Iowa’s Demonstration Project (Grant)

Iowa is one of two states in the country to receive the funding for this category of demonstration project from the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration through June 30, 2011.

Our definition of layoff aversion... a getting ahead of the curve project

Layoff Aversion involves a continuum of services:

1. Assisting communities in better assisting employers in preventing layoffs and enhancing the value of workers in their current jobs.
2. Working with employers to avert or minimize layoffs by assisting them in accessing funding, services and other appropriate resources through public agencies.
3. Assisting those workers who have been laid off by shortening the length of time before they start working their next job.

Iowa’s Goals:

1. To develop an “early warning system” for tracking declining industries and businesses in Iowa that is replicable in other workforce agencies and is sustainable beyond the grant funding of 2011.
2. To enhance the value of Iowa’s workers in their current jobs while positioning them to acquire the skills upgrading necessary for global competiveness of Iowa’s businesses and industries.
3. To develop a regional system of community partners including state and local government, economic development and businesses, community health and social service organizations and faith-based communities to strategically deploy regional assets to support industry transformation and workers to ensure successful transitions into new occupations and industries.

Iowa’s Deliverables in Collaboration with Our Partners:

1. Development of a Community Layoff and Crisis Response Manual.
2. Completion of Asset Maps in Iowa’s Regions.
3. Development of Iowa’s Early Warning System and Dashboard.
4. Establishment of the Iowa Regional Innovation Grantee Consortium.
5. Development of an Iowa Peer-to Peer Business Network.
6. Creation of a replication model to be disseminated to other workforce agencies.