Secure Jobs Advisory Committee Meeting Minutes
September 22, 2015
In attendance: Debbie Bellucci, STCC, Ashley Brehm, HAPHousing, Bud Delphin, CareerPoint, Ken Demers, BerkshireWorks, Deb Leonczyk, Berkshire Community Action Council, Madeline Martinez, HAPHousing, Johnny Miranda, HAPHousing, George Ryan, Hampden County Employment Board, Pamela Schwartz, Network, Pamela Wojtkowski, BerkshireWorks
Monthly Report: Click here for August report to DHCD. We will work on getting more up-to-date numbers timed for our meeting (the numbers have increased markedly, especially for Berkshire County, since this report was issued). Also in process with Ashley’s assistance is converting the DHCD report to a more user-friendly, visual display of our progress.
We also agreed it would be useful to look at the data broken out by sub-region, i.e., Hampden, Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire, so we can understand what is happening in each area. Ashley will have more of that information for us at the next meeting.
Program Updates: HAP has just posted for a new position of job developer, creating an in-house position to support Secure Jobs participants. The partnership with the Career Center will continue, but its role will shift once the new job developer comes on board.
HAP is also opening a new office site in Holyoke, which will be the home base for Secure Jobs.
Franklin County continues to experience a lack of referrals. The criteria of “ready, willing and able” is difficult to meet (Ashley shared that this challenge was raised in the statewide meeting the previous day). If we consider a reallocation of resources, the consensus is that we should look at shifting dollars towards child care costs since this is frequently the largest barrier facing families in their job search. Franklin Hampshire Career Center and HAP have a meeting scheduled in October to discuss the program and we will continue our advisory discussions after their conversation.
Next meeting:
Wednesday, 10/28
2 pm – 3 pm
HCC (exact space to be determined)
