CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Tyeishia Long remembers beaming when she learned she was being cut off of food stamps and other public aid.

"I went to the redetermination for my assistance, and she said, 'Ms. Long, you don't even qualify,'" Long said recalling the government worker's words. "You earn too much.

"That was my goal - to become independent and to be an example to my child," Long said. She says enrolling in a tuition-free phlebotomy technician course changed the trajectory of her life.

But others may find it difficult to take advantage of such an opportunity in the future. The 14-week program at the NewBridge Cleveland Center for Arts & Technology, from which she graduated, receives some of its funding from U.S. Labor Department grants. President Donald Trump wants to slash the department's budget by 21 percent, possibly ending some of these employment training programs.

Many of the federally-funded training programs in Northeast Ohio often take less than a year to complete, and train participants for in-demand fields. Hourly starting salaries are typically between $13 and $16 -- well above Ohio's minimum wage of $8.15.

Greater Cleveland,

unemployment rate, has the highest jobless rate of any large metropolitan area, according to the latest Labor Department figures, and needs these types of programs, one could argue. Many residents see training and employment programs as a viable option for lowering that jobless rate.

Marie Hasek is among them. About a year after being laid off from a secretarial job right after the Great Recession, she wondered if she would ever work again.

Hasek was over 55 and couldn't land a job despite searching actively. She feared many employers were reluctant to hire older workers. Then she enrolled in the Senior Community Service Employment Program run by the AARP Foundation in Cleveland. Hasek now works as a client help specialist at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank.

Under Trump's budget, funding to the SCSEP program would be eliminated.

"This program is needed," said Hasek, who had worked as an employment specialist in the program after graduating. "There are so many people 55 or older that are out of work, and need a place to come to learn new skills, get their confidence back and get back into the job market."

Others say if training programs are cut, fewer people will have a pathway from low-wage jobs to middle-class employment. Tul Rai, who came to the United States in 2010 as a refugee from Nepal, longed to become a truck driver.

"I had a lot of friends in truck driving," said Rai, who then worked in tool maintenance. "They made good money and had a good lifestyle."

He didn't see a way to transition to his dream job, including affording truck driving school. Then Rai went to Ohio Means Jobs|Cleveland-Cuyahoga County, the public employment agency that often partners with community colleges and employers to provide free job training to residents. OMJ sent him to truck driving school, and Rai now works in the field.

"I went to Ohio Means Jobs and a got a good job; and I am very happy now," he said.

Trump is scheduled to submit another budget in May, detailing the proposed Labor Department program cuts. Congress, which approves the budget, could choose to restore the cuts.

More than 263,270 Ohioans benefit from Labor Department-funded programs, according to an analysis by Angela Hanks, associate director for Workforce Development Policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank in Washington, D.C. More than 92,000 would lose access to these programs if cuts are approved. She said program cuts would be 35 percent -- and not 21 percent -- based on nonpublic information from the House Appropriations Committee about parts of the Labor budget that are off-limits to cuts.

Even the smaller reduction would be devastating, said Grace Kilbane, who heads the local OMJ.

"Last year we placed 4,215 people into jobs," she said. "A 21 percent cut to that would mean 885 less people getting jobs."

Kilbane says the agency now receives $9 million in what are called employment and training formula grants, which would be reduced by nearly $2 million.

A Labor Department official, who only agreed to speak to The Plain Dealer on background, said it isn't accurate to assume the Trump administration isn't interested in job training and employment. The official said there were other ways to fund such efforts, including providing tax cuts to employers.

"There seems to be a narrative at times that in order to support job training, you must support all these Department of Labor programs -- as is - funded the way they are and structured the way they are," the official said. "There are certain things in the Labor Department that we do well. There are other things that we think don't give the taxpayer a good return on the dollar. "

Kilbane said employers are open to training existing employees, but want new workers to be job ready.

"If you don't have the skills, you don't get the job," she said.

Long questions why Trump would seek to cut funding to programs that have proven effective. NewBridge has placed 93 percent of its graduates in jobs in the past two years. The local OMJ performs better than the statewide average. The AARP employment program places 95 percent of its participants in jobs that aren't subsidized with public funds.

"If programs are utilized the correct way, you'll have more people moving into the middle class," she said. "(Trump) needs to build the middle class, not the lower class."

NewBridge to a new life

NewBridge's public funding includes a $600,000 grant from federal funds. Any cuts would have to be made up with private funding - a task that may prove difficult as other training programs chase after the same private dollars, program officials say.

The program works closely with area hospitals in placing graduates from its phlebotomy technician and hospital nursing assistant programs in jobs.

"Because of the relationships we have with the hospitals -- which includes them being on our board, being curriculum advisors, constant interactions with them and their hiring people -- they give our people special consideration," said Stephen Langel, director of development.

Many participants are jobless, on public assistance or even homeless when they enroll in the program.

NewBridge doesn't say goodbye to its students at graduation. Antoine Wilson, a student employment specialist, checks up on graduates to see how they are performing in their new jobs. Attendance and tardiness, often caused by transportation and childcare issues, are frequently high on the lists of those struggling with job performance. He works with them in coming up with a plan to address the issues.

Wilson said in a typical graduating class of 22, he would have to intervene with employers on behalf of three. Just the mention of his getting involved is often enough to clear up problems.

"Ninety-nine percent of the students know, 'When I have to talk to Antoine, It's not good,'" Wilson said.

But there is a reason for his no-nonsense attitude.

"I am trying to save their job and make sure that they have money in their pocket," he said.

Wilson also works closely with participants before they graduate. He is having difficulty placing Vernon Bryant in an externship, in which students get practical experience, because the student has a felony for tampering with records. Bryant isn't eligible for an expungement because of misdemeanors on his record. Since hospitals won't hire the student, Wilson is working on getting him placed with another employer.

This has given new life to the Navy veteran, now living in transitional housing after a series of setbacks. He said for too long his felony has kept him from landing a job.

"I notice how caring the staff are," Bryant said. "They want to see the students progress and succeed."

Pathways to employment

Toni Griffin-France is convinced she wouldn't have found a job without AARP's senior employment program. Before joining the program, she had completed a medical assistant course, but had difficulty landing a position.

"To me, they were only hiring younger people," she said. "You went to an interview. They looked at you. They looked at your age. You didn't get hired."

Griffin-France said going through the program assuaged employers' concerns about older workers, including believing they couldn't keep up with their younger co-workers. She now works as a direct support specialist for people with disabilities.

The Labor Department official said funding for the senior employment program was being eliminated nationwide because it has struggled to meet "deliverable metrics." Nationally, one-third of participants drop out of the program, which has 18 grantees, including the AARP Foundation. Only about half of participants find nonsubsidized employment.

Corey Hastings, vice president for the AARP Foundation in Washington, D.C., said categorizing the program as ineffective is unfair. Both its programs in Cleveland and nationally perform far above the national average.

"Because we're dealing with an older population, those people are typically leaving for health or medical reasons," he said, adding that others reach retirement age while in the program. "It is not as if they are voluntarily quitting before they finish their job search."

Programs specifically geared toward younger workers may also see cuts. The Advanced Technology Academy at Cuyahoga Community College receives federal funding to train 18- to 24-year-olds for in-demand jobs, including those in industrial welding and Information Technology.

Rashon Blake is completing the IT course, but has opted to matriculate at Tri-C, wiht the plan of graduating and then earning a bachelor's in software engineering. He said cuts to the technology academy could derail the plans of some students.

"There are a lot of students who need the (moral) support the staff gives you, who need the tutoring, who need the financial support," Blake said. "Without it, many won't be able to finish.

"If you truly say you want the economy to flourish, you shouldn't take away the ability for people to go to school and better themselves," he said.

Long said she is on the path to flourishing because she made the right decision about job training. She's already gotten two promotions; and her thoughts are now turning toward studying to become a registered nurse. By not cutting federal funding to training programs, Long said the path she is on could remain clear for others.

"If you want to cut back on food stamps and WIC (supplemental nutrition program for Women, Infants and Children) and subsidized housing, you have to give people training so that they have the opportunity to support themselves, and won't have to depend on the government," she said.

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