storms in December 2022 and January 2023 that caused widespread flooding and extensive waterway damage.

Awarded to California through the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration, the National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $22 million allows the EDD to provide impacted workers with temporary jobs focused on debris removal on public lands, along with water damage cleanup and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those affected by the storm. The $7.5 million is the first allocation of this grant received.

Between December 27, 2022, and January 31, 2023, a series of severe storms and atmospheric rivers swept through California. The storms caused local and regional flooding and mudslides, knocked down trees, triggered sinkhole formation and ultimately damaged public and private lands in 51 of the state’s 58 counties. The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued a major disaster declaration on Jan. 14, 2023, enabling California to request this funding.

Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants – supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 – expand the service capacity of programs at the state and local levels by providing funding to create temporary employment opportunities to assist with clean-up and recovery efforts, when an area impacted by disaster is declared eligible for public assistance by the Federal Emergency Management Agency or otherwise recognized by a federal agency with authority or jurisdiction over federal response to the emergency or disaster.

Individuals eligible for the temporary employment opportunities include those who meet any of the following four conditions: 1) individuals laid off, permanently or temporarily, because of the storms between December 27, 2022 and January 31, 2023; 2) individuals that qualify as Dislocated Workers; 3) long-term unemployed individuals; or 4) self-employed individuals who became unemployed or significantly underemployed because of the storms between December 27, 2022 and January 31, 2023.

For more information about how the funds are specifically being used in various storm-damaged areas of the state or to see if you qualify as a grant participant, contact the project operators listed below.

National Dislocated Worker Grant – Project Operators

City of Los Angeles
Jamie Francisco, Public Information Officer, City of Los Angeles EWDD jamie.francisco@lacity.org (213) 276-9321
Merced County Department of Workforce Investment
Erick Serrato, Director erick.serrato@countyofmerced.com (209) 724-2000
Mother Lode (Job Training) Consortium
Lindsay Macon, Project Manager lmacon@mljt.org (209) 536-4522
Monterey County Workforce Development Board
Christopher Donnelly, Executive Director Donnellyc@co.monterey.ca.us (831) 759-6644
Workforce Alliance of the North Bay
Laura Davis, Associate Director-Chief of Operations ldavis@workforcealliancenorthbay.org (707) 699-1952
North Central Counties Consortium
Cindy Newton, Executive Director cnewton@ncen.org (530) 751-8202
Northern Rural Training & Employment Consortium (NoRTEC)
Stephanie Bruce, Programs Services Analyst sbruce@ncen.org (530) 892-9600 x207
Sacramento Employment Training Agency (SETA)
Julie Davis-Jaffe, Workforce Development Manager Julie.Jaffe@seta.net (916) 263-3929
Santa Cruz County Workforce Development Board
Andy Stone, Workforce Development Director andy.stone@santacruzcounty.us (831) 763-8824
Tulare County Workforce Investment Board
Nicola Wissler, Communications Coordinator Nlwissler@tularewib.org (559) 713-5208
Workforce Development Board of Ventura County
Rebecca Evans, Executive Director hsa-info.wdb@ventura.org (805) 477-5306