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Workforce Florida Weekly Update 4-18-07 |
CONTENTS The State & RegionsGovernor Crist Joins Stop Global Warming Virtual March ~ Affirms pledge to host Environmental Summit. TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist this week met with Laurie David and Sheryl Crow at the University of Florida to discuss his environmental priorities. The Governor joined the Stop Global Warming Virtual March sponsored by www.StopGlobalWarming.org and affirmed his commitment to host an environmental summit following the 2007 Legislative Session. “Global warming is one of the most important issues our state and our country will face during this century,” said Governor Crist. “The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a broad-based, non-partisan effort to address this monumental challenge.” The Stop Global Warming Virtual March is a non-profit, non-partisan effort to create awareness of and solutions for the challenges resulting from global warming. Currently, over 700,000 individuals from all 50 states and over 25 countries have registered for the virtual march, including Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Senator John McCain (R-AZ) and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA). The Stop Global Warming College Tour is a two-week tour of 10 universities across the Southeast sponsored by www.StopGlobalWarming.org and hosted by global warming activist Laurie David and Grammy Award winning singer-song writer Sheryl Crow. The tour encourages students to become active participants in the effort to implement the policy and technological changes necessary to minimize the effects of global warming. “Global warming represents a multitude of challenges that we ignore at our own peril,” said Governor Crist. “With almost 1,200 miles of coastline and the majority of our citizens living near that coastline, Florida is more vulnerable to rising ocean levels and violent weather patterns than any other state and consequently, must assume a leadership role in the world-wide movement to confront this crucial issue.” Governor Crist is planning an Environmental Summit after the 2007 Legislative Session to bring together experts in the field who can develop best practices related to alternative fuels and emission standards. The group will explore groundbreaking technologies and strategies to reduce greenhouse gases. The group’s strongest recommendations will shape procedures for state agencies and future legislation. For more information on the Stop Global Warming Virtual March, please visit www.StopGlobalWarming.org. For more information on Governor Crist’s environmental priorities, please visit www.flgov.com. TBWA Employees Salute Service Men and Women With Special Presentation Care Packages Donated by Employees to Go Overseas. Tampa, FL—(April 17, 2007)— Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance (TBWA) will host a Military Appreciation Day celebration in honor of the men and women serving in the United States military on Friday, April 20, 2007 at 9 a.m. at WorkForce Tampa Career Center, 9215 N. Florida Ave., Suite 101, in Tampa. The ceremony will recognize military members currently serving on active duty throughout the world, veterans and POW/MIAs and will include the singing of the U.S. national anthem by local Sickles High School student Catie Bonk, presentation of the flag by the King High School JROTC, and a special presentation of care packages donated by TBWA associates consisting of requested goods from soldiers as well as personal letters from local elementary school students. Representatives from MacDill Air Force Base will also participate. A special remembrance ceremony will honor prisoners of war (POWs) and those missing in action (MIAs). “TBWA recognizes the contributions and sacrifices our soldiers and their families make every day to ensure the freedoms and rights of this country,” says Renée Benton, TBWA president and CEO. “We hope this small token of gratitude will let them know that TBWA remembers their unmatched courage and dedication, and when they return, we are poised to help them transition or readjust to life back home.” TBWA offers services to transitioning military personnel, veterans and their spouses to help in their job search. Veterans have access to career consultation, job search and interviewing techniques, and other services that help to connect them to employment opportunities. Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance works with businesses and candidates to leverage their training, retraining and competitive opportunities in the workforce. With nearly 100,000 job candidates annually accessing its four career centers, TBWA is the single largest source of job candidates in the region. Businesses annually access TBWA's wide range of services that include employee recruiting; training; targeted career fairs and hiring events; workshops and business seminars; and retention support strategies. Tampa Bay WorkForce Alliance is a member of the Employ Florida statewide network of workforce services and resources. For more information go to: www.workforcetampa.com. The NationU.S. Labor Department Proposal Will Update Child Labor Rules for the 21st Century - Department Seeks Comments on Proposed Changes. WASHINGTON, April 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Labor published today a proposal to update the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations governing the employment of teenage workers, a measure that will improve protections for the nation's young workforce. "The proposal contains the most ambitious and far-reaching revisions to the child labor regulations in the last 30 years," said Wage and Hour Division Administrator Paul DeCamp. "It will safeguard the health and education of millions of working teens while at the same time allowing them to enjoy the benefits of a phased introduction to the workplace." Key proposals include new bans on particularly hazardous activities such as working at poultry slaughtering plants, riding on forklifts as passengers, fighting forest fires, and loading and operating non-paper products balers and compacters. The proposal would also prohibit 14- and 15-year-olds from employment in youth peddling activities, also referred to as door-to-door sales. In a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the department is requesting comments on proposed changes to seven non-agricultural hazardous occupation orders (HOs) and on suggested revisions to the rules for 14 and 15-year-olds. In an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM), the department seeks information to update certain HOs for which there was not sufficient information to propose new rules. This proposal is the second in a series of updates to the child labor regulations and stems from the department's enforcement experience, a statutory change, and a 2002 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) review of the child labor HOs. In December 2004, the department issued final regulations that, among other modifications, expanded protections for youth working in roofing and restaurant cooking. Under the FLSA, 14- and 15-year-olds may work only in occupations explicitly authorized by the Secretary of Labor by regulation and only under conditions that do not interfere with their schooling or health and well-being. Sixteen and 17-year-olds, on the other hand, may work in any occupations except those that the secretary has found to be "particularly hazardous" or "detrimental to their health or well-being." The public is encouraged to submit electronic comments on the NPRM and ANPRM through the federal eRulemaking Portal at: http://www.regulations.gov. [RIN docket numbers (1215-AB57) and (1215-AB44)]. Comments must be submitted by July 16, 2007. For additional information on the proposed rules, visit the Wage and Hour Division home page at http://www.wagehour.dol.gov. For compliance information on the current child labor rules, see the YouthRules! Web site at: http://www.youthrules.dol.gov. U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov. Institutes of Higher Education Promote Homeownership. The
Office of University Partnerships (OUP), in HUD's Office of
Policy Development and Research, recently completed a study
that provides practical advice on how to establish homeownership
programs. Ideas That Work: Building Communities through Homeownership
features the experiences of OUP grantees nationwide as they
seek to promote affordable homeownership. The report explores
how grantees from institutions of higher education provide
resources, bring partners together, and assist in designing
community-based homeownership programs. The publication also
lists resources and contact information for the people interviewed
during the course of the study. Ideas that Work: Building Communities
through Homeownership is available online and can be downloaded
free of charge at: www.oup.org/files/pubs/ideasthatwork.pdf.
Grant and Competitive Award Opportunities and NoticesFor current information, visit the External Grant Opportunities page.Featured Opportunity:(none) Upcoming Meetings, Conferences and
Events
Workforce Florida Board and Related Meetings Schedule:For up-to-date WFI board meeting info please check the calendar at the WFI website. April 26 – 27, 2007 May 17, 2007 Other Meetings/Conferences/Events:
April 24, 2007 April 30, 2007 May 3-4, 2007 May 8 – 11, 2007 May 14-15, 2007 May 20-23, 2007 May 21-22, 2007 May 29-30, 2007 May 30, 31 & June 1, 2007 June 4 - 5th, 2007 June 4-7, 2007 June 12-15, 2007 June 13-15, 2007 June 23-26, 2007 July 17-19, 2007 Odds and EndsFrom OPPAGA’s Florida Monitor Weekly- April
13, 2007: Time for Reform: Support Relatives in Providing Foster Care and Permanent Families for Children. March 2007 (Pew-produced Publications). More than 500,000 children in the United States are currently in foster care waiting for safe, permanent families. Approximately one-quarter of these children—more than 124,000—live with relatives, which research has shown to be a safe, stable alternative to non-relative foster care. Many children in relative foster care will safely return home after their parents address the problems which triggered involvement in the system. Of those who cannot return to their parents, some may be adopted by the relatives who fostered them. However, for nearly 20,000 of the children in relative foster care, a court has determined that neither reunification nor adoption is a viable option. Federal policy currently forces their relative caregivers to make a difficult choice: continue to receive room and board as a foster family under state supervision and authority, or become permanent guardians to their kin and potentially lose their financial assistance. Although federal law authorizes that children may leave foster care through reunification, adoption or legal guardianship, federal financial assistance is dedicated only to support foster and adoptive families, not legal guardians. With federally-supported guardianship, thousands of foster children could leave care to lead normal lives with their relatives without the involvement of government agencies. View the full report--Time for Reform: Support Relatives in Providing Foster Care and Permanent Families for Children at: http://www.pewtrusts.org/pdf/Kids_are_Waiting_TimeforReform0307.pdf. From GovExec.com -- The Management Agenda 4/17/07: From SOUTHERN COMPASS -- APRIL 17, 2007:
From GET CONNECTED TOOLS:
Quote for the Week:“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955), (attributed) |
