US Department of Labor awards more than $18M in grants to address disparities in delivery of unemployment benefits, services in 7 states

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of more than $18 million in competitive grant funding to help workers in Maine, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin understand the application process for claiming and receiving unemployment benefits and related services.

The state grants are funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, and will support efforts by partner organizations to reduce disparities in unemployment benefits and services in the seven states.

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, ARPA Unemployment Insurance Navigator grants will allow community partners in each state to conduct outreach and provide resources and training to marginalized communities, with an emphasis on the following groups who have experienced disparate access to benefits and services:

• Women
• Racial and ethnic minorities, including Blacks, Hispanics, American Indian and Native Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Indigenous Persons.
• Individuals with disabilities, those with limited English proficiency, formerly incarcerated individuals, low-wage earners, and individuals living in rural areas.
• Members of religious minorities.
• LGTBQI+ individuals.

On Jan. 31, 2022, the department announced funding availability of up to $15 million in state navigator grants to improve delivery of UI benefits. ETA identified additional funds and reallocated the supplemental funding to be used for Navigator Grants, increasing the total available funding to more than $18 million. The department awarded each state the full amount requested.  

A list of the UI Navigator Program Grant recipients and funding amounts follows:

Recipient

Amount

Maine Department of Labor

$2,997,237 

New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions

$2,801,230 

Oklahoma Employment Security Commission

$227,038

Oregon Employment Department

$3,000,000 

Pennsylvania Department of Labor

$3,000,000 

Washington Employment Security Department

$3,000,000 

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development

$3,000,000 

Total

$18,025,505