Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Tuesday, August 10, 1999

Release #316-99

Contact: Sunny Mindel/Brenda Pérez (212) 788-2958
Deb Sproles, Human Resources Administration (212) 331-6200


MAYOR GIULIANI AND COMMISSIONER TURNER LAUNCH CITY'S SIXTEENTH JOB CENTER

City Recognizes Local Employers For Commitment To Welfare To Work Efforts

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and Human Resources Administration Commissioner Jason Turner today celebrated the opening of the Human Resources Administration's (HRA) DeKalb Job Center in Brooklyn. Also in attendance were: Anthony Coles, Senior Advisor to the Mayor; Luis Tormenta, Department of Design and Construction (DDC) Commissioner; and employees who have made the transition from welfare to workfare and their employers.

The DeKalb Job Center is the 16th City welfare office which has been converted to a Job Center since March, 1998. The purpose of the Job Centers is to provide welfare applicants and recipients with opportunities to avoid dependency through employment and job-related activities.

Job Centers now in operation are: Greenwood, Bay Ridge, Linden, Bushwick and DeKalb in Brooklyn; Queens, and Jamaica in Queens; Crotona, Concourse and Bergen in the Bronx; Dyckman, Hamilton, East Harlem, Yorkville, and Waverly in Manhattan; and Richmond in Staten Island.

"Job Centers provide an environment in which people receive meaningful help to transform their lives; moving them from dependency to self-sufficiency, enabling them to support themselves and their children as well as the gaining the sense of dignity that comes with getting a job," Mayor Giuliani said. "The Job Centers are a critical component of our efforts to transform the welfare system from a culture of dependency to a culture of independence and self-sufficiency."

Commissioner Turner said, "New York City has seen a significant number of people leave welfare for employment, which is consistent with the study conducted by the Rockefeller Institute in Albany showing that 60 percent of public assistance participants in New York State find employment after leaving welfare. This is highly consistent with HRA's 1998 published results from our Leaving Welfare Study. More New York employers can benefit from the enormous potential of this population."

The Mayor recognized several area employers who have helped the City to achieve these results with their strong commitment to employing public assistance participants, including CVS, Bell Atlantic, and the Visiting Nurses of Brooklyn, Inc. Each of these employers has developed strong partnerships with HRA's Business Link program, which serves as a liaison between employers and public assistance job seekers at no cost to the employer. Mayor Giuliani announced that New York City's welfare rolls have fallen to the lowest level since July 1967. The total number of persons who received cash assistance in July 1999 was 665,479. This is a net reduction of over 495,114 or 42.7% from the 1,160,593 people who were on the rolls in March 1995 when the City began its welfare reform program.

Senior Advisor to the Mayor Anthony Coles said, "Commissioner Turner and Commissioner Tormenta should be commended for expediting the conversion of welfare offices to Job Centers. These facilities provide an important resource for their communities and the people who pass through their doors."

Mayor Giuliani also thanked Xerox Corporation for helping WEP participants learn how to use Xerox equipment at their WEP site. After successfully completing their 16-week training, it is expected that many of these public assistance participants will be offered employment. This training is a recent collaboration between Xerox and HRA Business Link.

Since 1997, HRA's Business Link has found more than 3,000 permanent jobs for former participants in the City's Work Experience Program (WEP). Both employers and public assistance job seekers may contact Business Link by calling its toll free number (877-585-JOBS), Monday through Friday, from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

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