State, county and city outline grants, temporary jobs and relief funds for displaced workers and small businesses

State and local workforce officials told legislators they are mobilizing unemployment insurance, federal disaster programs, temporary subsidized jobs and direct relief for workers and small businesses affected by the Los Angeles wildfires.

Nancy Barris, director of the California Employment Development Department, said EDD has processed more than 7,000 regular unemployment claims and more than 4,500 federal Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) claims for survivors. Barris noted FEMA extended the deadline to apply for DUA to March 31 and said benefits for eligible people will continue through the federal program end date of July 12.

County and city programs: Kelly LoBianco, director of the LA County Department of Economic Opportunity, described a regionwide small‑business and worker relief fund the county helped launch with the city and philanthropic partners. The fund offers $2,000 cash grants to eligible workers and up to $25,000 grants to small businesses and nonprofits with documented damage or revenue loss; LoBianco said the worker fund had received more than 6,000 applications and first awards were slated to go out in late March/early April.

Workforce grants and temporary jobs: EDD and county officials said they unlocked two federally funded programs—the National Dislocated Worker Grant (NDWG) and Additional Assistance (AA) grants—to provide temporary subsidized employment, training and wraparound services. County staff said these grants will support roughly 1,000 impacted workers with training and re‑employment services and about 300 dislocated workers in temporary subsidized jobs for cleanup, humanitarian assistance and logistics; the county expects temporary placements to begin in April.

Economic impact estimates: Germaine Hampton, vice president for workforce development at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation, shared preliminary economic estimates: property damages in a wide range ($28 billion to $53.8 billion), lost economic output in the billions, and estimated job losses on the order of 25,000 to 50,000. Hampton urged policies to accelerate permitting and sequencing for schools and other public facilities, expand worker training and provide grants (rather than only loans) to small businesses.

Access challenges: Multiple witnesses said many affected workers are not eligible for standard benefits and rely on private philanthropy and rapid‑response funds for immediate needs. Megan Ortiz and other worker‑center representatives described obstacles for day laborers and domestic workers, including language access and lack of documentation for some funding forms; county officials said application assistance and multilingual outreach were priorities.

What lawmakers requested: Legislators asked for regular reporting on grant awards, the number of workers placed in temporary jobs, training completions and outcomes, and clearer timetables for small business relief disbursements.

Officials said the recovery will be long‑running and will require combined public, private and philanthropic effort to stabilize displaced workers and rebuild businesses and neighborhoods.