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Central Valley workforce boards review regional pilots; board approves minutes and a local‑board recertification
Summary
Presentations from Tulare, Fresno, Stanislaus, Madera and Merced highlighted sector partnerships, reentry and mobile services (including ValleyBuild, forestry corps, EMS corps and a school‑bus driver training program). The board approved meeting minutes and recertified a local workforce board during the session.
Regional leaders from the Central Valley presented a series of local programs and pilots designed to connect workers to opportunities and address sector‑specific needs.
Jenny Bautista, executive director of the Tulare County workforce board, described local priorities including sector partnerships and a new job center model that targets justice‑involved individuals. She said local grants and special funds support training scholarships and subsidized employment.
Blake Consul, executive director of the Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board, highlighted ValleyBuild, a 14‑county construction training partnership that produced hundreds of apprentices through state and discretionary funding, and a Greater Sierra Forestry Corps that has graduated regional cohorts to support wildfire mitigation work.
Madera County presenters described a new mobile 'Workforce on Wheels' unit — a James Irvine Foundation‑funded vehicle with up to five workstations and Starlink Wi‑Fi — designed to bring services into rural communities. Madera also described a school bus driver training program that has completed multiple cohorts and generated district savings that were reinvested in retention.
Program designs and pilots: Presenters described a range of workforce responses — sector partnership tables that place employers at the center of strategy, reentry co‑location of AJCC services in probation facilities, short‑term training for EMT and transportation occupations, and experiments that put modest direct funding in front of youth cohorts to test outcome improvements.
Votes at a glance: The board approved the April 8, 2026 meeting summary (motion by Alicia Bell; second noted; roll call confirmed approval). The board also approved "residual subsequent designation and recertification" of a local workforce board after a seconded motion by Angel Sanchez and roll‑call tally of yes votes.
Next steps: Board staff and members asked for more detailed reports back on pilot outcomes (for example the youth cash‑fronting experiment and forestry placements) and on opportunities to scale successful local interventions with state grants.
