Saratoga County’s Economic Development Committee on June 4 voted to accept Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding for program year (PY) 2025, which runs July 1 to June 30.

The county’s portion as the grant recipient is about $787,000, with the larger three-county system (Saratoga, Warren and Washington) seeing “about a 3% dip,” a committee staff member said. The remainder of the allocation will be passed to Warren and Washington counties to operate their workforce development programs.

The funding supports adult, dislocated worker and youth programs, including training grants, employment workshops and employment services. “This is what funds our department to run our programs for adults, dislocated workers, and youth, and allows us to give training grants, all of our employment workshops, and employment services,” the staff member said.

Committee members moved and seconded acceptance of the grant; the committee voted in favor and the motion carried.

Why it matters: WIOA funds are the primary federal source for local workforce programs. Even a modest decrease in federal funding can affect the number of training grants and services available to jobseekers and employers across the three-county region.

The program year covered by the award begins July 1 and ends June 30 of the following year; the committee recorded no additional conditions or amendments to the acceptance during the meeting.