Located in:
- Program-specific Requirements for Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth Activities under Title I-B
The Unified or Combined State Plan must include the following with respect to activities carried out under subtitle B--
a. 2. C. In Addition, Describe the State Policies and Procedures to Provide Rapid Responses in Cases of Natural Disasters Including Coordination with Fema and Other Entities.
Current Narrative:
In the case of a disaster announcement, workforce services and recovery efforts are coordinated with FEMA, American Red Cross, and other community agencies. Rapid Response staff assists in the identification of businesses adversely affected and workers who lost jobs as a result of the disaster. Information is disseminated on disaster unemployment assistance and reemployment services available. Relevant to public assistance declarations, staff coordinates with local areas to determine if applying for a National Dislocated Worker Grant is needed to secure additional funding for cleanup and/or humanitarian efforts. During a flooding event that was one of the costliest disasters in Indiana, DWD developed a Technical Assistance Bulletin (TAB 2008-01) that created procedures and guidance for a National Emergency Grant (NEG). The Rapid Response Team participated in regional and local area meetings to provide information on filing disaster unemployment claims and workforce services available to both businesses and workers affected by the flood. Indiana utilized the NEG to create temporary jobs (disaster relief employment) to assist in the cleanup and restoration efforts as a result of the disaster. These jobs also included working on projects that provide food, clothing, shelter, and other humanitarian assistance for the disaster victims. Additional outreach was conducted at local area shelters, providing the following information and services to flood victims:
- Disaster Unemployment Assistance/UI claims filing
- Referrals to FEMA to file claims
- Job matching
- Referrals to partner agencies.