Texas Workforce Commission 2011 Annual Report

…with assistance in times of disaster
During fiscal year 2011, Texas residents were affected by two major natural disaster events that had severe
impacts to several local communities. Presidential disaster declarations resulting from Hurricane Alex in
summer 2010 and from the wildfires of summer 2011 meant that residents from 32 Texas counties were
eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance. TWC worked with Workforce Solutions offices in these areas
to reach out to assist those whose employment or self-employment was lost or interrupted as a result of
these disasters. Mobile workforce units were dispatched to disaster locations to assist with these efforts. In
addition, TWC applied for and received National Emergency Grants for areas affected by both disasters from
the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to fund temporary jobs needed to assist victims of the catastrophic
events. Texas counties received $5.8 million in assistance from flooding that resulted from Hurricane Alex and
$1.4 million for the counties affected by the wildfires.
SERVING OUR COMMUNITIES
Program Highlight:
National Emergency Grant
Putting Texans to Work
In response to the flood caused by Hurricane Alex in
2010, Workforce Solutions for South Texas (South Texas)
collaborated with the TWC, Staff Connection, and the City
of Laredo on a National Emergency Grant project to restore
Laredo’s public parks. Eighteen people were employed fulltime,
earning approximately $8 an hour over 24 weeks,
returning more than $150,000 to the local economy. The
restored city parks will provide many years of enjoyment and
wellness opportunities to the community.
…by promoting economic development
collaborations
The TWC Office of Employer Initiatives works closely with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development
and Tourism, the Texas Workforce Investment Council, and other state and local economic development
groups to promote the development of a well-educated, highly skilled workforce for Texas. These efforts
are closely aligned with the findings of Texas Industry Cluster Initiative and the Governor’s Competitiveness
Council, which spoke to the need for collaboration and regional approaches to economic development and
customized training. FY 2011 saw the beginning of the process to update the Texas Industry Cluster Initiative
and the Governor’s Competitiveness Council to evaluate progress and recommend future direction. One
effort involved collaborations between the Johnson Space Center and private industry at The Innovation and
Successful Partnerships Summit. The summit addressed ways to leverage the transfer of technology from
NASA to private industry partners and has resulted in innovative collaboration among industry, the Houston
Technology Center, and the Johnson Space Center in an effort to transition displaced aerospace workers
to other industries. This served to facilitate the transfer of technology from Johnson Space Center to other
Texas cluster industries, and to establish a business incubator and accelerator at the Johnson Space Center.
20 2011 Texas Workforce Commission Annual Report