The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of an additional $700,000 in grant funding to Georgia for continued employment and training services for residents affected by severe storms in 2024.
On Aug. 5, 2024, Hurricane Debby made landfall as a Category 1 storm near Steinhatchee, Florida, and moved through southeast Georgia as a tropical storm. Debby caused significant infrastructure damage in Georgia, blocking and collapsing many roads, destroying public facilities and denying access to local businesses.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued an emergency declaration , enabling Georgia to request federal assistance for recovery efforts in the following counties: Bryan, Bulloch, Camden, Candler, Chatham, Colquitt, Decatur, Dodge, Echols, Effingham, Emanuel, Evans, Glynn, Grady, Jeff Davis, Johnson, Laurens, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Mitchell, Montgomery, Screven, Tattnall, Telfair, Thomas, Tift, Toombs, Treutlen, Wayne, Wheeler, Wilcox, and Worth.
In 2024, the department announced a National Dislocated Worker Grant of up to $1.5 million – with an initial award of $800,000 – to the Technical College System of Georgia. With today’s announcement, the department has awarded the full amount of approved funds.
This Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant allows the Technical College System of Georgia to provide residents with temporary jobs focused on cleanup and recovery efforts, as well as offer employment and training services to eligible participants in the affected communities.
Dislocated Worker Grants are supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 and temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that lead to significant job losses.