FREEHOLDERS CALL ON WASHINGTON TO RESCIND CUTS TO THE COUNTY’S WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD
WITH THE COUNTY’S Workforce Investment Board facing a 20 percent cut in federal funding, the Ocean County Board of
Chosen Freeholders is calling on Congress to restore full funding for the important program.
“This $500,000 cut is completely counterproductive,” Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari said. “By reducing the
opportunities our residents have for job training, we run the risk of adding more people to the unemployment and
welfare rolls.”
The Freeholders will send a resolution to New Jersey’s Congressional delegation asking that full funding be restored
to the Workforce Investment Board, which operates the Ocean County One-Stop Career Center.
With the national economy on a downswing, Vicari said the programs offered at the One-Stop Center are more important
than ever before.
“We can’t have the federal government telling us that programs are going to be reduced at the very time when the need
has increased,” he said.
Vicari said the One-Stop Center helps up to 12,000 county residents each year search for a job.
Services available range from computer training, literacy assistance and resume writing to workshops offering labor
market information.
A resource room is also available with access to computer and printers, the Internet, telephones, copies and fax
machines.
All of the One-Stop Center resources are available free of charge to county residents.
Special programs are available for veterans, senior citizens and disabled residents.
Vicari said that if the funding is not restored, reductions will have to made to some programs.
“We have a very diverse work force in Ocean County,” he said. “The key to economic stimulus is to give someone a job
in the private sector. All we’re asking for is the continuation of what we have received.”
The One-Stop Center is located at 1959 Route 9 in Toms River. A second facility, at 1027 Hooper Avenue in Toms River
offers help with resume writing and other assistance.
More information about the Workforce Investment Board is available at www.co.ocean.nj.us/ocdhs/index.
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