The Workforce Center in Mountain Home is one of nine across the state to be closed by the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services. A press release by the agency described the move as part of a restructuring across the state “to increase program flexibility and reach more Arkansans.”
According to the agency, the restructuring includes the transfer of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program to the Department of Human Services, as required by law from this year’s legislative session. This will reportedly result in the relocation of underutilized offices. In addition to Mountain Home, other Workforce Centers to close are located in Arkadelphia, Batesville, Benton, Blytheville, Camden, Helena-West Helena, Magnolia and Rogers.
Workforce Services will continue to be offered through mobile centers capable of reaching citizens across the state. The agency states it has created a job seeker database to enabel the division to contact unemployed Arkansans directly and improve the delivery and efficiency of services. Workforce Services employees affected will receive offers for new employment from Human Services at their current salary.
In the agency’s announcement, Director Dr. Charisse Childers said, “Our primary goal is to continue to deliver services to Arkansans. The restructure of our service delivery model will allow us to better utilize our federal funding in the most efficient way possible. We are following the national trend of reducing brick and mortar locations to more efficiently deliver services through enhanced technology and the use of our eight mobile workforce centers.”
The announcement did not give a timetable on when the Workforce Centers will be closed.
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