State wants control of work program

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 | 11:10 a.m.

State and local officials charged with getting Nevadans back to work told members of a congressional committee visiting Las Vegas Tuesday that local control is the key to ensuring that help from the president's economic stimulus plan gets to people most in need.

The Back to Work Incentive Act would give up to $3,000 to eligible unemployed or underemployed people to pay for training, child care, transportation or other services that would help them get back to work.

Its chief sponsor, Rep. Jon Porter, R-Nev., invited Rep. John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, chairman of the Committee on Education and the Workforce, and Rep. Howard McKeon, R-Calif., to Las Vegas to hear local testimony on the state's workers.

"Washington can't decide for Nevada who's eligible and how to spend the money," said Debi Lindemenn, supervisor at the North Las Vegas office of Job Connect, one of a network of state-run offices that group public and private agencies under one roof to help Nevadans find work.

After her testimony Lindemenn said the bill could be a boon for thousands of Nevadans whose obstacles to finding work may be a broken-down car, the lack of a baby sitter or the need to learn a skill that would move them into higher-paying jobs.

The bill would make about $3.6 billion in additional funds available to states nationwide, Boehner said.

Of those funds, an estimated $19 million would go to Nevada, said Myla Florence, director of the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

At $3,000 per person, that would help 6,500 people over the two years covered by the act. Job Connect would administer the funds.

The bill has been introduced at a time when more than 35,000 Nevadans are receiving unemployment, Florence said in her testimony. The unemployment rate, which had been decreasing slightly month to month since December 2001, showed its first increase in 11 months last December, registering 5 percent, she added.

"There is downsizing in a number of industries in our state, from airlines to casinos, and this could help people affected by the downsizing," said Robert E. Brewer, chairman for the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board, charged with giving input to the state's Job Connect offices.

But Brewer stressed that local elected officials, Job Connect offices and regional boards such as the one he sits on would have to put the bill into action statewide.

"The conversation should center around how much input local boards and politicians should have into administering the money, and how we assess who's eligible," he said.

Linda Lera-Randle El, director of Straight from the Streets, a nonprofit that helps the homeless, said the bill could also help particularly vulnerable groups such as single mothers or people coming out of drug or alcohol rehabilitation.

"Hitting people at the right time with the right resources can be very effective," she said.

"The key is to keep the bureaucracy to a minimum and get the money into the hands of those who need it as quickly as possible."