Oregon's State Workforce Agency received approximately $4.8 million in the Recovery Act for claimant re-employment services and is using these funds to re-engineer a comprehensive process known as the Claimant Reemployment (CRE) project.
The CRE is currently being field tested and when fully implemented, it is anticipated Oregon will be able to provide between 175,000 to 200,000 unemployment insurance claimants with re-employment services by Program Year 2010.
"Essentially, we have established a goal to provide all unattached claimants with re-employment services, which is a substantial increase over our current capacity," said Laurie Warner, Director, Oregon Employment Department.
The Claimant Reemployment project has three components:
Oregon's Re-employment Service Goals
The first component of the Claimant Re-employment project is Mainstreaming. Oregon is field testing a process that requires all unattached UI claimants to visit a WorkSource Oregon office soon after filing their initial unemployment claim.
"Previously, only about half of Oregon's UI claimants have been taking advantage of our one-stop career centers. With the economic downturn, that rose to about 70%. Now, with the Recovery Act funding, we were able to hire 45 new staff so all unattached UI claimants can learn about our resources, whether skills assessments, one-on-one advising, the iMatchSkills ® job bank, resume writing, and more," said Warner.
UI claimants are urged to take an initial skills assessment, known as WIN, and are required to register in the iMatchSkills system, an online job bank system that matches jobs seeker skills to current job openings and also maintains skills information for future matches.
"The iMatchSkills Web site at http://www.workinginoregon.org is very useful and many of our UI claimants are pleasantly surprised to learn how many skills they really have - we see case after case where candidates did not realize they possess skills that can easily transfer into other jobs," said Warner.
The second component of the Claimant Re-employment Project is "Fast Tracking" which focuses re-employment efforts on those UI claimants least likely to exhaust benefits and provide services that help them return to work earlier than they would have without assistance. Studies have shown that if an intensive focus is made on these new UI claimants, the likelihood of that person finding another position is greater than one who is more likely to exhaust his or her benefits.
WorkSource staff work with UI claimants who are not attached to any employer -- following up every few weeks to assist with job searches, resume writing, or provide other assistance as needed. The response by those being provided these follow up services has been overwhelmingly positive. By shortening the duration of unemployment claims, Oregonians benefit by returning to work sooner and the Unemployment Trust Fund benefits by having fewer demands on its resources.
UI claimants identified for Fast Tracking are contacted in the fifth week of their claim, and staff work with the claimant to update their iMatchSkills information, run matches for possible referrals and identify claimants needs and resources available to them to assist with job search activities. Notes from each contact are maintained in the iMatchSkills system, to subsequent contacts can follow up knowing what services have already been provided. Follow up occurs every three to four weeks throughout the duration of the claim.
The third component of Oregon's Claimant Re-employment process is skills development. While it is valuable to help clients return to sustainable work as soon as possible, it is also essential they access skill development and training opportunities to prepare for a higher wage and sustainable employment in the future. Claimants whose worker profile score indicates they are more likely to exhaust benefits are referred to the skills team for in-depth assessments, development of a training plan, and referral to training providers and funding sources.
"Helping someone back to immediate work only produces a short term benefit if that person is unemployed again in a matter of months," Warner said. "Our approach is to ensure the Skills Development Team is working to assure that clients are engaged during their work search with discussions about their future needs and how they will be best served by the many training opportunities available, some of which can be paid for with WIA or other funds. If additional training is needed, we work with our partner agency, Community Colleges and Workforce Development (CCWD), and local and regional Workforce Investment agencies to refer claimants to training opportunities. Some claimants need only to 'brush up' on computer skills or similar short term needs that can be met in our WorkSource Oregon offices; others clearly need longer term or more intensive training to move to sustainable jobs at higher wages. The reality for many claimants is that they need to both find a job quickly and develop their skills for their next job at the same time."
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