Outagamie County uses $1M in ARPA funds to create a Workforce Development Grant

Sophia Voight, Appleton Post-Crescent
·2 min read
Outagamie County Government Center

APPLETON - Outagamie County is dispersing some of its remaining federal COVID-19 relief funds through a Workforce Development Grant which will finance workforce training in the county.

Last August, the county board allocated $1 million of its $36.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding for economic, tourism and workforce development.

The county announced its Workforce Development Grant Monday, and plans to invest the $1 million into one or more programs designed to benefit county residents and employees.

Private businesses, institutes of higher education, workforce development boards, labor unions and nonprofit organizations in Outagamie County are eligible to apply for the funding.

What is the Workforce Development Grant?

The county is looking to fund a business's workforce development program, specifically in "untapped talent pools" such as groups of migrants, immigrants, retired military personnel, recent graduates or individuals with health conditions.

The grant, which must be between $100,000 and $1 million, could be used to fund programs such as:

  • Job training;

  • Job fairs;

  • Incentives for newly employed workers;

  • Grants to hire underserved workers;

  • Assistance to unemployed individuals to start small businesses; and

  • Support for childcare and transportation to and from a job site or interview.

Applications for the funding are open until Sept. 15

What else has the county spent its ARPA funds on?

In total, Outagamie County received $36.5 million in ARPA funds that it has allocated toward expanded internet access, nonprofit grants, a new 911 Communication Center, information technology projects and county COVID-19 expenses to be used by the end of 2024.

In August, the county board allocated its remaining $15 million ARPA funds toward addressing major issues facing the county, which included:

  • $1,000,000 for economic, tourism and workforce development;

  • $3,500,000 for affordable housing;

  • $2,750,000 for child care and early childhood development;

  • $2,750,000 for behavioral and mental health services;

  • $2,500,000 in expanding broadband; and

  • $2,400,049 for county projects and administration services.

This breakdown came from a 2021 survey of county households and businesses that identified those areas as the top issues facing the county and that ARPA funding should address.

Sophia Voight is a local government and political reporter with The Post-Crescent. She can be reached with tips and feedback at svoight@postcrescent.com. Follow her on Twitter @sophia_voight.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Outagamie County opens a Workforce Development Grant funded through APRA