US Department of Labor awards $985K to Washington State to continue employment, training services to combat the state’s opioid crisis

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $985,474 to the Washington State Department of Employment Security to support its continued efforts to provide temporary jobs and employment and training services for eligible individuals in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Thurston counties.

In December 2021, the department awarded an Opioid Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $1,785,474, with an initial award of $800,000, to support the state’s efforts to confront the opioid crisis’ effects on workers in the region, and to place people in peer navigator disaster-relief positions. With today’s funding, the department has awarded the full approved amount of $1,785,474.

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

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, Opioid Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants are administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration and create temporary jobs as well as provide employment and training services to reintegrate workers affected by the opioid crisis back into the workforce.