Labor Department Helps SM, SF Counties

San Francisco and San Mateo counties will receive a combined $5.6 million in federal grants to help local residents get back to work, the United States Labor Department announced this week.

The two counties are among 26 state and local workforce agencies across the country chosen to receive a "Workforce Innovation Fund" grant.

The grants are meant to help improve workforce development by promoting evidence-based programs that yield better outcomes and lower costs, according to labor department officials. That means finding ways for workforce organizations to deliver services more efficiently, boosting cooperation across programs and funding sources and working with specific industry sectors or employers to develop programs that help people gain the necessary skills to compete in the job market, San Francisco labor department spokesman Jose Carnevali said.

In all, $146 million in grants were awarded to workforce agencies nationwide -- $49 million more than the department originally planned to award - after an influx of worthy grant applications, department officials said.

-Bay City News