Committee withdraws agenda item after refund issued; Employment & Training reports boosted youth funding and strong job-fair turnout

Steven Knott, director of the county Employment and Training Department, moved to withdraw agenda item 2a after Finance issued the refund check, and the committee accepted the withdrawal.

Knott also provided a quarterly update on youth employment and workforce programs. He said the department is managing a youth employment program that had been forward-funded; Knott described receiving "250 some odd thousand dollars additional" in one context, and also referenced a broader allocation as "a $2,200,000 allocation" currently in place for the youth deployment program. He characterized spending the funds as difficult because the program targets disadvantaged youth and large sums are required to support placements. The transcript contains both figures; the department did not present a single reconciled number during the meeting.

Knott reported that a recent smaller job fair in Middletown drew about 500 attendees—far above prior turnout for similar events—and that the department will hold a job fair in April at the Capitol Center in Newberg and a larger job fair at the Gallery in May. Knott noted an expected federal funding update: "on Friday, they, they did pass new resolution on the federal level. That's good news for us. We should be fully funded July 1." He referred to the federal workforce program by the words used in the meeting, "workforce and the big opportunity act."

The withdrawal of agenda item 2a resolved the immediate refund action; the youth employment updates were informational and did not require committee vote.