US Department of Labor awards $1.6M in incremental funding to continue employment, training services to combat Connecticut’s opioid crisis

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a $1.6 million incremental funding award to the Connecticut Department of Labor to support job creation and workforce training services in eight communities affected significantly by widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose.

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, the funding is part of a $4.8 million National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker Grant awarded in September 2019 to the state’s Department of Labor.

The grant supports disaster-relief employment and retraining in skilled professions that address the causes and treatment of the opioid crisis. It will serve eligible individuals in Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, Tolland and Windham counties.

In 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency. In response, ETA launched a multi-year approach using grant funds to combat the crisis’ economic and workforce impacts and encouraging more individuals to enter professions that could help address the crisis.

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