The Employment Development Department, in coordination with the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, announces the availability of up to $1 million in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Governor’s discretionary funds for the Employment Social Enterprise Program (ESE) Technical Assistance grant for PY 24-25.
Donor Name: California Employment Development Department
State: California
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/04/2025
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The ESE TA PY 24-25 grant aims to increase equity and improve outcomes for underserved populations facing significant barriers to employment by providing necessary guidance and support to ESE PY 24-25 program awardees in their pursuit of successful ESE programs and participant outcomes.
Goals and Objectives
The ESE TA PY 24-25 provider will assist program awardees in achieving positive outcomes by providing ongoing guidance, technical assistance, training, and stakeholder coordination support to help projects expand workforce opportunities for the target population. The TA awardee will provide an accessible virtual forum for cross-project communication both during meetings with program awardees and beyond. The TA program’s desired outcomes are: (i) to deliver technical assistance in the development and testing of new training models, along with any necessary supportive services; (ii) to support the successful transition of program participants into competitive employment by connecting participants in the “next-phase” and with more competitive employment which align with the focus of each regionally tailored ESE project.
The TA provider will host conference calls, webinars, CoPs, and coordinate activities as needed. This will require the TA provider to develop additional means of effective communication, idea- sharing, mentoring among program awardees, and individual program consultation. Applicants must demonstrate how they plan to provide an accessible virtual forum for cross-project communication during meetings with program awardees and beyond. The TA provider will develop key questions for learning and evaluation and tools for continuous learning, including critical metrics and milestones to be tracked for immediate course correction and program improvement.
The TA provider must have knowledge of, and experience with, the following:
- Employment Social Enterprise as a workforce development strategy
- Sector-focused industry partnerships and workforce development
- Technology-based approaches to education and training
- Serving a special population faced with significant barriers to employment, such as the target populations listed in this SFP
- Best practices for offering resources to program awardees that are both accessible and relevant, recognized both nationally and at the state level
- Supporting organizational learning and ongoing quality and program improvement
- Outcome-based program and performance management.
Funding Information
A total of $1 million in the WIOA Governor’s Discretionary Funds for the ESE TA PY 24-25 grant is available through this SFP.
Grant Period
The anticipated period of performance (PoP) for the TA funded under this SFP is approximately 18 to 24 months. The ESE TA PY 24-25 provider will support the program awardees for ESE PY 24-25 as soon as the grant agreement is executed. Projects will conclude no later than March 31, 2027.
Target Populations
The ESE TA PY 24-25 provider will be responsible for meeting with ESE PY 24-25 program awardees in multiple locations and virtually to ensure comprehensive support and collaboration for the effective implementation of their program: including making recommendations and providing technical assistance and training to program awardees on equitable access and inclusion of the target population. The ESE TA provider will customize consultation, training, and support to the needs of the different program awardees.
The TA awardee for this grant must be familiar with best practices in serving underserved populations experiencing significant barriers to employment:
- Justice-involved Individuals
- Disconnected Young Adults
- Long-term Unemployed Individuals
- Older Workers
- People with Disabilities
- Veterans.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants for the ESE TA PY 24-25 grant must have the capacity, relationships, and expertise to deliver technical assistance to program awardees across the state. Proposals will be accepted from Public Workforce Development Agencies; Human Service or Social Service Agencies; Community-based Organizations; Business-related Non-profit Organizations; Non-profit or For- profit Social Benefit Corporations; Labor Organizations; Workforce Intermediaries; and organizations with operational components similar to those currently associated with the SE model.
- Applicants must reside in the US but do not need to reside in California; however, they must have experience working with the target populations and demonstrated capacity to provide TA in California.
- All ESE individual participants must be at least age 18 years and meet WIOA Title I eligibility requirements to participate in ESE grant programs supported by this TA.
For more information, visit EDD.
