(30 ILCS 787/15)
Sec. 15. Use of Fund.
(a) Role of Fund. Subject to appropriation, resources from the Fund are intended to be used flexibly to support innovative and locally-driven strategies, to leverage other funding sources, and to fill gaps in existing workforce development resources in Illinois. They are not intended to supplant existing workforce development resources.
(b) Distribution of funds. Funds shall be distributed through competitive grantmaking processes administered by the Department and overseen by the Advisory Committee. No more than 6% of funds used for grants may be retained by the Department for administrative costs or for program evaluation or technical assistance activities.
(c) Grantmaking. The Department must administer funds through competitive grantmaking in accordance with the priorities described in this Act. Grantmaking must be used to support workforce development strategies consistent with the priorities outlined in this Act. Strategies may include, but are not limited to the following:
(i) Expanded grantmaking for existing State
workforce development strategies, including the Job Training and Economic Development Program and programs designed to increase the number of persons traditionally underrepresented in the building trades, specifically minorities and women.
(ii) Workforce development initiatives that help the
least skilled adults access employment and education opportunities, including transitional jobs programs and educational bridge programming that integrate basic education and occupational skills training.
(iii) Sectoral strategies that develop
industry-specific workforce education and training services that lead to existing or expected jobs with identified employers and that include services to ensure that low-income, low-skilled adults can be served.
(iv) Support for the development and implementation
of workforce education and training programs in the energy efficiency, renewable energy, and pollution control cleanup and prevention industries.
(v) Support for planning activities that: ensure
that workforce development and education needs of low-skilled adults are integrated into industry-specific career pathways; analyze labor market data to track workforce trends in the State's energy-related initiatives; or increase the capacity of communities to provide workforce services to low-income, low-skilled adults.
(d) Allowable expenditures. Grant funds are limited to expenditures for the following:
(i) Basic skills training, adult education,
occupational training, job readiness training, and soft-skills training for which financial aid is otherwise not available.
(ii) Workforce development-related services including
mentoring, job development, support services, transportation assistance, and wage subsidies, that are tied to participation in training and employment.
(iii) Capacity building, program development, and
technical assistance activities necessary for the development and implementation of new workforce education and training strategies.
No more than 5% of any grant may be used for administrative costs.
(e) Eligible applicants. For grants under this Section, eligible applicants include the following:
(i) Any private, public, and non-profit entities that
provide education, training, and workforce development services to low-income individuals.
(ii) Educational institutions.
(iii) Labor and business associations.
(Source: P.A. 96-771, eff. 8-28-09; 97-581, eff. 8-26-11.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015