PRIVATE NOT-FOR-PROFIT COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS OR PUBLIC AGENCIES WITH EXPERIENCE IN PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION

Eligible organizations include private, not-for-profit community-based organizations or public agencies with experience in planning and community organizing. The lead agency may be a state or county health department, a health care provider or Article 28 licensed facility, a community foundation, a community-based organization (CBO), an AIDS services organization (ASO), or an incorporated nonprofit entity.

Applications will be accepted until September 25, 2007 at 5 PM in response to a Request for Applications (RFA) for lead agencies responsible for the programmatic, fiscal and administrative operations of regional Ryan White Part B HIV Care Networks.

The total annualized amount available for awards is $1.925 million in federal funds administered by Health Research, Inc. The funding will be allocated statewide. The contract period is five years, with annual renewals, subject to the availability of funds.

Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to submit a letter of interest by 5 PM on September 5, 2007. Letters of interest should be sent to: Georgette Beal, MHA, Director, Network Initiative, Bureau of Community Supportive Services, Department of Health, 90 Church St., 13th Fl., New York, NY 10007, e-mail: [email protected]

A copy of the RFA may be obtained from Georgette Beal at the address above and/or at Health Research Inc.'s website: www.hrinet.org/funding

NOT-FOR-PROFIT COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (CBOs) AND FAITH-BASED ORGANIZATIONS (FBOs) WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THAT IS THE FOCUS OF THE PROPOSAL AND THAT HAVE A DEMONSTRATED HISTORY OF PROVIDING SERVICES TO ADULT EX-OFFENDERS

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that at 2005 year-end, 172,558 individuals in New York State were on parole or probation. It was also reported that 95% of all individuals currently incarcerated will be released at some point and 80% of those will be released to parole supervision. The 2005 year-end report also showed that 62,743 individuals were in prison in New York State and another 30,000 in local correctional facilities.

The New York State Division of Parole reports that the parolee population is largely minority, poorly educated, underemployed and concentrated in urban New York. The Division further reports that 81% of parolees have service needs related to drug abuse, 54% related to alcohol abuse; 46% related to unemployment and 15% related to having only a grade school education. Those individuals on probation face similar issues. The challenge to local communities in meeting these needs is a great one.

Governor Eliot Spitzer and the New York State Workforce Investment Board are committed to reducing recidivism by providing comprehensive services to adult ex-offenders, increasing their employment opportunities and self-sufficiency, facilitating access to programs and services and facilitating links to the employer community. Individuals eligible to be served under this program are those that are 18 years old and older who have been convicted as an adult and imprisoned, or sentenced to probation and who have never been convicted of a violent or sex-related offense.

Approximately $3 million in statewide funds received under the Workforce Investment Act will be made available to not-for-profit CBOs and FBOs for this grant program. In the local areas served through this initiative, awardees will provide comprehensive and coordinated services to adult ex-offenders in the following three areas:

Employment: the goals in this category are job placement, job retention, and increased earnings potential. Awardees will offer job training and job placement services - including work-readiness, basic skills remediation, soft skills training, counseling, mentoring, work experience, case management, job placement or referral for job placement, and post-placement support — in coordination with business, local One-Stop Centers, educational institutions, and other employment providers. The applicant must provide educational services and hard skills training through vouchers or another mechanism of choice.

Housing: the goals in this category are finding satisfactory transitional and permanent housing. Funds are not currently available under this initiative to provide housing services for participants, but the grant will require that linkages be developed in the community to provide necessary housing services to participants.

Mentoring: Awardees will provide post-release mentoring and other services essential to reintegrating ex-offenders in coordination with the corrections, parole, and probation structure. Participating adult ex-offenders will be matched with appropriate mentors who will be primarily responsible for supporting the returnee in the community and the work place. Mentors will offer support, guidance, and assistance with the many challenges faced by ex-offenders. This may take the form of one-on-one and/or group contact and will occur both pre- and post-placement.

Local awardees will be primarily responsible for ensuring connections to and delivering services to program participants to achieve the main goals of long-term and meaningful employment, reduction of criminal involvement, adequate transitional housing, social connection, mental health and substance abuse counseling, and other wraparound support services as needed. Grant funds may not be used for substance abuse treatment services.

Contracts resulting from awards under this program will be twelve months in duration. Based on the availability of funds, NYSDOL reserves the right to renew awards for an additional one to two years. Any award must be expended on program activities in New York State.

For further information or to access the RFP and application: Log on to our web site at www.workforcenewyork.com or contact Andrew Gehr, Office of Program Development, at the above address or call (518) 457-0361

Please note that this is a change to the Notice of Availability of State and Federal Funds originally posted in the State Register on 7/18/07 for RFP #16-N, Strategies to Assist Workers Impacted by Berger Commission Mandates. The application due date has been changed to 9/14/07.

PUBLIC OR PRIVATE NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: HEALTH CARE FACILITY TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, HEALTH CARE WORKER UNIONS, AREA HEALTH EDUCATION CENTERS, UNION TRAINING FUNDS, LABOR MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE ORGANIZATIONS, AND REGIONAL CONSORTIUMS OF LOCAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARDS

The purpose of this RFP is to solicit proposals from organizations that have the ability to coordinate and provide placement services and short term training services on a regional basis for workers that will be or have already been displaced from their employment in health care facilities due to the recommendations contained in the Final Report of the Commission on Healthcare Facilities in the 21st Century aka the Berger Commission Report (BCM), which has since been enacted into law. The goal is to help these displaced workers become quickly re-absorbed into existing facilities throughout New York State's health care system or obtain other suitable employment available in the region.

Organizations selected under this RFP will coordinate and provide outreach, placement and training services for displaced workers from impacted facilities in one of the six regions identified in this RFP. These organizations will develop or have in place agreements with the individual facilities allowing them to gain direct access to the affected workers. Services to be provided may include a wide range of core (outreach, initial assessment, job search, job placement, etc.), intensive (case management, counseling, comprehensive assessment/testing, etc.), and training (occupational skills development, OJT, customized training) services aimed at helping the displaced worker return to employment as quickly as possible. Applicants will also work with employers in the region, seeking to connect displaced workers to available job openings in the health care system and outside the system and supporting any skills development and training needs identified by employers.

Governor Eliot Spitzer and the New York State Workforce Investment Board have reserved up to $15.0 million of Rapid Response and state level funds received under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to provide services to displaced workers from BCM impacted health care facilities under this RFP. Funding will be allotted by region with up to $2.5 million available in each of the six designated regions.

It is anticipated that one organization will be chosen per region to administer these services. Contracts developed with successful bidders will be for a period of eighteen months. No-cost extensions of up to six months may also be provided based on extenuating circumstances and at the Department's discretion.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate experience in coordinating and providing assessment, job placement, counseling, and short term training services for workers in a health care setting. Applicants must further demonstrate the ability to coordinate efforts with applicable local workforce development (One-Stop) systems in the region as well as the regional entity that has been selected to provide services through the Department of Health's (DOH) Displaced Healthcare Worker's Program. Applicants must demonstrate that planned services will enhance and increase services and outcomes for affected workers and will not duplicate or supplant existing resources and services.

For further information or to access the RFP: Log on to our web site at www.workforcenewyork.com or contact Timothy Hartnett, Office of Program Development at the above address, or call (518) 457-0361

Please note that this is a change to the Notice of Availability of State and Federal Funds originally posted in the State Register on 6/27/07 for RFP #12-N, VESL Programs. The application due date has been changed to 9/14/07.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE, BUSINESS ASSOCIATIONS, TRADE ASSOCIATIONS, EDUCATIONAL PROVIDERS, COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATIONS OR LOCAL WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARDS (LWIB)

The American workforce is changing and becoming more diverse, creating new challenges for employers, educators and the public workforce system. The influx of immigrant populations over the past two decades has significantly increased the need for language-related services throughout the workforce investment system. According to the 2000 Census data, over 2.3 million individuals in New York State speak English less than “very well”. In response to this need, the Department of Labor is piloting an initiative to determine if the employability and career advancement opportunities for individuals who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) can be improved through projects that provide Vocational English as a Second Language (VESL) in a contextualized setting in the workplace.

Applications must reflect a strategic partnership between the applicant, the Local Workforce Investment Board, participating businesses (for-profit and/or not for profit) and the education community to address workforce issues targeted to individuals who lack language proficiency skills.

This demonstration project is targeted to incumbent (employed) workers or new job entrants who are Limited English Proficient (LEP) (those who do not speak English as their primary language and who have a limited ability to read, speak, write, or understand English) and which impedes their ability to participate in occupational skills training necessary to be successful in the workplace and improve their economic self-sufficiency.

Up to $5.5 million of statewide funds will be made available under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) to support projects that demon- strate the positive impact of VESL programs on meeting the intertwined need of workers and businesses. Current plans are to issue approximately 11–15 grants for this project with a maximum award amount of $500,000 each and an attempt to distribute awards geographically throughout the state within the ten labor market regions: Capital District, Central New York, Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Mohawk Valley, New York City, North Country, Southern Tier and Western New York. All remaining funds will be awarded to the applications with the next highest passing score that are located in the region with the greatest need.

Contract payment will be on a reimbursable basis; contractors may be eligible for up to a 25% cash advance. Contractors must promptly submit vouchers for reimbursement of costs that have been incurred and paid in accordance with the approved budget.

The Department of Labor's Research and Statistics Division will perform an evaluation of the outcomes of these demonstration projects to validate the program model. It is expected that projects will be results-oriented and will document achievements in English literacy gains, employment retention, average earnings and wage progression. Curriculum and training models that prove successful will be shared with other LWIBs and businesses throughout the State.

RFP Release Date: 6/29/07

Applications Due to NYSDO: 9/14/07

For further information or to access the application: Log on to our web site at www.workforcenewyork.com, contact Department of Labor at the above address, or call (518) 457-0380