U.S. Department of Labor Provides National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker Grant to Combat Opioid Crisis in the Cherokee Nation

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an opioid-crisis Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) to the Cherokee Nation for up to $5,996,501, with an initial grant amount of $1,998,834. This grant will provide disaster relief jobs and employment services to eligible individuals in Oklahoma counties impacted by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction, and overdose.  

The grant will assist in providing eligible participants with disaster relief employment in jobs addressing the impacts of the opioid crisis, including peer recovery navigators and support staff for nine Cherokee Nation Behavioral Health outpatient clinics. It will also provide employment services to participants seeking careers in healthcare professions related to addiction, treatment, prevention, and pain management. The state anticipates serving participants in 14 Oklahoma counties included in the tribal nation jurisdiction: Adair, Cherokee, Craig, Delaware, Mayes, McIntosh, Muskogee, Nowata, Ottawa, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner, and Washington.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency in October 2017, and renewed in January 2018, enabling the Cherokee Nation to request this DWG funding. 

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.