Section 2660.40  Eligible Grant Program Activities

The Department shall make grant awards to Eligible Entities as described in this Part, contingent on available funds. The grants shall be made to support one or more of the following activities as permitted by the applicable Notice of Funding Opportunity:

a)         Creating and funding customized training with employers to support, train, and employ individuals in the Target Population.

b)         Coordinating partnerships between Eligible Entities, employers or industry associations, and educational entities, to develop and operate regional or local strategies for target industries. These strategies must be part of a career pathway for in-demand occupations that result in certifications or credentials for individuals in the Target Population.

c)         Leveraging Barrier Reduction Funding to provide assistance (e.g. transportation, child care, mental health services, substance abuse services, and income support) for individuals in the Target Population, including Youth participants in workforce development programs to assist with a transition to post-secondary education or full-time employment and a career.

d)         Establishing policies for resource and service coordination and to provide funding for services that attempt to reduce employment barriers such as housing-related expenses (rent, utilities, etc.), child care, digital technology needs, counseling, relief from fines and fees, education needs, and work-related supplies that are not typically covered by programmatic supportive services.

e)         Developing work-based learning and transitional job training programs with employers to support low-income individuals in the Target Population including youth that require on-the-job experience to gain employability skills, work history, and a network to enter the workforce.

f)         Using funding for participant outreach, case management support, training, subsidies for employee wages, and grants to Eligible Entities in each region designated in the State's WIOA Unified Plan, as feasible, to administer transitional job training programs. [20 ILCS 605-415(c)]

g)         Assisting in building the capacity of private nonprofit organizations to provide job training services by providing technical assistance or forming partnerships with more established Eligible Entities through subawards or subcontracts of Job Training and Economic Development Grants.