The Mayor’s Workforce Development Board (MWDB) is directly responsible and accountable to the State of Michigan, Labor and Economic Development, Workforce Development (LEO/WD) for the planning and oversight of talent development programs in the City of Detroit. Designated by the MWDB, Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation (DESC) serves as the fiscal and administrative entity that provides workforce services to job seekers and employers. DESC’s primary funding streams include Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) that funds Michigan’s PATH (Partnership. Accountability. Training. Hope.) employment program, Food Assistance Employment and Training (FAE&T), Wagner-Peyser Employment Services (ES), and other public and private funding. DESC anticipates receiving American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to support contracts as a result of this competitive bid process.
In July 2019, the MWDB and DESC, known collectively as Detroit at Work, launched a re-designed public workforce system. This included expanding from 3 to 9 Career Centers; doubling the number of youth service locations; physical co-location of federally funded programs with a common intake process; a centralized call center that serves as a single point of entry to our system; expansion of technology-enabled and web-based services; and integration of on-site financial coaching services. In addition, one of the most critical components of the new system has been reorienting program delivery through a Human-Centered design lens that puts the customers’ needs at the center of service delivery.
Detroit City Council approved the City’s high-level plan for ARPA funds. The Final Rule to the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) established by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) permits a broad range of services intended to help disproportionately impacted communities and organizations who were further impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency. The JumpStart program falls under the category of Negative Economic Impacts: Assistance to Unemployed or Underemployed Workers.
The JumpStart program will support individuals who have been out of the workforce and education program for 24 weeks or more and will provide them with incentives and additional support to increase the likelihood of success in the workforce. The JumpStart program is intended to be a temporary, supplemental means of support for program participants. Participants may remain in the program for up to 18 months as they complete their chosen educational, training, or work experience. Participants of this program will be individuals who have been disproportionately impacted by the negative economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. JumpStart aims to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and reduce the barriers to employment that have prolonged a full and equitable recovery for those displaced from the workforce.
On behalf of the City of Detroit, DESC is seeking proposals from qualified applicants to provide behavioral assessment services.
DESC plans to award a minimum of one (1) contract for requested services as detailed in this RFP.
