[{"_1":2,"_88":-5,"_89":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6261972,"mediaKeyId","3117259-9343eaee13f0187d8027cb011ac4559f","parentId",3117259,"title","Tribal leaders, firefighters and Corps alumni press Legislature for Oregon Conservation Corps funding","audioSeconds",1604,"startMs",1609000,"endMs",4964,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3117259-9343eaee13f0187d8027cb011ac4559f&start=1609&end=4","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3117259-9343eaee13f0187d8027cb011ac4559f/thumbnail_1609000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6261972/Oregon/Tribal-leaders-firefighters-and-Corps-alumni-press-Legislature-for-Oregon-Conservation-Corps-funding","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6261972-67cdfd432c1555399c48b0c08f673044/orig.mp4?Expires=1770714463&Signature=P6hfNk7D6~bFGGf1mOcFEhho14PHD-X3TsFanH2Gzw0CV5jRRN3BQcSaLmyFTMUgDUYd4Ucu4NPYGhpwvNVrmtrSjCj83Yj5G4C72bowK2RIOQvR3KpEPcx9Y-HIiClRqNppKLQ61BtD1DFFPEm~Z~1NA4ldntTa0PMdaVYIzNoEQRwUGrRoq83ITAYx7kOpSVpBy0jmgFhluxoK7RScMWPS2y1UqWTDCOJjTdLlIckF0Qy34QlHIGw1iUZAub6B1ahrGBCm5gBOMyJEi-7CkvNN333ukGOXNL9PMkZvmuQGduX8kJ61V7-K9sqlMAXD54Co~7l-Opms8j~q4MVVqQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Oregon State Legislature","date","2025-04-24T00:00:00Z","article","Tribal leaders, wildland firefighters, program directors and Corps alumni urged the Joint Subcommittee on Education on April 24 to secure state funding for the Oregon Conservation Corps (OCC), saying the corps both helps prevent wildfires and creates career pathways for young Oregonians.

\"This is meaningful work. It's saving lives,\" Belinda Brown, Tribal Partnership Director for Lomaqatsi Restoration Project, told the committee during a public hearing on Senate Bill 5525. Brown spoke in support of workforce funds that pay for OCC crews and an Indian Youth Service Corps run by Lomaqatsi.

Multiple witnesses described OCC’s triple impact: training and employment for youth, on-the-ground fuels reduction that protects homes and communities, and a pipeline into firefighting and natural-resources careers. Sarah Satimo, chief of staff for Sen. Jeff Golden, summarized the legislative request that proponents called for: \"SB 82 requests $10,000,000 in state general funds and another $5,000,000 in 1-to-1 matching funds.\" Satimo said the request had passed the Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee with a unanimous do-pass recommendation and should be moved into the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HEC) budget.

Alumni and current corps members recounted training, certifications and job outcomes. Lonnie Jackson, an enrolled Klamath tribal member who is a seasonal wildland firefighter, said OCC training helped him gain forestry and fire-management skills and that he planned to return to seasonal Forest Service work. \"The OCC program is helping me to gather further skills in forestry and fire management while also sharing my knowledge with other core members,\" Jackson said.

Grace Robin, a former OCC member from Bend with Heart of Oregon Corps, described the program as an entry point into natural-resource careers and emphasized crews’ work creating defensible space for elderly and disabled homeowners. \"Seeing the gratitude of an elderly or disabled homeowner at the project's completion is always fulfilling,\" Robin said.

Program leaders and local fire officials gave local impact numbers. Laura Handy, executive director of Heart of Oregon Corps, told the committee that Heart of Oregon has trained more than 1,000 young people since OCC’s inception, treated over 8,000 acres of high-risk landscape inside wildland-urban interface areas and helped protect more than 1,400 structures. Jeff Parker, president and CEO of Northwest Youth Corps, said the OCC was established in 2021 and 2023 legislative investments had helped the program scale; he also noted that OCC funding was placed in Senate Bill 82, which proponents asked be added to the HEC budget.

Local fire officials said OCC crews provide trained, supervised labor that enables community-level projects that fire districts cannot complete alone. Brian Mulhall, fire marshal and division chief for Applegate Valley Fire District, said his district partnered with OCC and Northwest Youth Corps crews to treat roughly 80 acres and support defensible-space work for about 100 homes.

Speakers also described OCC’s role in emergencies beyond wildfire. Gabe Firstrace, workforce development manager for Lomaqatsi Restoration Project, said crews responded to recent flooding in Harney County to sandbag and assist with evacuations and property recovery, illustrating the program’s broader emergency response uses.

Committee members did not vote on SB 82 during the hearing. Several members encouraged witnesses to file written testimony and data. Co-chairs told witnesses the subcommittee would consider funding priorities after the May revenue forecast.

Ending: Proponents asked the subcommittee to move SB 82 (the OCC funding request) into the HEC budget and to consider base funding for OCC; the committee requested written follow-up and data to inform budget decisions.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Joint Committee On Ways and Means Subcommittee On Education 04/24/2025 1:00 PM","oneSentenceSummary","Tribal leaders, wildland firefighters, program directors and Corps alumni urged the Joint Subcommittee on Education on April 24 to secure state funding for the Oregon Conservation Corps, saying the corps helps prevent wildfires and creates career pathways for young Oregonians.","taxTitle","Education, Ways and Means, Joint, Committees, Legislative, Oregon","taxId",18450,"location","Oregon","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6261977,"Oregon workforce boards urge continued funding for Prosperity 10,000 as federal support falls",1048,122000,1170000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3117259-9343eaee13f0187d8027cb011ac4559f&start=122&end=1170","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3117259-9343eaee13f0187d8027cb011ac4559f/thumbnail_122000.jpg","/articles/6261977/Oregon/Oregon-workforce-boards-urge-continued-funding-for-Prosperity-10000-as-federal-support-falls","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6261977-ab703f5ef4625a2accf6c56e3ec5e41f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770714463&Signature=mwRSegawFLfZYuuipUf3ee6V32sa5Fpm-yNyB0YanRzWvyUjSJs5O-KALQ6QV955G8r8hFp48cHwedsXxESwwkh~dFkxijveUu35OQ-mtbGzASgUDuhggMb~ifkvKFM93pngu33E7Sc0mcjnmsXNQdKTV7xNFulNwb~xYiqD57t-SIT1zHTcTJFdHhnA~v9QZpmszLSYHFOleUBO3yhPDOVNO6CuAK10638cDQJHbtueXqu53b3LxrnmI66Spdjb9BQsGecD0lNh9iKQ0bhrO1ga8a~8spGKpk3G1~3SKstuIcDnSxHzAnw5KuMBIT-shXeF92QuLmy-zqZn5DTFJg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Members of Oregon’s local workforce development boards told the Joint Subcommittee on Education on April 24 that state workforce investments — including the Prosperity 10,000 program — are producing measurable employment outcomes and should be continued as federal funding declines.

The testimony was delivered during an informational meeting on Senate Bill 5525 and presentations from representatives of nine local workforce development boards. \"We are on track to serve 10,000 people with $35,000,000,\" said Georgia Conrad, executive director and CEO of the Oregon Workforce Partnership, the statewide association of the nine local boards. \"Completers are earning an average wage of over $22 per hour.\"

Conrad and other presenters described Prosperity 10,000 and several state-funded streams — including the Oregon Youth Employment Program, work experience (WEX), maritime workforce strategies, workforce strategies and industry engagement funding — as blended resources that together support short-term training, internships and employer-aligned credentials.

Kim Parker Jadenas, executive director and CEO of Willamette Workforce Partnership, told the committee that a Portland State University analysis of the Prosperity investment shows significant returns. \"Of the $35,000,000 that we invested, we will generate $23,000,000 in new tax revenue,\" Parker Jadenas said, adding that the analysis estimates more than $195,000,000 in reduced social-service costs, for an estimated total annual financial benefit of about $219,000,000.

Presenters outlined who the workforce boards serve and how funds are used. Kim Parker Jadenas said local boards serve individuals ages 14 and older who are legally authorized to work in the United States, and that federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) rules require that boards give priority to low-income individuals, recipients of public assistance and those with basic skills deficiencies. \"Local workforce boards are comprised primarily of private-sector representatives,\" Parker Jadenas said, noting that WIOA requires a majority of private-sector membership on local boards.

Speakers gave local examples of the programs at work. Sarah Stevens, of Southwestern Oregon Workforce Partnership, described youth employment advisors placed in all 26 area high schools who connect students to internships and pre-apprenticeships. Conrad and others cited individual success stories: a single mother who used Prosperity 10,000 funds to earn a CDL and gain employment paying about $30 per hour; cohorts of bilingual EMTs trained in Marion County; and cohorts that provided English-language and workplace training embedded at private employers in Hood River.

Presenters repeatedly warned about declining federal support. \"Since 2016 in Oregon, we have seen a 41% decline\" in WIOA funding, Conrad said, citing a per-capita drop from about $11.35 to $6.66. Committee members asked presenters how the system will respond if federal funding continues to fall and ARPA funds used for Prosperity 10,000 are no longer available.

Conrad and Parker Jadenas asked the subcommittee to consider continuing state funding for Prosperity 10,000 and the workforce service streams that local boards use in combination. \"This money removes people from poverty permanently,\" Conrad said, describing the program’s flexible uses and employer-connected design.

The committee did not take a vote during the informational presentation. Co-chairs and members said they expect further budget conversations after the May revenue forecast and encouraged written testimony and follow-up data from presenters.

Questions from committee members and additional examples of local programming and employer partnerships were included in the presentations; committee staff noted meeting materials and videos were available on the legislative website.

Ending: Committee leadership said the subcommittee will continue to review budget priorities after the May revenue forecast and invited presenters to submit additional written materials and follow-up data to inform deliberations.","Local workforce board leaders told the Joint Subcommittee on Education on April 24 that Prosperity 10,000 and other state-funded workforce streams deliver rapid job placement and higher wages, and warned that federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funding has declined sharply since 2016.","actionData","errors"]

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Tribal leaders, firefighters and Corps alumni press Legislature for Oregon Conservation Corps funding

Oregon workforce boards urge continued funding for Prosperity 10,000 as federal support falls