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Residents tell council Detroit workforce programs aren’t reaching communities, urge more outreach and funding
Summary
During public comment, multiple callers criticized Detroit Employment Solutions and Detroit at Work for poor follow-up and limited community outreach, praised some training graduates, and asked the council to fund neighborhood accessibility and senior programs.
Several Detroit residents used the council’s public comment period to criticise the city’s workforce programs and urge better outreach and funding for neighborhood accessibility and senior services.
A caller who did not give a name said Detroit Employment Solutions and Detroit at Work “need to be questioned under oath and under penalty of perjury. They have set a bunch of lies today, like 80% success rate, I don't believe it.” The same caller also noted, “Last month, 20 black men and women graduated from Grand Circus. They had previously graduated from the Apple Developer Academy last year.”
Betty A. Varner, a neighborhood resident, said she has repeatedly invited workforce staff to local events without success. “The workforce program is a great program, and I have reached out multiple times, wanted them to come to events that my organization, the DeSoto Elswore Black Association has given in their neighborhood and community, and we have not been successful,” Varner said. She asked the council to “please allocate monies to the programs that I normally talk about, the Detroit Home Accessibility Grant and the senior and disabled program.”
Cindy Dara, another caller, said she participated in Jumpstart and did not find the program useful for her goals. “I was in Jumpstart, and I wasn't a success, but I never liked most of the jobs they were offering. I wanted to tutor kids in math and stuff,” Dara said.
Ronald Foster, a small-business owner, asked whether workforce partners would connect small businesses to health-related options. “When it come down to small business and employees, are any of these organizations going to bridge the small business with health choice,” Foster asked.
None of the comments in the transcript record a response from city officials during the public comment segment, and no formal action was taken on the items raised. The council recessed the meeting to return at 2 p.m.
Why it matters: Workforce contractors report success rates that the public questions, residents say outreach has not reached neighborhood organizations, and callers asked the council to commit funds to accessibility and senior programs that serve vulnerable populations.
