CALIFORNIA
Homeless count starts tonight throughout the state
Although recent polls show a majority of voters disapprove of California’s response to homelessness, very little is known about the pandemic’s effects on the state’s unhoused population. But key data will start being gathered tonight, when volunteers and service providers are set to fan out in jurisdictions across the state to count and, in some cases, survey people experiencing homelessness. (The process is already underway in some jurisdictions, such as Los Angeles.)
The last time every California jurisdiction took stock of its homeless population was in January 2020 – before the pandemic upended normal life, let alone the job and housing markets. The 2020 tally found more than 161,000 people experiencing homelessness across the state — a figure experts say is almost certainly an undercount.
The count was postponed in January 2021 due to the pandemic and delayed again last month amid the omicron variant and the shortage of homeless service workers it helped accentuate, although Lake County went ahead and conducted a count despite less than favorable conditions.
But don’t hold your breath waiting for new numbers: The final data from the federal government won’t be available until a little under a year from now.
—Emily Hoeven, CALmatters
SACRAMENTO
EDD fraud saga faces key juncture
California lawmakers are facing a conundrum: Continue funding programs to crack down on unemployment fraud and potentially risk freezing benefits for legitimate claimants — or stop funding those programs and open the door to more fraud at the Employment Development Department, which has already acknowledged paying at least $20 billion in fake claims.
- The Catch-22 was evident during a Tuesday legislative hearing, the Associated Press reports.
- The nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office recommended lawmakers reject the Newsom administration’s proposal to funnel $29.8 million into anti-fraud contracts, noting that most scam claims targeted now-expired federal programs while state efforts to crack down on fraud resulted in hundreds of thousands of legitimate claimants wrongly losing access to their benefits.
- The legislative analyst also raised concerns about EDD’s use of ID.me, an identity verification tool that uses facial recognition software. Earlier this month, the federal government suspended its use of ID.me due to privacy concerns.
- But Nancy Farias, whom Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed to lead EDD in January, said the state blocked $120 billion worth of fraud attempts in 2020 and 2021. And, she said, the threat isn’t over: “Almost every person I know has either had some sort of scam sent to them during the pandemic. … I think that saying the fraud is over now … that’s a little bit dangerous.”
In other Tuesday Capitol news:
- Democrat Mike Fong was sworn in as Los Angeles’ newest assemblymember after winning a special election to replace Ed Chau, whom Newsom appointed as a Los Angeles County superior court judge. There are now four vacancies in the state Assembly.
- And after losing a party endorsement vote, state Sen. Melissa Hurtado of Sanger avoided a face-off with fellow Democratic state Sen. Anna Caballero of Salinas by changing the district she’s running in.
—Emily Hoeven, CALmatters
LAKE AND MENDOCINO COUNTIES
2022 California Statewide Pear Research Meeting
The 2022 California Statewide Pear Research Webinar will be held Friday, March 4, 2022, 8 am to 12:30 pm. The registration link is https://ucanr.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_NBuMCzRDS3WEBpOHpB_-Dg. The meeting is co-sponsored by UC Cooperative Extension, Lake and Mendocino Agricultural Commissioners, California Pear Advisory Board and Pear Pest Management Research Fund.
The program will feature recent research results from pear industry-funded projects related to entomology, plant pathology, UC information resources, and rootstocks and orchard systems. Newly-appointed Lake County Agricultural Commissioner Katherine Vanderwall will provide a pesticide us laws and regulations update. 1.0 units of Laws and Regulations and 1.5 units of Other CEUs have been applied for.
Please contact Rachel Elkins, Pomology Farm Advisor, Lake and Mendocino Counties at rbelkins@ucanr.edu for any questions on the program. Organizers look forward to your participation via Zoom on March 4.
—Submitted
WASHINGTON D.C.
US Department of Labor announces Apprenticeship Building America program, $113M in available funds to strengthen, modernize Registered Apprenticeships
The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a grant program to strengthen, modernize, expand and diversify its Registered Apprenticeship Program to enable more workers to earn while they learn and find reliable pathways to the middle class.
Part of President Biden’s ongoing strategy to strengthen Registered Apprenticeships, the department’s “Apprenticeship Building America” program will make $113 million in grant funding available, including up to $50 million to support equity partnerships and pre-apprenticeship activities to increase enrollment in Registered Apprenticeship Programs.
“For a young person starting their career or someone seeking a career change, Registered Apprenticeships provide equitable pathways to the middle class,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh. “This earn-as-you-learn model is helping to grow our economy and supports the Biden-Harris administration’s strategy to ensure marginalized populations access to good jobs, a key to a successful and equitable recovery.”
Using a coordinated national investment strategy, the Apprenticeship Building America grant program will strengthen and modernize the RAP system, increase equity and accessibility in program delivery to apprentices, bring the Registered Apprenticeship model to more industries, and improve RAP completion rates for under-represented populations and underserved communities.
Apprenticeship Building America program grant recipients will work with various partners to support and develop the Registered Apprenticeship ecosystem. These partnerships will include:
- State apprenticeship system building and modernization.
- Expansion of Registered Apprenticeship Program opportunities for youth.
- Ensuring equitable Registered Apprenticeship Program pathways through pre-apprenticeship leading to RAP enrollment and equity partnerships.
- Registered Apprenticeship hubs.
Eligible applicants include nonprofits, labor organizations, public and state institutions of higher education, and county governments. Additional eligibility requirements will be included. Finalists will receive awards from $1 to $8 million. Read more about the department’s broader efforts at https://www.apprenticeship.gov/
—Submitted
