The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is providing $71 million in grants for education, job-training and employment assistance to American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, groups that have historically been underserved, the DOL announced recently.
The funding will underwrite more than 165 grants, from $20,000 to $6 million, for Indian and Native American programs in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, DOL reports in the March 22 announcement. Services provided by the grants include education, occupational-skills training and job-search assistance to prepare persons in these groups to secure well-paying jobs. American Indians and Alaska Natives have struggled with lower levels of education, which creates higher levels of unemployment and poverty than other groups, according to the DOL.
“Once awarded, the grants funded by the Department of Labor’s Indian and Native American programs will deliver resources straight to the organizations – tribal organizations and the tribes themselves – who can best serve their communities,” U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh said in the announcement.
The $71 million will be divided between adult and youth programs, with $57 million going to employment and job-training for adults and $14 million for Native American youth who live on or near reservations in Oklahoma, Alaska and Hawaii, the DOL reports. A funding formula for all geographic areas in the U.S. will determine grant amounts, according to the announcement.
Federally recognized Indian tribes and their organizations, organizations controlled by Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and American Indians that serve these groups are eligible to apply for these grants, the DOL states in the announcement.
“These grants will empower American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians as they enter or return to the workforce," Walsh said in the announcement, "by ensuring these communities have access to the education, job-search assistance and skills training they need get on their way to providing a secure future for their families.”
