Catholic Family Center has been awarded a $200,000 grant by New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance’s Center for Employment and Economic Support to help low-income individuals obtain and retain employment using wage subsidies.
Catholic Family Center will recruit 80 to 100 low-income individuals who will be provided with job readiness training, job placement assistance, case management and job retention through the Rochester Workforce Consortium’s Career Pathways job training placement program. The consortium, which was created in 2013 by Catholic Family Center, the Rochester City School District’s Office of Adult and Career Education and Career Start, was previously awarded funding to operate the program. According to Catholic Family Center, the additional funding for wage subsidies will enhance the program’s ability to help individuals overcome barriers to employment and become self-sufficient.
The program will target individuals between the ages of 18 to 25 who are eligible for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. There also will be a focus on individuals with multiple barriers to job success.
Once program participants complete the job readiness training, they will be placed in jobs. The Career Pathways program will then cover 100 percent of each individual’s salary for the first month of employment. The subsidy will make the hire more attractive to the employer, as it minimizes the financial risk of taking on an inexperienced employee, and the support from project staff will increase participants’ chances of success, according to a press release from Catholic Family Center.
Catholic Family Center will help participants in the program address any challenges they might have and help them transition from subsidized to unsubsidized employment.
The agency noted that the program is scheduled to begin on Sept. 1.
