The U.S. Department of Labor today approved Disaster Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) funding up to $2,000,000, with $800,000 released initially, for the Nebraska Department of Labor. The funding assists with the assessment of workforce needs in response to storms and flooding that affected more than three quarters of the state in March 2019. 

“This spring’s storms and flooding affected multiple communities in Nebraska, in some cases leading to the evacuation of entire towns,” said U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta. “The U.S. Department of Labor’s dislocated worker grants will support the governor’s efforts for the economic recovery of these communities by helping people get back to work.”

“Nebraskans are still recovering from the blizzards and floods that engulfed our state this spring,” said Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts. “This grant provides training and employment services to Nebraskans whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the storms. It will help them resume work, and it will enable more Nebraskans to bounce back from the disaster stronger than ever.”

Record-setting water levels caused significant losses to highways, roads, and bridges. The state received a major disaster declaration from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) on March 21, 2019, which allows the state to request DWG funding to assess workforce needs in 76 counties declared eligible for FEMA’s Public Assistance Program: Adams, Antelope, Banner, Blaine, Boone, Box Butte, Boyd, Brown, Buffalo, Burt, Butler, Cass, Cedar, Cheyenne, Clay, Colfax, Cuming, Custer, Dakota, Dawes, Dawson, Deuel, Dixon, Dodge, Douglas, Fillmore, Franklin, Frontier, Furnas, Gage, Garden, Garfield, Gosper, Greeley, Hall, Harlan, Holt, Howard, Jefferson, Johnson, Kearney, Keya Paha, Kimball, Knox, Lancaster, Lincoln, Logan, Loup, Madison, Merrick, Morrill, Nance, Nemaha, Otoe, Pawnee, Phelps, Pierce, Platte, Polk, Richardson, Rock, Saline, Sarpy, Saunders, Seward, Sheridan, Sherman, Sioux, Stanton, Thurston, Valley, Washington, Wayne, Webster, Wheeler, and York.

Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker training and employment programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.