Programs

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) is a federally funded program that benefits job seekers, laid-off workers, youth, incumbent workers, new entrants to the workforce, veterans, persons with disabilities, and employers. Please attend a WIOA Orientation at your local workforce solutions center to understand how WIOA may help you meet your employment and career goals.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides temporary financial assistance for individuals and families with dependent children. It is a time-limited program which provides pregnant women and families’ cash assistance for basic needs – food, shelter, utilities, clothing, etc. Choices is Texas’ TANF Employment and Training Program which stresses “Employment is the goal”. Case management is required and Workforce staff assists Choices TANF recipients enter employment as quickly as possible, retain employment, and achieve self sufficiency.

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Employment and Training(SNAP E&T) helps people buy food they need. Most people ages 16 to 59 must follow work rules to receive SNAP benefits. In Texas, the goal for SNAP E&T is sustained self-sufficiency and employment. Case management is required and SNAP E&T recipients are assisted through work programs and education and training activities.

Rapid Response – Specialized transition services are offered to workers who lose their job due to no fault of their own as the result of plant closures or mass layoffs.

Adult Education & Literacy – High School Equivalency (GED) & Adult Education and Literacy programs provide English language, math, reading, and writing instruction to help students acquire the skills needed to succeed in the workforce, earn a high school equivalency, or enter college or career training.

Child Care Assistance – Child care assistance is a program for parents who work, attend school, or participate in job training.

Effective January 21, 2022

New families who apply for child care financial assistance may qualify for Initial Job Search Child Care, if the parent(s) do not meet the minimum participation requirements for At-Risk child care eligibility but meet all other eligibility requirements. Families will qualify for three months of child care services, with no co-pay, while searching for work that will meet minimum employment activity requirements, 25 hours per week for a single parent household or a combine 50 hours for a dual parent household. If parents meet employment participation requirements within three months, eligibility will continue for a total of 12 months; this includes the three-months of the initial job search period. Once work requirements are met, co-pays are instated.

Initial Job Search Child Care is available for parents to actively seek full employment and 100 percent of participation hours must come from employment for child care to continue beyond the three-month time frame. Attending school or a training program will not be counted towards the participation hours.

If families do not meet minimum employment requirements after the three months of eligibility, services must be terminated.

Families being re-determined for a new 12-month of child care services and do not meet eligibility requirements, do not qualify for Initial Job Search Child Care, unless services are terminated, and a new application is submitted. New child care applications are subject to Workforce Solutions Southeast Texas’s wait list and priority of service.

For more information, please call 409-951-4134.