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Somerset County to accept $2.69 million in workforce funds as fiscal agent for local board, staff warn of short-term grants
Summary
The board read resolutions authorizing the county to act as fiscal agent for local workforce funds totaling $2,685,702 and related WorkFirst New Jersey grants; staff said one grant covers only the first quarter and future funding beyond September is uncertain.
The Somerset County Board of Commissioners moved resolutions authorizing the county to act as fiscal agent for workforce grants totaling $2,685,702 from the New Jersey Department of Labor for the period July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026, and to accept additional smaller WorkFirst New Jersey and data/reporting grants for the upcoming program year.
County staff said the action includes an increase in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act funds of about $930,000 for adult, dislocated worker and youth programs and separate WorkFirst New Jersey funding for an initial quarter. "This is not as, this keeps us whole for the first quarter of our program year. We do not know what our funding will be after September," staff said when explaining the WorkFirst grant; the transcript records that the county is awaiting word on possible cuts because the funds are tied to SNAP and TANF.
Why it matters: the county serves as fiscal agent for the Greater Raritan (as read in the record) workforce board and distributes state labor funds to local workforce programs that provide job training, youth services and dislocated-worker assistance.
Details: Resolutions read into the record included acceptance of $2,685,702 in WIOA funds (an increase of about $930,000 compared with the prior funding level), a WorkFirst New Jersey grant of $173,979 for the period July 1 to Sept. 30, 2025, and a $12,971 data and reporting/analysis award for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026. One resolution amended an existing contract period for WFNJ innovations funding to Dec. 31, 2025, noting the county was one of two grantees the state extended.
Action and next steps: The workforce resolutions were included among the consent items the board moved onto the consent agenda and were recorded as approved by roll call. County staff noted the short-term nature of some funding and said the county is waiting for state decisions about future SNAP/TANF-derived funds.
