By Kevin Lavery, WKAR
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-910129.mp3
LANSING, MI –
Federal funding cuts in the next fiscal year will mean fewer Michigan residents will be able to enroll in the state's No Worker Left Behind program.
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Since the program began in 2007, more than 130,000 people have taken advantage of job retraining. But in the last two years, the state's share of federal dollars has shrunk by $72-million. Andy Levin is deputy director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth. He says most of the funding that takes effect July 1 will pay to help existing enrollees finish their training:
"So, we're going to be able to put less new people into training," he says. "We're going to absolutely continue the training of everybody who's already in, people who are already on the wait list as of June 28 will all be accommodated."
The statewide waiting list for No Worker Left Behind will be eliminated. Instead, Levin says, the 25 individual Michigan Works offices will announce to their own communities when funds are available for new enrollees.