County Workforce Development available to help the jobless, youth

ELYRIA — County officials said Wednesday that federal money is available to help get Lorain County's unemployed workers back to work even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Fifty-six percent of people qualifying for unemployment in the county are from the cities of Lorain, Elyria and North Ridgeville — the county's top three in population — according to Mike Longo, director of Lorain County's Workforce Development Agency. Of those unemployed, about 17 percent are in production, 13 percent in food preparation and about 11 percent in sales, Longo said, speaking remotely to the Lorain County commissioners at their weekly video conference meeting. Workforce Development has been working with state agencies to gather information and let Lorain County residents who are out of work or looking to change jobs know that there are certificate and training programs available to them, sometimes already paid for through federal or state grants. Lorain County Community College and Lorain County Joint Vocational School host many courses for re-training or new certifications, Longo said. Taking the 2020 Census also helps federal agencies allocate money and resources on a per capita basis to states, counties and cities. Workforce Development staff members are working remotely and keeping up with their caseloads from home, helping out between 800 and 900 people total. "It's challenging but it's something we're able to do," Longo said. Since March, he said, his agency has helped obtain $175,000 in training money for Lorain County's changing workforce, more than twice what it was able to get over the same time span in 2019. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, in February, there were 7,800 openings in the Ohio Means Jobs system. By the end of May, the last available data shows only 2,800 openings. Longo said employers are gradually posting jobs and contacting his agency to help find candidates. Workforce Development also will work with youth ages 16 to 24 whether in or or out of school. "The dollars are here, and we want to help the community," he said. Longo told commissioners that repeat unemployment claims numbers are continuing to drop as people go back to work, with the number sitting at approximately 12,000. It remains unclear if the $600 in additional pandemic unemployment insurance payments will continue or end, incentivizing people to return to work. Workforce Development can be reached by calling (440) 324-5244, and callers will generally receive a call back from a specialist the same day, Longo said. "We want to help people and be responsive to their needs," he said. In other business, commissioners presented a certificate of recognition to the Lorain County Sheriff's Office for achieving re-certification for policing standards through the Ohio Collaborative Community-Police Advisory Board. Sheriff's Capt. Daniel Ashdown and special project officer Anthony Syrowski attended the meeting by remote video to accept the certificate, which honored the Sheriff's Office's "proactive approach" to best practices and standards in law enforcement. Ashdown said the agency always tried to be at the forefront of national policing standards when it comes to training, policies and procedures. Syrowski, a retired sergeant, said the agency began rewriting its policies years ago and based its training regimen off that. Training starts at the basic police academy level for cadets, then continues in the field and is updated annually. That annual training includes firearms re-certification, uses of force training, policy mandates, community relations, self-defense, de-escalation tactics "and the state mandates training on top of that," Syrowski said. Driver training also is mandated, as more police officers die in line-of-duty traffic crashes than any other reason, including violent assaults or shootings. About 85 percent of all deputies are training in Crisis Intervention Team, or CIT response, thanks to a class started in 2002 and continued through the Lorain County Mental Health, Addiction and Recovery Services Board. Ashdown, who was a graduate of the first class, said the 40-hour training helps officers identify and safely deal with people with mental health concerns in a nonviolent way, de-escalating any threats and making sure that those with mental illness get help instead of ending up behind bars. The training "helps open the eyes to these new deputies, and even some of our older deputies; this is a new concept to them," he said. Commissioners thanked the Sheriff's Office and its deputies for their efforts and high standards. "Thank you for protecting our community, and I know that it seems like a thankless job these days, but I want to thank you," Commissioner Lori Kokoski said. In other business, commissioners agreed to submit a grant to the Ohio Department of Transportation's Office of Aviation for the fiscal year 2021 Ohio Airport Grant Program for additional taxiway lighting and the relocation of lighting controls at the Lorain County Airport. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.