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St. Clair County Intergovernmental Grants Department (IGD) will conduct a new project, DHS-Employment Barrier Reduction Program, to assist low-income individuals with career explorations and removal of barriers to employment. The area being served is St. Clair County, Illinois; primarily East St. Louis, Cahokia Heights, and Belleville.

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PA 102-0698, FY’23 Legislative Add On Grant; Illinois General Assembly - Public Act 103-0006 (ilga.gov) FY24 Legislative Add On Grant

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While the target population will be primarily youth, ages 16 to 24, St Clair County will assist adults with services that do not fall into the parameters of the other grants administered through the Intergovernmental Grants Department. They expect to serve a minimum of 1,200 high school youth through the Oculus career exploration program, 166 youth and young adults with court fine remediation removing employment barriers, 15 youth and adult through direct training opportunities and another 1,200 youth through Career and Technical Education equipment purchases for East St. Louis, Cahokia Heights, and Belleville’s Career and Technical Education programs. The later will continue to support low-income youth in St. Clair County for years to come. Student engagement and outcomes will be tracked through the schools and the Oculus system. Court fine remediation performance will be measured by the number of individuals enrolled in training as a result of having the fines paid that have prevented them from training. These areas are primarily CDL’s, Medical, and Child Care. Direct Training opportunities will be measured by the number of individuals enrolled in a direct training program. Acceptable training programs will include but are not limited to, classroom training, CDL training, On the Job Training and Apprenticeship opportunities. All of these trainings will be based on the language used in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) however will not require the same eligibility or case management required by WIOA. Eligibility documentation and case management can be a barrier for some. It is our hope we can blend funding using DHS funds to move individuals that are not WIOA eligible but still have the desire, need, and ability to move forward. Successful outcome of this program will include individuals that are enrolled in training for long-term self-sustaining employment, meaningful career exploration, delivery of CTE equipment to programs offering Career and Technical Education to students in low-income areas, and barrier reduction. All outcomes will be supported by documentation supplied by applicable parties including Oculus, East St. Louis, Cahokia Heights, Belleville School Districts, and Employers.

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Other; Government Organizations; Education Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations;

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Project Grants

Education

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FY 2023 : $1,500,000
FY 2024 : $753,433