US Department of Labor awards $1M to continue to support disaster-relief jobs, training to assist Michigan’s opioid crisis response

WASHINGTON – To support efforts to address Michigan’s continuing opioid crisis, the U.S. Department of Labor today announced an incremental award of $1,025,221 for the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to fund employment and training services and disaster-relief jobs for workers in 24 of the state’s counties.

The National Dislocated Worker Grant funding will enable Michigan to continue to address the opioid crisis’ harmful effects on the region’s workforce and train eligible individuals for life coach disaster-relief positions.

The Michigan Overdose Data to Action reports that emergency medical services responses to probable opioid overdoses increased 9.3 percent from 2020 to 2021, a year after the state saw an 18.8 percent increase from 2019 to 2020.

In March 2021, the department awarded a grant of up to $3,075,661 to Michigan, with an initial award of $1,025,220. In January 2023, the department announced a second incremental award of $1,025,220. With today’s announcement, the total awarded for the project is $3,075,661.

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

Administered by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, and supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants provide funding to states and local communities to increase their ability to serve dislocated workers after large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.