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Warren County approves $75,000 for Refuge BG workforce training for new Americans
Summary
Warren County Fiscal Court voted unanimously June 30 to provide $75,000 to Refuge BG to support a $750,000 workforce development grant that will train newly arrived residents for local jobs; the county and city must provide a 10% match, officials said.
Warren County Fiscal Court on June 30 approved a $75,000 allocation to Refuge BG to support a $750,000 workforce-development grant aimed at training newly arrived residents for open jobs in Warren County.
The funding was approved after a brief presentation by Daniel Tarnaga of Refuge BG, who described the nonprofit’s job-placement work for people resettled from refugee camps and recent arrivals to Bowling Green. “Many of them spend 20 to 30 year in a refugee camp. By being here, they are able to thrive,” Tarnaga said.
Judge Executive Doug Gorman told the court the Refuge BG program has placed hundreds of people in employment. “In the past year, [they] placed over 300 people into jobs and careers,” Gorman said, and added that Refuge BG secured a $750,000 grant that requires a 10% local match from the city and the county.
Tarnaga told the court Refuge BG provides holistic services and training across sectors including construction, manufacturing, technology and entrepreneurship. He cited partner organizations involved in the effort, including Graves Gilbert Clinic, Western Kentucky University and the WKU Innovation Campus, and Sky CTC. He described individual placement examples and said employers locally have hired program participants.
The court moved the Refuge BG item up on the agenda. Esquire Lawrence made the motion to approve a determination in the amount of $75,000 to Refuge BG; Esquire Williams seconded. The court recorded a roll-call vote with Esquire Cummings, Esquire Williams, Esquire McWhorter, Esquire Lawrence, Esquire Aldridge and Esquire Leslie voting yes; the motion passed unanimously.
Court members did not offer substantive amendments at the time of the vote. The approved amount is intended to aid the larger $750,000 workforce grant and cover local matching requirements described by Gorman. Court documents on the agenda list the allocation under item 37.
Refuge BG representatives and the county indicated the funding will be used for training and job placement for “new Americans” to fill open positions in Warren County. The court did not set additional conditions or a specific disbursement schedule during the meeting, nor did staff provide a detailed line-by-line budget during the public presentation.
The presentation and vote occurred at the fiscal court’s special meeting on the county’s last day of the fiscal year. Follow-up on program implementation and any required reporting to the county were not specified on the record.
