Future Sources of Job Training to Keep an Eye On

A story in the Toledo Blade the other day caught my eye.  It was the announcement that a regional education institution, Northwest State Community College $5 million grant to retrain workers in information technology, and that eventually it would train about 300 people. The program will cover 17 counties (you might want to check with Northwest State to see if your county is one of them).   That's a pretty small fraction of the people in northwest Ohio who need such training, but how do they get it?  This is the story of how "all that grant money" for re-education gets spent, and the detective work required to get it.

Let's read the article closely. It says that NSCC was one of 43 partnerships in 28 states to snag this particular grant, funded by fees charged by the Department of Labor to employers who import workers for their positions.  That means there's more grants out there for other retraining programs in other parts of the country.  But where?  Here's where.  The Department of Labor's press release gives the name of the other grant recipients, where they are and the target of their retraining spending.  One of them is Ohio University, which says the funding will go to health professional training. Another is River Valley Community College in New Hampshire, with an interest in manufacturing training and setting up people in apprenticeship programs. If you live in one of these places, this money may be coming down the pike soon.  Knowing the name of the instituion makes it easier to use google, or www.news.google.com for more announcement information, since it's likely that your local newspaper will run a story, or local congressman or senator will make an announcement.  Now you know which institutions will have programs, and may get some background on how the program will take shape in your area. All the institutions getting the grants are different, and so are their goals. 

Let's read further.  It says in the Blade story that NSCC will be working with WSOS and some other northwest Ohio institutions, and that WSOS will be helping select some of the students.  If you live in the WSOS area (Wood, Sandusky, Ottawa, or Seneca counties), you might want to check with them, and sign up for their employment programs, if possible, and ask if this will help you get on a waiting list for the new program. It may or may not, but you should be hooked up with whatever one-stop shop employment bureau is in your area.  In Toledo, it's the Source. It says that they are not picking people right away--they will need time to set up the program--but that you should check their website regularly for announcements.  That seems like a good idea.  Finding grants to recareer is like catching a train.  You need to be in the right place waiting for it when it comes around.

Finding Aid for Refugees

There was a previous posting about the urban legend of the availability of lots of cash for immigrants to America.  While immigrants build their businesses by working hard and investing in business first and consumer stuff after they make the money, there does exist a variety of help for refugees to the United States.
local ethnic self-sufficiency groups

Who are “refugees?”  According to U.S. law, a refugee: “is a person who is outside his or her country of nationality or of last habitual residence and faces in his or her own country “persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion.”  This now includes people victimized by human trafficking.  The programs that help these people are funded by the federal government, but to find where to get assistance, you have to find the state and local organizations who receive grants from the HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, who in turn provide services.  Here’s a map of state and local agencies that provide coordination forservices like health care, translation, services for elderly refugees, andindividual development accounts.  

In addition, there’s a page thatoutlines various refugee services to be financed by the federal government.  These are meant to be a source of information for nonprofits and local agencies who might want to apply for a grant.  However, if you are an individual in need of assistance, or know someone who is, go to the bottom of each page and see if they have a list of current grant recipients.  These will be local organizations that provide the federally funded service, and these are the people you want to contact.  These include lists of providers of microenterprise assistance (helping refugees find funding and technical assistance for business enterprises), and recipients of Wilson-Fish grant recipients (a federal program that emphasizes more flexible cash assistance and integration into the community), and a new microenterprise home based child care program.  Another program is RAP-P, the Refugee Agricultural Partnership Program, which helps establish refugees with successful farm businesses.  For more possible sources of assistance, see the National Immigrant Farming Initiative to find projects in your region.

The Place to Find SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) Information

SNAP (which was once known, and still is somewhat, as "food stamps"), can be confusing.  It's funded by the federal government, and has some federal rules, but also has state rules, too.  How do you find information about it?

Here's sort of Information Central: the USDA SNAP page.  It has terrific links, including links to each of the 32 states that have online applications.  They have a page that lists all the toll-free hotlines to the individual state's information, and links to each state's webpage of local SNAP application offices. 
Better yet, each state's page carries a list of advocacy groups that are willing to work with people, explain the in's and out's of eligibility, and give more information on how to get benefits.  There's also a webpage that allows you to put in your town, zip code, or even address, and give you a list of the nearest stores that accept SNAP.  You can use their online pre-screening tool to see if you are eligible for benefits in your state,  and follow their 10 steps to check your eligibility.  And if you just want to talk to a federal human being, the USDA hotline number for SNAP is 1-800-221-5689.


If you already receive SNAP benefits, 41 states and the District of Columbia also have online systems to check your account online, and the link is here.

A Short Hiatus

This blog will be taking a short break, due to the death of my mom, Lorraine Koss, yesterday.  Mom was 86, and her loving, opinionated self will be misssed.  For the last couple of years, she lived in Toledo, where she could follow the Game Show Network (we were warped enough to enjoy Jerry Springer's Baggage together), and the Detroit Tigers. Now she will go back to Detroit for good, and rest next to Dad.  I'll be back in action when chasing down cheap/free stuff seems more relevant. 

One-Stop Shop for Federal Loan Programs

Yes, we know that government loans don't give our regular readers the tingle up their leg that GRANTS do, but don't sell them short.  The governent may give you loans at a favorable rate, or guarantee a loan and make private lenders more willing to lend money.  And for students and former students, there's always the possibility of loan foregivenss.  So where do you find out about these things?

The feds have created a one-stop stop page that can lead you to federal loan programs for homeowners and buyers, farmers, business people, students, veterans, and disaster victims.  This is strictly federal,, and gives no information about, for instance, loan programs by states or localities.  But it has some interesting stuff.  For one thing, it has not only student loan programs, but loan forgiveness programs, like a student loan repayment programs for people doing research in AIDS for at least two years, or loan consolidation programs, and more.

They also have info on local funders who receive federal funds to provide business microloans (intermediaries).  And sometimes...they even have a grant in there, if the program is basically a loan. For instance, there's a loan from the Ag Department for low-income rural dwellers to fix up their house.  But for homeowners who are low-income and 62 or over, it becames a grant. 

And don't miss the "other resources" page. It's got tips on improving your credit, so that you  can get loans,  what information businesses should put in a loan application, how to find out if your business fits the definition of "small".  And tons more.    

Low-Cost Help for Bike Transportation

Cars are still the overwhelming transportation of choice for Americans, and lots of people are looking for financial help in obtaining cars.  But bicycle enthusiasts around the country are creating  community bicycle organizations, co-ops,  and other organizations providing low-cost help to people who want to transport themselves with bikes. 

What do these organizations, many of them staffed by volunteers, do?  Some provide low-cost bicycle rentals, or "bike sharing."  Some provide low-cost places and equipment to fix one's own bike, bike safety lessons for teens and kids, provide low-cost recycled bike parts for repair, or offer low-cost repaired, recycled bikes for sale, Some offer opportunities to learn how to fix your own bike, or allow you to "work off" the cost of bike or bike repairs by volunteering with the organization.  It depends on the organization.  Check with your local bike organization for its latest policies and projects.

 As usual, this blog spotlights Toledo and we'd like to put in a word for our very own Toledo City Bike Co-Op.  The co-op sells donated bikes that have been meticulously overhauled (starting at $75), or more simply repaired donated bikes (running between $20-$75),  They also provide access (for $5 an hour) to the DIY repairs shop, where you can access tools.  Also, if you volunteer to repair other bikes, you can get access to the shop for 1 hour for each hour of volunteer work that you donate.

Still Working the Economic Stimulus for Scams

Some scams are, in the words of an old Barbra Streisand song, ageless and evergreen.  In the current online issue of Recovery.gov, a newsletter on the spending associated with the federal Recovery Act, there's a warning about a possible scam that invokes the Recovery Act.  There's a form that people have been getting, promising that if they fill it out, they can get a $500 "stimulus payment."

How many layers of wrong are in this?  Firstly, the money involved in the Recovery Act that goes specifically to individuals went out years ago.  Secondly, the IRS doesn't generally reach out and tell people they are entitled to money.  Thirdly, is there a specific federal agency named in this letter?  No.  It throws around terms like "American" and "stimulus money."  And while they don't ask for money, they DO ask for your Social Security number, which makes you a sitting duck for identity theft.  This makes the scam artists who merely charge you money for useless "free money" information look positively benign by comparison.  This sounds very similar to an identity theft scam that rolled through Ohio a few years ago.  In that one, "Ohio Advantage" pretended to be a social service agency that was giving away money, but collected information for identity theft. 

Remember to NEVER give sensitive information like Social Security or bank account numbers unless you have initiated the contact, and check with the Better Business Bureau's website, inputting the name, phone number or website of the business.  In Ohio, you have the added advantage of checking the Attorney General's website for businesses that have had complaints.  But also, use your common sense--if it's too good to be true, it probably is.

Want Money for a Great Toledo Project? Get in the Soup!

Yes, I know there is no free money, unless there is.  I just heard about a new start-up effort to get (small amounts) of money to projects--either for OR non-profit--in the Toledo, Ohio area.  It's called Toledo Soup, and is the joint effort of some local area business folks.  It works like this: you submit a short proposal about why your project would be great for the Toledo area.  They are looking for a diversity of sources--arts, culture, small business, nonprofit, etc.  The submission must be by February 17th. 

Then, judges narrow down the entries, and if your entry is chosen, you come to a dinner hosted by  Toledo Soup on March 4th.  Attendees are charged $5 for admission, and they listen while submitters describe their project, and why it's worthy of funding.  Then the dinner attendees vote on the projects, and the one with the most votes gets the admission money so the amount depends on attendance.  It's not going to rival Donald Trump-type money, but might give you the cash to start--or finish--something that could be great for the Toledo area.  See their website if you want to apply, or if you want to attend an event and contribute to popular-democracy fund raising.