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East Cascades Works warns of federal funding cuts, urges continued investment in workforce programs
Summary
Heather Fitts, executive director of East Cascades Works, told Bend advisory members that federal workforce funding has declined, key grant programs are expiring, and local workforce providers face a nearly $1 million shortfall for the coming fiscal year.
Heather Fitts, executive director of East Cascades Works, briefed the BDAP on the organization’s programs and funding on June 2, and urged continued local and state investment in workforce development as federal funding declines.
Fitts said East Cascades Works serves 10 counties east of the Cascade Range, is primarily federally funded, and has increased its annual budget from about $2.8 million roughly a decade ago to about $9 million today through additional funding streams. She described the organization’s youth and adult programs, including Youth Career Connect (internships), Youth Compass (WIOA-funded program for 16–24-year-olds who have dropped out), WorkSource Centers, in-prison job training programs, sector-focused employer convenings, and incumbent worker training funds.
Fitts told the panel that federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) funding for Oregon has fallen roughly 50% over the last 12 years and that East Cascades Works faces a $1 million reduction this coming fiscal year plus an additional 10% cut from WIOA. She highlighted results from the state’s Future Ready/Prosperity Program, saying a $35 million investment yielded an estimated $23.1 million in new tax revenue and about $195.4 million in reduced social services costs statewide. "There is not another investment that I've ever seen in this state that brings in that kind of a return on investment," Fitts said on the record.
Fitts asked BDAP to consider whether city-level economic development contracting and investment could support incumbent worker training and other workforce-building tools that are allowed under federal rules but underfunded locally. She gave examples where on-the-job training grants (50% match) helped a manufacturer retain its place in a supply chain and where language-access training improved workforce outcomes at a food manufacturer.
BDAP members asked about entrepreneurship and small-business supports; Fitts said East Cascades Works is primarily workforce-focused but partners with organizations such as the SBDC, Central Oregon Community College, EDCO and others to support business-facing needs and sector partnerships in health care, construction and bioscience.
No formal action was taken; the presentation served to inform BDAP about workforce program results, funding gaps and potential areas where municipal partners could participate in local incumbent worker training or other targeted investments.
