The EPA has selected the City of Richmond for an Environmental Workforce Development and Job Training Grant, one of just 21 grants nationwide, and the only program award made in the state of California. The program will train a total of 68 participants, with the goal of placing 60 into full- time employment. Recruitment for the program will focus on low-income, minority city residents who are unemployed or underemployed. The training program will consist of five 250-hour training cycles that will include OSHA- certified Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response training, underground storage tank leak prevention awareness, lead and mold abatement, and construction skills and green building standards. The strong relationships that Richmond’s Employment and Training Department has with industry employers and construction companies support the placement of graduates in environmental jobs. Richmond also has local First-Source hiring incentives in place with businesses that contract with the City that will further increase employment opportunities for local workers.

At the press conference in Atlanta on July 12th to announce the award, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson stated: “These job training grants are not just helping to create good jobs, they’re helping create good, green jobs that protect the health of local families and residents and prepare communities for continued economic growth. We’re looking to the people and community organizations who know these areas best to find the places where green jobs and environmental protection are going to do the most good. Creating good green jobs proves that we don’t have to choose between cleaning up our air and our water or creating jobs in our communities. We’re showing that it’s possible to do both at the same time.”

The Glen Price Group was pleased to have the opportunity to work with the Employment and Training Department of the City of Richmond to prepare this application.

The California Department of Education unveiled a new mission on June 22, 2011 as part of its ongoing institutional development work which the Glen Price Group has been proud to assist with.

See: http://www.cde.ca.gov/index.asp

The new mission builds on the work of Superintendent Tom Torlakson’s Transition Advisory Team and significant input from CDE staff and stakeholders.

The Richmond WIB, in partnership with the Workforce Development Board of Contra Costa County, has received a grant award of $500,000 from the California Employment Development Department to develop a youth career technical education program in west Contra Costa County, one of just six awards made statewide. The Glen Price Group was pleased to have the opportunity to provide proposal development services for this exciting program.

The West Contra Costa Youth Career Technical Education Partnership (WCC-YCTE) will serve at-risk youth, ages 16 to 24, addressing the significant need for education, training and employment opportunities for youth and young adults in West Contra Costa County. Participants will engage in a tightly integrated program that includes assessment, education, training in a range of industry sectors (construction, health care, hospitality, and transportation), paid work experience, and placement in unsubsidized employment. Contra Costa College CTE Counselors will provide guidance on career options and training opportunities. Industry employers will also play a central role, by providing a setting in which WCC-YCTE participants can learn the skills needed for success.

In announcing the award, Pam Harris, Chief Deputy Director of the EDD stated: “Youth unemployment is an escalating problem in California and many young adults lack the skills to compete in today’s competitive labor market. By connecting the workplace with the classroom, CTE provides work experience and pre-apprenticeships to give these young adults more marketable skills to secure their futures.”

View the link to the California Employment Development Department press release announcing the grant awards.

The Glen Price Group would like to congratulate the University of California, Cooperative Extension (UCCE) for submitting a successful proposal for a $702,000 grant to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Program!

UCCE developed and submitted the AGROpreneurship Program, A Collaborative Model for Diversifying and Strengthening Beginning Farmers and Ranchers in partnership with the Santa Rosa Junior College the County of Sonoma, FarmLink, Health Action, and Latino Service Providers. The AGROpreneurship Program directly addresses three of the most significant barriers to beginning and sustaining successful farming and ranching businesses in Sonoma County:

1. Obtaining directly relevant business skills and training;
2. Gaining relevant work experience with farming and ranching production and business management; and
3. Obtaining access to land and financing.

By building upon existing training systems and curricula specifically created for this purpose, AGROpreneurship will create a business training and mentorship program that helps Sonoma County participants gain the full range of technical and management skills needed to start successful farming and ranching businesses.

This program is an amazing opportunity to address the training needs of beginning ranchers and farmers in Sonoma County and directly aligns with the County’s farsighted community health improvement effort, Health Action.

The Glen Price Group is proud to congratulate the Solano County Office of Family Violence Prevention, and all its partners, on the conclusion of its strategic planning and the soft launch of co-located services as the Solano Family Justice Center!

After many years of gathering community support, close to 18 months of intensive strategic planning meetings, and over 1.3 million dollars in funds raised, the SFJC is now providing badly needed, coordinated services to victims and families who are experiencing domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and child abuse. This represents a major step towards ensuring all victims and families in Solano County are able to access all of the legal support and social services they need to escape the cycle of violence in their lives.

It was great to see the support and commitment from so many community leaders and elected officials at the launch! The event had over 60 participants, including:

• A Representative from Senator Wolk’s Office;
• A Representative from Assembly Member Yamada’s Office;
• District 1 Supervisor Barbara Kondylis;
• Solano County Sheriff Gary Stanton;
• Vacaville Police Department Chief Richard Word; and
• Solano County District Attorney Don du Bain.

It was a pleasure to participate in this special day!

The Glen Price Group is pleased to be supporting California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s Transition Advisory Team, working in conjunction with a 52-member body that includes educators, labor, and business leaders. For more information see the California Department of Education News Release.