Vision
JobsWork!.Arundel (JWA) develops dependent customers into independent employees.
Mission
JWA empowers customers with employability skills to increase family stability, thus creating self-sufficiency thru meaningful and gainful employment while simultaneously impacting the economic growth and development of the Anne Arundel County business community.
Overriding Theme - "JobsWork!. When YOU Work!"
Phase One: Intake and Administrative Week
During Phase One, the Department of Social Services Work Opportunities Unit refers customers to the JWA program. After processing the referrals, the customers progress to the Administrative Week. There are three components in Administrative Week: 1) Admin Day; 2) Fresh Start; and 3) Orientation. During Admin Day, customers complete all paperwork necessary to be properly enrolled in the JWA program. Fresh Start assesses the customers to ascertain where their skills lie. Detailed orientation covers all the policies and procedures necessary to enroll customers through the entire program. The Admin Week also provides ample time for customers to address any outstanding barriers (i.e., transportation, childcare, etc.) that may hinder their full participation in the program.
Phase Two: Career Corner
Phase Two includes a series of intensive pre-employment workshops that will engage customers in need of employment skills training referred from Phase One. The course curriculum is a comprehensive employment readiness curriculum designed to educate, prepare, and link job seekers to meaningful career opportunities. This innovative coursework will provide 110 hours of Career Inventory Assessment, Time/Stress/Money Management, Goal Setting, Cover Letter and Resume Construction, Public Speaking, Networking, Interviewing Skills and Professional Image. The workshops will operate approximately six hours daily in three-week cycles. At the conclusion of each cycle, compliant customers will graduate from the workshop component of the program and receive a Certificate of Completion or Employment.
Phase Three: Job Quest (Placement)
Phase Three allows the customer to do a combination of a self-directed job search and work experience. The self-directed job search requires the customers to conduct a targeted job search on a daily basis and return the verifications upon completion. Depending upon what phase a customer is in, he/she may be required to do 15 or 25 job searches per week with only 5 done via internet/fax.
The Work Experience Program (WEX) has been expressly designed for TCA and Food Stamps customers eager to get a head start on their work requirement who may already possess marketable employment skills or who simply need to “brush up” on those skills in a structured, professional environment. The overriding objective of the WEX Program is to place customers in a supportive work environment that will supply the feedback necessary to modify certain behaviors and ultimately land them their targeted job. The community at-large is provided with the support it needs while JWA moves its TCA population systematically toward self-sufficiency and independence by helping them to ultimately obtain a job, a better job, a career, and then--a better life.
Phase Four: Job Keep (Retention)
In the Retention Phase, JWA graduates and/or Fast Start customers are required to work closely with the Placement/ Retention Counselor (PRC) whose primary goal is to assist them in maintaining employment for a minimum of 180 days. This objective is accomplished by tracking the customer’s job progress and success from day 1-180 or until the TCA/FS case closes—whichever comes first. Including the initial face-to-face contact, the employer will be contacted a minimum of three times within a six-month period to determine overall satisfaction with our placement. Every effort will be made to rectify any challenging situations that may arise between the customer and the employer. We assist customers with seeking and obtaining permanent, paid employment based on their natural talents, abilities, and genuine interests by significantly raising the confidence level of our customers as they embark on the road to self-sufficiency for themselves and their families through job attainment. Upon completion of the 180th day of employment, the JWA graduate is successfully exited from JWA. He/She will receive a signed letter of commendation from the Executive Director of the Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation (AAWDC), our parent organization.
The primary objective is to assist TCA/JWA customers to obtain expungement of criminal and arrest records. The expectation is that at least 90% of individuals referred by JWA, and are determined eligible for the Expungement program, will obtain expungement of their criminal and arrest records. JWA staff will screen participants for need and eligibility and refer suitable individuals to the Expungement Specialist, who will guide the individual through the process, assisting with completion and filing of required documents, scheduling fingerprinting, if necessary.
The Paid Internship Program (PIP)offers local businesses of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County the opportunity to participate in subsidized employment. This subsidy program utilizes the requirements of your company or business to fill a full-time permanent position that then makes you, the employer, eligible to receive a wage of up to 100% of the qualified new employee's wages up to $15.00 per hour of paid employment for the 1st and 6th months of employment. |
