Workforce Developments :: April 2009
In this issue..
- Cover the Uninsured Week
- New WorkOne "Prototype" Centers Open in Lafayette and Vincennes
- DWD and OFBCI Partnership a Success
- Save the Date
- Kathleen Randolph Awarded 2009 Athena Award
- Dream It. Do It. Southeast Indiana Recognized with National Award
- Spotlight on Gina DelSanto - Senior Deputy Commissioner of Agency Policy and Performance
Cover the Uninsured Week
According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 46 million Americans are uninsured, which encompasses 9 million children. The uninsured rate is continually increasing due to the current economic climate, leaving additional Hoosiers in need of assistance.
There are several programs available that support Hoosiers in need. To spread awareness, the Department of Workforce Development, Family and Social Services and Covering Kids & Families partnered with St. Vincent’s hospital to host eight enrollment fairs throughout the state for Cover the Uninsured Week (March 22-28).
Cover the Uninsured week was a statewide initiative to register Hoosiers for health insurance programs and unemployment insurance. At the enrollment fair, DWD and WorkOne staff assisted community members with filing unemployment claims and vouchers and providing onsite resume development. FSSA registered Hoosier families for state health insurance programs, food stamps and temporary assistance.
All eight events successfully highlighted available services and helped get Hoosiers registered.
New WorkOne "Prototype" Centers Open in Lafayette and Vincennes
Two new "prototype" WorkOne offices opened in Lafayette and Vincennes in March. These new centers feature an open design and were built with customer comfort in mind. The layout supports the newly integrated service delivery model which allows staff to work together to provide a broad variety of seamless services to customers.
Equipped with computers and training rooms, each office will offer access to Hoosiers who want to improve their job skills. In addition, a complete array of employment and training services will be offered including job matching, career counseling, skills enhancement and resume coaching.
The Vincennes WorkOne is on the campus of Vincennes University, putting additional educational opportunities at Hoosier’s fingertips. The university recently received three John Deere tractors and advanced automated manufacturing equipment to train students for skilled, in demand, careers.
Lt. Governor Becky Skillman attended the opening of the Lafayette WorkOne. She toured the facility with Department of Workforce Development Commissioner Teresa Voors to get a first hand look at the new service model in action. They were able to see the comprehensive approach WorkOne is taking to assist Hoosiers in gaining a better understanding of their skills. The end result is to improve all WorkOne customers abilities so they can compete in today’s tight job market.
DWD and OFBCI Partnership a Success
On February 25, approximately 100 people attended a training session that partnered the Indiana Department or Workforce Development (DWD), Indiana State Library and the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI) to provide information and computers to local libraries and local and faith-based groups interested in helping individuals file for unemployment benefits online. Two hundred surplus state computers were available on loan to groups that didn’t have enough computers available to meet the needs of unemployed Hoosiers throughout the state.
“Libraries, churches, and community groups across Indiana want to help their neighbors during these trying times, but some lack the computers or basic understanding of the unemployment system,” said Isaac Randolph, Executive Director of the Office of Faith Based Community Initiatives. “This new partnership provides the training and hardware necessary to empower Hoosiers to do what they do best - help.”
Those who attended found the training to be very informational and DWD has received positive feedback about the partnership from the participating groups.
All initial unemployment filing must be done online. Increasing computer availability and training additional volunteers reduces the number of errors in the initial application and speeds up the delivery of benefits.
Save the Date
Congressman Buyer and
State Senator Boots
2009 Hoosier Job Fair
Monday, April 6 2009
9:00 am to 3:00 pm
Crawfordsville High School Gymnasium
(One Athenian Drive, Crawfordsville, IN)
This event is FREE!! For more information please
contact Michelle Price by phone at (317) 838-0404
Operation: Hire a Hoosier Vet
Career Fair
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
9:00 am to 3:00pm
Stout Field - Hangar #9
(2002 S. Holt Road Indianapolis, IN 46241)
This event is FREE!! For more information please
contact Dana Stuckwisch at DanaStuck@aol.com
or (317) 988-2419
JAG Indiana 2009
Career Development Conference
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
9:30 am to 4:00 pm
Indianapolis Mariott East Hotel - Veteran's Ballroom
(7202 East 21st St., Indianapolis, IN 46219)
For more information please contact Brianna Morse
at bmorse@dwd.in.gov or (317)234-4027
Kathleen Randolph Awarded 2009 Athena Award
The Greater Fort Wayne Chamber of Commerce recently recognized Kathleen Randolph as the 2009 Athena Award recipient. Kathleen is the President/CEO of Partners for Workforce Solutions, the non-profit contractor that runs WorkOne Northeast.
The Athena Award recognizes women in leadership. Recipients have empowered women in the workplace, contributed to the community and shown excellence on the job.
“The Athena Award is affirmation for all that WorkOne does to support Hoosiers in their pursuit of education and training to lead to good jobs and economic security,” said Randolph. “The Indiana Department of Workforce Development’s leadership in transforming the WorkOne system to a skill based, integrated system demonstrates its commitment to ensuring the relevance of our public workforce system, which is especially critical in this economic crisis. I’m very proud to be part of Indiana’s workforce system and to have participated in its transformation.”
In her role as President/CEO of Partners for Workforce Solutions, Randolph has led Northeast Indiana in a transformation of its workforce system into a state and national model. Through her work, she has actively mentored numerous individuals into leadership roles with organizations throughout the community, both as staff and as board members. She is also a founding member of the Vera Bradley Foundation for Cancer Research and serves with Crossroads Home for Children.
Dream It. Do It. Southeast Indiana Recognized with National Award
The Dream It. Do It. Southeast Indiana initiative was recently recognized in Managing Automation Media’s prestigious 2009 Progressive Manufacturing 100 list. Southeast Indiana serves Bartholomew, Dearborn, Decatur, Franklin, Jackson, Jefferson, Jennings, Ohio, Ripley, and Switzerland Counties.
Managing Automation Media is a Thomas Publishing Company, LLC publication. The PM100 list recognizes 100 projects that have achieved distinction in at least one of the eight core disciplines defined by Managing Automation Media as critical to business success in the years ahead. These disciplines are: Business Model Mastery, Customer Mastery, Supply Network Mastery, Data and Integration Mastery, Innovation Mastery, Training and Education Mastery, Leadership and Operational Excellence.
The Dream It. Do It. program provides opportunities for young adults to learn about exciting careers in manufacturing. The success of the initiative at Southeast Indiana, located in Economic Growth Region 9, stood out and grabbed the attention of the panel of judges.
“We are extremely proud and honored to receive this prestigious award by an independent party that recognizes our efforts to help students, parents, teachers, and communities understand the connection between education attainment and great career opportunities that are or will be available in our manufacturing economy,” said John Burnett, Chairman of the Southeast Indiana team.
Receiving the PM100 award recognizes and proves Region 9’s successes and commitment to its community and Dream It. Do It.
Spotlight on Gina DelSanto - Senior Deputy Commissioner of Agency Policy and Performance
It was with mixed feeling that Dr. Gina DelSanto left Butler University after eight years, most recently as Associate Provost. Having achieved most of her goals at the university, namely to increase undergraduate retention from 83% to 92%, to introduce a new model for academic advising, and to create synergies among the academic support units, Dr. DelSanto was ready for a new challenge. "As an educator and academic administrator, two areas have always inspired my work--human development and empowering individuals to attain their aspirations," DelSanto notes. ‘And the opportunity to serve on the State Workforce Innovation Council over the past four years convinced me that I could make a valuable contribution to Indiana’s workforce development system."
Dr. DelSanto has set her sights upon three goals for her near-term work at DWD. To begin with, she plans to reinvigorate the State Workforce Innovation Council, or SWIC-- Indiana’s state governance board for workforce issues. Dr. DelSanto plans to tap the expertise of the SWIC members in developing educational programs that reflect Indiana’s economic directions, insuring that highest-quality development programs are available to adult learners seeking to sharpen their skills or transition to a new field of endeavor.
Another goal Dr. DelSanto has set is what she calls "right placing." The idea hinges upon the need to discover the current level of academic proficiency in the adult learners, to determine closely their career aspirations, and finally to insure that each learner has an individualized "roadmap" for their educational goals. Dr. DelSanto concludes that by right-placing learners in programs they are prepared for and ones that they are excited about, they will be more likely to complete the program of study and be more successful along the way.
Lastly, Dr. DelSanto plans to work closely with DWD’s commissioner, the regional workforce field system and members of DWD staff to develop better systems of assessment and accountability. In particular, DelSanto wants the agency to determine clear, measurable goals for workforce education and to use the information derived from comprehensive assessment for continuous improvement. DelSanto noted. "Organizations tend not to look hard and closely at their programs, and are reluctant to abandon unsuccessful strategies. At Butler we were able to take tremendous strides in student retention because we looked closely at our outcomes and were not afraid to change direction when appropriate. I am convinced DWD can do the same and realize tremendous results."
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