Opportunity Starts
Today!!
Workforce Solutions Brazos Valley
WOA/Choices Orientation
If you are not willing to learn,
then no one can help you.
If you are determined to learn,
then no one can stop you!
-Author Unknown
Equal Opportunity Statement
“The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) as
a recipient of Federal financial assistance
is prohibited from discriminating against any
individual in the United States,
on the basis of race, color, religion, sex,
national origin, age, disability, political
affiliation and belief”
Your One-Stop
Serves two customers
The Job Seeker
And
Businesses/Employers
Business Services
My Role
To assist employers by connecting them to
a trained and qualified workforce
 To motivate and assist you in your job
search and or career path

– Assess your skills
– Determine your interests
– Develop jobs
Your Role
To be a willing, hopeful and excited
participant
 To accept change
 To acknowledge that it will be as easy or
hard as you decide to make it
 To look forward to a new chapter in your
life and the lives of your children
 To be ready to work

Emerging Occupations
Executive Secretaries and Administrative
Assistants (25,000-60,000 yr)
 Automotive Service Technicians (30,00055,000 yr)
 Licensed Vocational Nurses/Registered
Nurses (28,811-60,000 yr)
 Customer Service Representative (24,00036,000 yr)

Contact Info

Abigail Gonzales–Davis
Job Developer
Workforce Solutions Brazos Valley
979-595-2801 Ext.2090
[email protected]
Job Search/Employment Services
Resource Room Tools…….
Copy machines
 Fax machines
 Phones
 Computers
 Labor Market Information (LMI)

Job Readiness and Job Placement

Workshops
– Employment applications
– Prepare for interviews
– Resume development

Job Matching
– www.workintexas.com
– Job development
– Paid and unpaid work experience
– On-the-job-training
Enhanced Services
Workforce Investment Act (WIA)
 Trade Adjustment Act (TAA)
 Workforce Investment Act-Youth
 SNAP - Employment & Training
 Veterans Employment and Training
 Choices
 Rapid Reemployment Services

Support Services
Child Care
 Transportation, i.e., trolley passes/gas vouchers
 Work clothes, tools and equipment
 Other job related expenses, i.e., food handler’s license

Services are available based on need, funding and eligibility
Don’t wait until you are certified, ask a Career Coach about
these services !!
Accessible Equipment
TTY’s (Tele-Typing Device)
 Screen-Reader Software
 ASL Interpreters

Local career centers must receive a 24 hour notice for ASL interpreters
Choices
TANF is Temporary
Government assistance is temporary
 Texans are responsible for the support of
themselves and their families
 Employment is the goal

One Time or Ongoing

One Time TANF=$1,000.00
– For short term crisis

Ongoing TANF
– Choices Participation required
 If not required to participate, transitional childcare
may be available
Time Limits
Federal - 5 year lifetime limit
 State - 12, 24, or 36 months limit

 Dependent on recent work history and
education level based on TABE testing scores
that will determine your program duration.
 Participants Requirements – Participants are
required to participate 30 hrs a week.
Choices Participation

Active participation:
– Work
– Training
– Job search
– Subsidized employment
– Work experience
– On-the-job training
Support Services are available to participants who are actively looking for
work or who become employed
Non-Participation

Results in immediate sanction
 This discontinues all of the family’s TANF
cash benefits, Adult Medicaid benefits and
support services
Concurrent Sanctions
Under federal requirements, Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients
who fail to cooperate with Temporary Assistance
for Needy Families (TANF) work requirements
must be treated as is they failed to cooperate
with SNAP Employment and Training
requirements, unless otherwise exempt.
 When a SNAP recipient fails to cooperate with a
Choices work requirement, staff must impose a
SNAP E & T sanction, unless the individual is
exempt for participation in SNAP E &T.

SNAP E & T Sanction


Sanction will be imposed within 10 calendar days from
notice of noncooperation, unless the household is pended
for additional verification to qualify for an exemption.
Prior to imposing a sanction, staff must:
- Verify if individual received SNAP during month of
non-compliance
HHSC will also verify other possible reasons for exemption
from sanction prior to imposing the sanction.
Reinstatement of TANF/SNAP
Benefits
Procedure for TANF Reinstatement
 Participant must demonstrate one full month of
cooperation before benefits are reinstated.
• PLEASE NOTE: Participant will go one month without
TANF Benefits and Adult Medicaid
Procedure for SNAP Reinstatement
. Individuals sanctioned for noncooperation with any
SNAP work requirement must serve their minimum
penalty period – 3 months, unless becoming exempt.
Employment Services for Choices

Job readiness activities:
– Self-esteem building
– Job search skills
– Labor Market Information
– Employment goal setting
– Resume writing
– Interviewing Techniques
– Workplace Expectations
– Job retention skills
Don’t wait to be certified. Begin your Job
Search NOW !
Choices Post-Employment
Strategies
Extended or ongoing case management
 Child care, transportation and workrelated expenses
 Job search and Job Placement
 Mentoring
 Additional career planning and counseling

Benefits of Employment
Positive Impact on your children
 Better Lifestyle
 Independence and Self-Sufficiency
 Securing a place in a productive society
 Positive Self-image
 Positive Role model

Annual Wage and Benefit Scenarios 2015
Hourly Wage and Benefit Scenarios 2015
Contact Info:
Ericka Butler-Career Coach
979-595-2801 Ext.2142
email: [email protected]
Thank You
Workforce Solutions Brazos Valley