A recap of Chicago Jobs Council’s (CJC’s) 42nd Annual Meeting: What’s New and What’s Normal for Workforce Development. View a gallery from the event, a recap of our annual meeting panel, moderated by Senator Celina Villanueva, and the presentation of our Betty J Willhoite Award honoring an organization has gone above and beyond in advancing CJC’s work and improving the field of workforce development.

Over the last several years, Chicago Jobs Council’s (CJC’s) focus on eliminating barriers to employment has revealed that driver’s license suspensions lead to job loss and missed economic opportunities. Through the License to Work and SAFE-T Acts, we have successfully eliminated driver’s license suspension for fines and fees in Illinois. We are building on these successes by working to end debt-driven suspensions for failure to appear.

Towards the end of September, it was announced that all 50 states would soon be getting small ($500K-$2 million or so) Planning Grants to help them conduct their 12-month State Digital Equity Planning processes. The federal National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) promised to get all those grants out the door to states by September 29[1]. Louisiana, which was first, received roughly $900K for its Digital Equity Planning Grant (and another few million for its BEAD planning grant).

For more than 40 years, Chicago Jobs Council (CJC) has advocated on behalf of our members, which include organizations that deliver services to jobseekers. We have influenced, informed, and advanced policy in the areas of equitable pathways with economic mobility; increased funding for an underfunded workforce system; and, removed barriers that keep people from being able to work.

Trauma is a workplace issue, particularly in workforce development organizations. The pandemic has been traumatizing for many workforce development staff. We need to recognize this and mitigate it by creating cultures of resiliency within our organizations. While workforce organizations have invested in training staff on trauma-informed approaches, that alone is not enough. We need to prioritize embedding trauma-informed, resiliency-building practices at all levels and facets of our organizations.

Tanvi Shah is the Director of the Jobs Council’s Frontline Focus. In this role, she oversees an initiative to build a comprehensive approach to career readiness services for the workforce development field. She also supports and helps to elevate the work of frontline organizations striving to create a more equitable society.