AG 2002 10 21 (Regular) - Laserfiche WebLink

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I. Conditions within the County II. Families on Work First in Cabarrus County are experiencing problems that were not surfacing during the previous planning period. Since the gradual economic decline in 2002, and the rapid drop following 9/11, the unemployment rate has increased causing more difficulty for those families who have the least job experience, most undesirable work records, and are most at risk for welfare dependency. With an unemployment rate of 4.1% in June of 200 i, it peaked in January 2002 at 6.1%. The July 2002 rate is currently at 5.7%, down somewhat, but still higher than Cabarms County has experienced in recent years (Source: Centralina Workforce Development Board). The current population of the county is 131,063 (Source: 2000 Census), and it is experiencing rapid growth. This being coupled with several layoffs, closings, and downsizing by industries in the county have caused the Work First population to suffer. They have, so far, been able to secure jobs, through the New Focus diversion program, but have not been able to secure the best paying jobs. The influx into the job market by experienced steady workers, who are unemployed, has caused employers who are hiring to turn to them, rather than the sometimes unknown faCtor in hiring Work First recipients. One of the larger employers in the county, Pillowtex, which has hired Work First recipients in the past, has been under bankruptcy, and is only presently coming out from under that. Corning has experienced devastating layoffs this past year, and the impact on the job market from their layoffs has caused the Work First recipients to once again be at the "bottom of the heap". As of August 1, 2002, the Work First population in Cabarrus County was 272, with 203 of these being child-only cases. The adult caseload totaled 69, and only 15 of this number were able-bodied. If the economy does not improve rapidly during the next several months, and high unemployment rates drag on into 2003, it will be our task as the administrators of the Work First program to work toward better preparation of recipients, through education, training, and social work support. This will be necessary to not only keep afloat with our Work First population, but to even make inroads into further reductions in the adult population on Work First. We in Cabarrus County have faced greater challenges. In 1995, we had a Work First population of 1,013. As of August 2002, it is at 272, a 73.15% decrease. Planning Process A. Planning Committee In order to assure the best community input possible, we have put together a planning committee to make sure that our Work First Plan is scrutinized by experts in their field. We not only want to make sure that the plan is the best 3