FRANKFORT, Ky. (July 29, 2013) – Gov. Steve Beshear on Monday announced a U.S. Department of Labor grant of nearly $1.3 million for Kentucky Career Centers (KCC) to continue the Re-employment and Eligibility Assessment (REA) initiative for Kentuckians receiving Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.
The $1,282,591 grant will be used to conduct in-person assessments in local career centers and help people get back in the workforce.
“These grants will help individuals facing unemployment get back to work quicker by giving them individualized services,” Beshear said. “Studies have found that when efforts are increased to assist claimants in finding employment through individual services, they have shorter claim durations and fewer erroneous payments are made.”
Providing re-employment services takes on even greater importance during recessionary periods that include high unemployment, the governor said.
As a result, the Kentucky Career Centers are focusing attention and resources on better integrating and connecting unemployment compensation services with those services delivered through the system.
“The goal is to ensure that these claimants have access to the full array of employment and training services through the career center while also ensuring that they comply with the state’s requirements to actively engage in seeking work as a condition of receiving benefits,” said Beth Brinly, commissioner of the Department of Workforce Investment.
Each REA must include the development of a re-employment plan for the claimant, labor market information that is appropriate to the claimant’s location and employment prospects, a complete review of the claimant’s eligibility for UI benefits, and a referral to re-employment services and training that are outside of the UI program and delivered by the career centers.
The use of Re-employment and Eligibility Assessments is shown to expedite the re-employment of the UI claimants, according to recent evaluations of existing programs.
The program will also allow for a complete review of the claimants eligibility for UI benefits to help reduce incidences of improper payments.
The Kentucky Career Center helps individuals prepare for, secure and maintain employment; assists employers in locating and selecting the best qualified workers for their job openings; and provides income maintenance to ease the financial burden on individuals who are out of work through no fault of their own.
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