ldunbar@nul.org

NEW YORK, April 13, 1999 –In line with the National Urban League’s commitment to keeping its constituents informed of policy changes that will have a major impact on them and their communities, a major portion of the agenda for the League’s Seniors in Community Service Annual Training Conference will focus on the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998.

The Conference will be held from Saturday, April 17 through Tuesday, April 20 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Speakers include Charles L. Atkinson, Deputy Administrator, Federal Office of Job Training Programs, and Joann Gibson, Office Director of the Fort Lauderdale One Stop Center.

A skills training and community-service program for older adults, the League’s Seniors in Community Service Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Labor under the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP), authorized by Title V of the Older Americans Act. The Program is administered by the League through 24 local Urban League affiliates.

Enacted in August of 1998, WIA is intended to consolidate and streamline the numerous federal employment programs and provide states with more discretion to design and monitor workforce development strategies that meet their own labor market needs.

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"Although the legislation does not directly alter the Seniors in Community Service Program, the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA)–including the Section 204(d) set-aside program for older workers–is repealed by the WIA," said Milton J. Little, Jr., Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the National Urban League. "Thus, the new legislation both raises important challenges to the SCSP and affords new opportunities to improve service to older workers. We would be remiss if our agenda for this year’s Seniors in Community Service Program Annual Conference did not include forums for exploring those new avenues of improvement and generating ideas for meeting the challenges."

Little is scheduled to expand on these issues in a keynote address he will deliver at the Conference Banquet, scheduled for Sunday evening, April 18. Conference sessions dedicated to WIA-related issues include those scheduled for Sunday, April 18 (Meeting the Challenges of WIA, 2:45 — 5:00 p.m.), and Monday, April 19 (WIA: Implementation & Strategy, 8:45 — 11:45 a.m. and WIA & The Urban League, 2:00 — 5:00 p.m.). Both Atkinson and Gibson are scheduled to participate in Sunday’s session.

Founded in 1910, the National Urban League remains the premier social service and civil rights organization in America. The League is a nonprofit, community-based organization headquartered in New York City, with 114 affiliates in 34 states and the District of Columbia.