Community Trade Adjustment Assistance grants.
Department of Commerce announces availability of Community Trade Adjustment Assistance grants
On January 11, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced the availability of nearly $37 billion in Community Trade Adjustment Assistance grants. These new grants, which were established as part of Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) reauthorization under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, are designed to enable communities with significant trade-related job loss to develop and implement innovative economic development strategies.
Eligible applicants are communities—including cities, counties, and other political subdivisions—that have received “cognizable certifications” through the TAA for Workers, Firms or Farmers programs. EDA will award both planning and implementation grants, with applications evaluated on the size of the community, the degree to which grants will support regionalism, innovation and entrepreneurship, and other factors. Implementation grants, which are expected to range from $700,000 and $3.5 million, may be used for a broad range of activities, including job training. Grant applications for all communities are due by April 20, 2010; however, communities that received their most recent “cognizant certification” prior October 22, 2009 are subject to separate deadlines and application requirements. Read the full grant announcement here.
The legislation establishing the Community TAA program also established two community-focused grant programs at the U.S. Department of Labor: The Community College and Career Training Grant Program, which would provide grants of up to $1 million to community colleges to develop and provide training programs for eligible workers, and the Industry or Sector Partnership Grant Program for Communities Impacted by Trade, which would provide grants to eligible partnerships of business, labor, workforce development, educational, and other entities to strengthen and revitalize industries and create employment opportunities for workers in communities impacted by trade. Both programs were authorized to receive up to $40 million in Fiscal Years 2009-10, but Congress did not appropriate funds for either program. Read National Skills Coalition’s summary of the Trade Adjustment Assistance for Communities subtitle under ARRA, and a section-by-section analysis of the Industry or Sector Partnership program.
