Allentown Works: $20 million, five‑year workforce program moves into implementation with childcare, transit and property plans

Trevor, the Allentown Works program lead, told the Community and Economic Development committee that the five‑year, $20 million recompete award has completed its first year of planning and piloting and is now entering the implementation stage.

"We're saying it's $20,000,000, but in reality it's eight individual grants," Trevor said, describing eight component projects and 15 comprehensive work plans that he said will be executed under contract through the Allentown Economic Development Corporation by March 19. He said the program completed a $500,000 strategy development phase and piloted a community engagement "power cohort" of 10 residents who will now serve as recruiters into the initiative.

Staff and program leads outlined several priority components. Project 1 will place four resource navigators in priority neighborhoods at shared community hubs (Casa Guadalupe, St. Luke Sacred Heart, Resurrected Life, Community Bike Works) to enroll residents, troubleshoot barriers and connect participants to training and jobs. Trevor said navigators will have access to an emergency flex fund to resolve acute obstacles immediately, "If you need help on your flat tire today, I'll make sure that that's addressed."

Other projects include partnerships with LCTI and Lehigh Carbon Community College to relocate manufacturing courses downtown; a reentry expansion with Muhlenberg College and the Lehigh County jail to offer college credits and stipends on reentry; and a childcare strategy intended to raise Keystone STARS ratings among home‑based providers so they can access state reimbursement. Trevor said program analysis suggests converting roughly 30 home providers to higher Keystone STARS levels could bring about $1.5 million in additional state reimbursements into the city, funds that could support staff wages and facility upgrades.

The transportation component will fund a ride‑demand study and bus‑stop audit with the Leonard Parker Pool Institute and pilot new routes; in the pilot, Allentown Works participants will not pay bus fares for the length of the program. The urban sites work aims to acquire and rehab vacant industrial properties so small manufacturers from local incubators can expand locally and hire residents; staff noted a $3,000,000 budget allocation to accelerate AEDC’s urban sites program.

On employer engagement, Trevor and staff said they are coordinating with major local health systems (St. Luke's and LVHN) and other employers to create pre‑training and hiring commitments; the program pairs participants with career coaches who will remain for up to nine months after placement to help with retention.

When resident Blake Henry asked how long training tracks will take and whether courses would run each semester, staff said track length will vary by entry level and that some courses will be offered at least twice a year, scaling with demand. Trevor said a publicly accessible dashboard (hosted by the Leonard Parker Pool Institute) will publish project statuses and data once it is live.

Staff emphasized the program is flexible and may pivot if a component outperforms or underperforms, and said recruitment is targeted to begin in the second quarter once contracts are executed. "Any advertisement for jobs available or support to find jobs available through Allentown Works will be exclusive to Allentown residents," Trevor said. The committee discussed periodic updates and public reporting; council members requested routine presentations and a public dashboard to track progress.

The meeting also included a short staff update on zoning code implementation and a note that a first set of zoning amendments — plus a separate data‑center ordinance draft — are targeted for forthcoming meetings.