Title
Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity AZQUEST Grant (Ordinance S-49218)
Description
Request to authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to enter into an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) and accept up to $6 million to administer the Arizona Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy, and Training (AZQUEST) Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant in Phoenix. Further request authorization to enter into a separate IGA with the Maricopa County Community College District (Maricopa Community Colleges) to implement the AZQUEST training and authorization for the City Treasurer to accept and the City Controller to disburse funds related to this item.
Report
Summary
The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) Employment and Training Administration issued $199 million in Quality Jobs, Equity, Strategy, and Training (QUEST) Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants to provide employment and training services to individuals and industries impacted by COVID-19. For these grants, OEO designed the AZQUEST program in partnership with staff from the City of Phoenix Business and Workforce Development (PBWD) Board in the Community and Economic Development Department and other local workforce area boards and was subsequently awarded a two-year $15 million QUEST grant. With its allocation of AZQUEST funding, the City of Phoenix Local Workforce Area will provide more than 900 eligible participants with tuition assistance at Maricopa Community Colleges, stipends to cover non-training expenses, and support services, and will fund administrative costs for managing the program. To assist with the implementation of this program, this request includes authorization to fund one full-time temporary Accountant II and the equivalent of one full-time Case Worker II, that may be filled as temporary full-time City staff positions or through the City's contracted employment services providers. AZQUEST grant dollars will also be used to pay 10 percent of the costs associated with the full-time Workforce Development Supervisor who will oversee this program.
The goal of the AZQUEST program is to enable individuals who have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the social and economic inequities that the pandemic exacerbated, to enter, return to, or advance in high-quality jobs in growth industries/infrastructure-related sectors, including manufacturing, construction, communications, transportation, distribution, and logistics. The program will serve individuals whose employment has been negatively impacted by the pandemic, including individuals from historically marginalized and under-served populations who have been disproportionately impacted. These include women, immigrants, lower-wage earners, people of color, people with disabilities, individuals who were formerly incarcerated, and others from historically marginalized communities that are more likely to face unsafe working conditions, be laid off, or forced to leave the workforce to protect the health and safety of themselves or care for family members.
This project supports and leverages Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) grant funding, which is supported by the USDOL. The long-term sustainability plan for AZQUEST is to integrate this service delivery model with the City's existing dislocated worker programs, for which the PBWD Board contracts with the Business and Workforce Development Division of the Human Services Department (HSD), to continue building an industry pipeline to meet businesses’ post COVID-19 employment and hiring needs.
Procurement Information
IGAs are excluded from the Procurement Code per Administrative Regulation 3.10 Section I (2) (B) (2).
Contract Term
If approved, the contract term will be for two years: September 2022-24.
Financial Impact
No impact to the General Fund. OEO and WIOA grant funding will be used for this program.
Public Outreach
The PBWD Board approved the receipt of these funds at its Nov. 10 meeting.
Department
Responsible Department
This is submitted by Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer and the Community and Economic Development Department.