Committee forwards $1.6 million in federal WIOA funds to council for workforce programs

The Committee on Finance voted to forward Bill 1‑12 to the Hawaii County Council with a favorable recommendation on Jan. 6, 2026. The bill would increase federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) revenues by $1,600,000 and appropriate funds across administrative/planning ($200,000), adult program ($650,000), dislocated worker ($300,000) and youth program ($450,000).

The committee heard from Dennis Lynn, deputy director for research and development, and Clinton Mercado, the county’s workforce development lead, who described how the funds are distributed. Lynn said the county issues a competitive request for proposals and that Goodwill Hawaii has been a frequent service provider. Mercado described on‑the‑job training and apprenticeship pathways and highlighted the county’s CDL training work, noting that examiners had been a bottleneck but the program had reduced a waitlist of roughly 20–25 people.

Mercado provided program activity numbers for December 2025, saying the county was serving about 338 adults, 70 dislocated workers and 72 youth in active WIOA programs, and that the American Job Center saw roughly 3,000 visits in 2025. Council members asked for additional historical data on participants and for a breakdown showing how the county’s outreach connected program participants to county positions and other employers.

Councilmember Kirkwood moved to forward the bill with a favorable recommendation; the motion was seconded and the committee recorded a favorable vote. The committee asked staff to deliver the requested five‑year participation figures to the council.

The measure now goes to the full council for further consideration and final action.