The U.S. Department of Labor has allocated an additional $700,000 in grant funding to support ongoing employment and training services for Georgia residents impacted by Hurricane Debby. The hurricane made landfall on August 5, 2024, as a Category 1 storm near Steinhatchee, Florida, before moving through southeast Georgia as a tropical storm. It caused significant damage to infrastructure, including road blockages and the destruction of public facilities, which hindered access to local businesses.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued an emergency declaration for several counties in Georgia, allowing the state to request federal recovery assistance. The affected counties include Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Candler, Chatham, Colquitt, Decatur, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glynn, Grady, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Laurens, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Mitchell, Montgomery, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift Toombs Treutlen Wayne Wheeler Wilcox and Worth.
In response to the disaster's impact on employment in these areas https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/dislocated-workers/grants/georgia-hurricane-debby-2024 the department had previously announced a National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $1.5 million. Initially awarding $800K to the Technical College System of Georgia https://www.tcsg.edu/, today's announcement completes the full allocation of approved funds.
This Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant enables the Technical College System of Georgia to offer temporary jobs focused on cleanup and recovery efforts while providing employment and training services to eligible participants in the affected communities. These grants are supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 https://www.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/house-bill/803/text and aim to temporarily expand service capacity in response to large-scale economic disruptions leading to job losses.
Information from this article can be found here.
