[New York State Displaced Homemaker Program
Saija Grzegorek
Under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, displaced homemakers are considered dislocated workers. Through a network of Career Centers, the New York State Department of Labor provides a variety of services to displaced homemakers (e.g. dislocated workers) including but not limited to:
In addition to the services offered at our Career Centers, assistance is also available at Displaced Homemaker Program providers. They offers services to help with barriers to self sufficiency including: child care, transportation, housing, basic necessities, or employment. Others may face emotional challenges, medical needs, or legal problems.
The goal of the Displaced Homemaker Programs is for people to expand the employment and self sufficiency options of displaced homemakers. If you, or someone you know, may benefit from this program, contact the Displaced Homemaker Program nearest you.
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Workforce services for eligible adults are available through one of the six core programs authorized by Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The Adult program serves individuals and helps employers meet their workforce needs. It enables workers to obtain good jobs by providing them with job search assistance and training opportunities.
WIOA establishes a priority requirement with respect to funds allocated to a local area for adult employment and training activities. American Job Center staff, when using WIOA Adult funds to provide individualized career services and training services, must give priority to recipients of public assistance, other low-income individuals, and individuals who are basic skills deficient. Under WIOA, priority must be implemented regardless of the amount of funds available to provide services in the local area. In addition, veterans receive priority of service in all DOL-funded employment programs.
The Dislocated Worker program is designed to help workers get back to work as quickly as possible and overcome barriers to employment. When individuals become dislocated workers as a result of job loss, mass layoffs, global trade dynamics, or transitions in economic sectors, the Dislocated Worker program provides services to assist them in re-entering the workforce. Services for dislocated workers are integrated and provided through a national network of American Job Centers (AJCs). The AJCs provide significant resources to states to implement workforce education, training, and employment programs and help displaced workers.
Information on these programs, including how to access them locally through an American Job Center, please visit the Career One-Stop website or call ETA's toll-free help line at 1-877-US-2JOBS (TTY: 1-877-872-5627). Services are designed to meet local needs and may vary from state to state. Some services have eligibility requirements; be sure to check with your local American Job Center for details.
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The federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), offers a comprehensive range of workforce development activities through statewide and local organizations. Available workforce development activities provided in local communities can benefit job seekers, dislocated workers, youth, incumbent workers, new entrants to the workforce, veterans, persons with disabilities, and businesses.
The purpose of these activities is to promote an increase in the employment, job retention, earnings, and occupational skills improvement by participants. This, in turn, improves the quality of the workforce, reduces welfare dependency, and improves the productivity and competitiveness of the nation. New York receives funding from the federal government every year to provide services for adults, dislocated workers, youth, and businesses.
Title I of WIOA authorizes services for eligible adults, dislocated workers and youth. Eligible adults must be age 18 or older. While eligible dislocated workers are generally individuals who have been terminated from their last employment and are unlikely to return to their previous industry or occupation, displaced homemakers and self-employed individuals also may qualify for these services. Adult and dislocated worker services are provided through locally based Career Centers. Comprehensive Career Centers provide access to a full range of services pertaining to employment, training and education, employer assistance, and guidance for obtaining other assistance. While WIOA requires Career Centers to provide specific services, local areas may design programs and provide services that reflect the unique needs of their area.
Eligible youth must be 14 to 24 years of age and meet criteria to qualify as either an out-of-school or in-school youth. Activities may include instruction leading to completion of secondary school or its recognized equivalent, tutoring, internships, job shadowing, work experience, adult mentoring, and comprehensive guidance and counseling. The program emphasizes services for out-of-school youth.
The Governor has appointed a State Workforce Investment Board (SWIB) consisting primarily of representatives from businesses, labor organizations, educational institutions, and community organizations. The SWIB assists the Governor in designing a statewide plan and establishing appropriate program policy.
The 33 Local Workforce Development Areas (LWDAs) administer WIOA services as designated by the Governor. The Chief Elected Official (CEO) of each LWDA appoints a Local Workforce Development Board (LWDB) with a local membership similar to the SWIB. The LWDB is responsible for selecting eligible training providers to provide training services for adults, dislocated workers and youth.
The NYS ETPL was established in compliance with the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 and continues under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The purpose of the ETPL is to present a broad and diverse selection of training choices to support employment goals of individuals. Training providers must be listed on the ETPL in order to receive WIOA funding through an individual training account.
As a result, tonight nearly 50,000 New Yorkers will sleep in Department of Homeless Services (DHS) shelters, while thousands more stay in shelters operated through other City agencies. The number of people bedding down each night unsheltered on the streets and in the subway system has increased sharply, creating widespread concern throughout our city as one preventable tragedy after another unfolds. On cue, the tabloids turn up the heat on elected officials to do something (even if that something runs contrary to the hard-won lessons of the past).
Recent tragedies in the headlines, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the associated dire economic fallout, and longstanding social injustices all point in the same direction: There is no health without housing. There is no safety without housing. There is no prosperity without housing. There is no justice without housing. There is no hope without housing.
The misguided and counterproductive criminalization of people sleeping in the transit system or on the streets makes it much more difficult for trained outreach teams to gain the trust of people failed by the health and human services systems. Mayor Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul must reject the criminalization of homelessness and instead offer unsheltered New Yorkers the stable Safe Havens, single hotel rooms, permanent housing, and support services they need and want.
State of the Homeless 2022: New York at a Crossroads provides a summary of the key housing and homelessness issues facing Mayor Adams and Governor Hochul, along with recommendations they must adopt immediately to ensure that every New Yorker is provided the tools they need to avoid and overcome homelessness.
Tragically, a record number of homeless New Yorkers died last year. Of the 640 deaths among homeless New Yorkers reported by the City in Fiscal Year 2021, 76 percent (489) of those who died were sheltered and 24 percent (151) were unsheltered. Drug related deaths remained the leading cause of death among homeless New Yorkers, consistent with citywide and national trends,1 increasing by 81 percent, from 131 in Fiscal Year 2020 to 237 in Fiscal Year 2021. This underscores the urgent need for additional harm reduction services and the expansion of overdose prevention centers to more neighborhoods. Amidst the ongoing pandemic, 31 homeless New Yorkers died due to COVID-19 in Fiscal Year 2021, 27 of whom were shelter residents.
Image Description: A group of several people stand in single file behind a van parked on a city street. There are large piles of shoveled snow on the right, and a person walking with a cane through the snow.
However, even the best-trained outreach teams can only be effective if they are able to offer unsheltered people what they want and need. The main option outreach teams offer is transportation to a large congregate shelter, which many people on the streets already have experienced and have made a conscious decision to avoid (particularly during the pandemic). According to interviews conducted by the Coalition for the Homeless, the majority of unsheltered New Yorkers surveyed had in fact tried the municipal shelter system and reported that it did not meet their needs.3
Furthermore, many unsheltered New Yorkers are understandably wary of engaging with outreach team members because they have been disappointed by prior experiences, or see them as collaborating with the police, who are often lingering nearby if not standing immediately beside outreach workers. It usually takes multiple engagements to build trust with people who have been repeatedly failed by the systems that are purportedly there to help them.
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