VI UPDATE
U.S. Virgin Islands Public Records
TRANSCRIPT OF PUBLIC PROCEEDINGS
Committee on Education and Workforce Development | March 15, 2021
Legislature USVI
March 15, 2021 · 4.1 hours · gov
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Music Music Music Music We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right
back. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right
back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Oh, oh, oh,
oh, oh, oh. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you.
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Thank you.
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oh-oh-oh We'll be right back. That's what I'm going to do.
0:25:58
Good morning, good morning everyone, good morning to all the listening and viewing audience, good morning to all my
colleagues, good morning to the staff of the Legislature, a pleasant good morning. Today is Monday, March 15th, today I
am the Chairwoman of the Committee on Educational Workforce Development. I want to thank all those involved in
making today possible, especially members of my staff. What we'll begin today, first I will begin by first doing the roll
call of the members of the committee, then we'll proceed with reading correspondence by any members of my committee
in terms of any absence or tardiness, and then we will proceed with putting the agenda on the record. There will be, to
note, there has been a change to the agenda in the context of what's taking place in block one where we have a testifier
who will not be testifying however has placed will be placing on the record correspondence from that invited testifier
commissioner gary malloy so go ahead madam clerk please read the roll call hello Kenneth L. Gittins. Senator Kenneth
0:27:57
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L. Gittins absent. Senator Donna A. Fred Gregory. Senator Sen. Donna Fred Gregory absent. Sen. Carla J. Joseph absent.
Sen. Milton E. Potter.
I believe. Senator Potter, do I? Okay. Senator Potter, I guess he's over on. Yep. He's present. Senator Milton E. Potter,
present. Senator Janelle K. Saru. Senator Janelle K. Saru, absent. Senator Kirk A. Viale, absent. Senator Genevieve R.
Whitaker, present. Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker, present. Chairwoman? How many absent, how many present do we
have?
0:29:57
Five absents and two present. Thank you. At this time, we do have correspondence regarding the committee member for
my committee member. Janelle K. Saru, Senator, 34, Legislature of the Virgin Islands. Honorable Genevieve Whitaker,
34, Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Capitol Building, P.O. Box 1690 St. Thomas VI 00804. Dear Senator Whitaker, this
letter serves to inform you that I will be tardy to today's Committee on Education and Workforce Development meeting.
Once available, I will be joining via teams from the Earl B. Utley Legislative Chamber, respectfully submitted, Janelle K.
Saru.
0:30:39
So we'll change Senator Saru's, we'll change hers to excuse, and of course, once she's present, we'll mark her as present.
Thank you. Next, any other correspondence? Legislature of the Virgin Islands, number 20th, Estate Golden Rock,
Christian Stead VI 00820, March 15th, 2021. The Honorable Genevieve R. Whitaker, Chairperson, Committee on
Education and Workforce Development. 34th, Legislature of the Virgin Islands 3022, Estate Golden Rock, Christian
Stead VI 00820. Dear Senator Whitaker, due to a family emergency, I will not be able to be in attendance at today's
Committee on Education and Workforce Development meeting. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank
you for your kind consideration in this matter. Respectfully, Kurt A. Viale, Senator, 34th Legislature of the Virgin
Islands. Okay, and so Senator Viale as excused. Okay, so we'll now proceed with reading today's agenda into the record.
0:31:29
Memorandum 2, members of the Committee on Education and Workforce Development, Honorable Senator Janelle K.
Saru, Vice Chair, Honorable Donna A. Fred Gregory, Honorable Kirk A. VLA, Honorable Kenneth L. Gittins, Honorable
Milton E. Potter, Honorable Carla J. Joseph. Date March 10, 2021, Committee on Education and Workforce
Development, March 15, 2021. The Committee on Education and Workforce Development has scheduled a hearing for
Monday, march 15 2021 at 9 30 in the fritz e lauretz legislature conference room on st croix block one the committee will
receive testimony on the state of the unemployment insurance lost wage assistance program and the federal pandemic
unemployment assistance program invited testifiers mr gary malloy commissioner vi department of labor thank you very
much so that is the so we have one testifier in block one and do we have any correspondence from Commissioner Molloy
because of course we do he's not present so please we're gonna go ahead and place the correspondence letter from
Commissioner Gary Molloy on the record Department of Labor, Office of Commissioner, March 11, 2021, Honorable
Genevieve Whitaker, 3022 Estate, Golden Rock, Christian Stead, St. Croix, Dear Senator Whitaker, I am in receipt of
your revised invitation and updated agenda for the Committee on Education and Workforce development meeting
scheduled to be held on monday march 15 2021 at 9 30 a.m at the fritz e
0:32:56
louette legislative conference room last month my team and i provided a comprehensive update regarding the
unemployment unemployment insurance unit at the committee on finance meeting held on february 16 2021 i have
enclosed a testimony for your perusal the test and testimony provided a bird's eye view of all the programs being
administered by the unemployment insurance unit under the coronavirus aid relief and economic security act cares as you
may know american rescue plan act 2021 recently passed in the congress yesterday this plan is 1.9 trillion dollars and will
provide relief in many areas of government the agency is awaiting guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor on how
to proceed and has no update to share at this time.
0:34:51
Also, in my recent communication on March 8, 2021, I expressed that my team provided testimony at the Committee on
Youth Sports Parks and Recreation on February 24, 2021, regarding our youth and workforce development programs and
attached a copy of the testimony for your perusal. In addition, as the Department of Labor is currently in contract
negotiations with the Vendor ICF, Inc., LLC, who will be working in tandem with the agency on the Skills for Today
project and workforce development functions, it would be more helpful to provide testimony after the contract is
finalized in early spring. therefore with great respect I decline your invitation to attend kindly note sharing this
information with our mutual constituents is equally important to me I welcome the invitation at a more suitable time that
will be beneficial to all sincerely Gary Molloy Commissioner thank you very much and so that is the correspondence
from Commissioner Molloy and I will place clearly on the record. The Committee of Education and Workforce
Development has jurisdiction specifically over the Department of Labor by way of workforce development and I take
great exception to a commissioner informing me that because he testified to some aspects of unemployment and
workforce development that we as a committee and as a body can't call him back before us because he even in the letter
for you as you listened clearly said it was a bird's-eye view meaning that today we would have spent some time disposing
0:35:46
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of the issues surrounding our unemployment crisis. There are a number of constituents. I have worked also along with my
vice chair, Senator Saru, on intakes and constituents who have complaints regarding their unemployment payments, some
as much as a few months, many others and it is a crisis and just as it is as it is a crisis with our school system and what's
going on with the reopening so as we proceed forward and he in his letter also testified to workforce development and we
have specific concerns surrounding the manner in which we're proceeding with workforce development and just to clarify
in communicating to Commissioner Malloy I we reached out to him to ask for testimony specifically on an awarded
contract. The work done behind the scenes included reaching out to the Department of Property and Procurement, our
entity responsible for all of our central
government contracts, as well as the testimony given by the version of Housing Finance Authority director, Mr. Griffith,
who placed in his testimony surrounding overall actually having specifically to do with disaster recovery, he indicated
that a contract was awarded to the company in question and the company that it's also in block two. To this end, as we
look to amend the agenda addressing this issue of a testifier who's essentially refusing to testify, we, and there's also other
tools and methods that we will use going forward certainly when we have this type of situation again I think my
colleagues and others as far as we work towards reforming our education system as well as addressing issues surrounding
workforce so we're gonna proceed we we're gonna go ahead and just for gathering sake in terms of this adjustment sake
what we're gonna do at this time is we're going to take take break and what we'll do we've asked all the testifiers in block
two and adjusting their schedules to resume at 10 30 so to the media team to to my just my colleagues we're gonna go
ahead and resume at 10 30 giving us an opportunity to you know to get ready and the adjustment that we've asked the
block to invited testifiers to make for the public as it's always important for us to be on the same you know main you
know should you know beyond you understand everything together the testimony testimonies invitations or
correspondence is in the public drive on the legislature's website hvi.org go click on committees go to the education and
workforce development committee then you'll find in the subfolder the the testimonies of correspondence and
information we also post there any kind of communication we have following the hearings and so to that and I really
encourage members of the public if you go ahead and download that of course the agenda is also on
0:38:33
displayed I will also express that as we go forward and we address our issues we have to do so in such a way that is
strategic and we're going to continue to ask so behind the scenes also just want to make public that my office as as well as
others involved in education efforts continue to really address the issues around the school reopenings we are quite
dedicated to that so in the coming weeks we will be revisiting the status of school reopenings we are really you know
quite aware we are on top of the department education the board education and we are engaging all the stakeholders as
we move forward in that regard so I'll take now we're going to take a recess when we'll start again at 10 30 this committee
stands in recess We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back.
We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. We'll be right back. We'll be right back. We'll be
right back. We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank
you. Thank you. Thank you.
0:40:48
Thank you. We'll be right back. [2 such phrases repeated 34 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the
recogniser as speech]
0:53:21
Thank you. We'll be right back. Thank you.
1:10:21
Thank you. We'll be right back. [2 such phrases repeated 24 times · standby audio before the proceeding, transcribed by the
recogniser as speech]
1:11:51
The Committee on Education and Workforce Development is back out of recess okay first again good morning to all of
the listening viewing audience thank you and thank you for everyone's patience so again we had a update to the agenda
originally we had in block one Commissioner Gary Malloy to testify regarding our unemployment crisis which is what
we're in in terms of issues surrounding the payment the CARES Act and the other just a regular employment
unemployment programs and so but we're moving on now I want to thank the testifiers from Block 2 who have just really
agreed to us to take part now.
1:23:51
And thank you so much for that understanding. Okay, so first I also want to acknowledge the presence of committee
member, Senator Carla Joseph. Good morning, Senator Joseph. Thank you. Thank you. Okay, so we'll now proceed.
Madam Clerk will proceed with reading what is now Block 2 at 10.30 a.m. the agenda for Block 2. All right, the
committee will receive testimony as it pertains to workforce development, educational development, career and technical
education, vocational rehabilitation, employment opportunities, and the Skills for Today Workforce Development Award.
1:24:57
All right, testifiers. All right, Department of Labor Correspondence, Office of Commissioner, March 8th, Honorable
Genevieve Whitaker, Senator 3022, Estate Golden Rock, Christenstead St. Croix, Virgin Island 00820. Dear Senator
1:25:45
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Whitaker, this correspondence confirms receipt of your invitation to provide testimony at the Committee on Education
and Workforce Development Meeting scheduled to be held on Monday, March 15, 2021 at 9.30 a.m. at the Fritz E.
Lowe's Legislative Conference Room. The Department of Labor is currently in contract negotiations with the vendor ICF
LLC Incorporated, who will be working in tandem with the Agency on the Skills for Today project and workforce
development functions. After review of your requests, my team and I have determined that it would be more helpful to
provide testimony after the contract is finalized in early spring. To this end, I am respectfully requesting that we be
allowed to present and provide a full oversight on plans for these programs once negotiations are complete. In the
interim, the testimony the agency provided at the Committee on Youth, Sports Park and recreation on february 24 2021
can share insight on the current status on the information you are seeking thank you for your consideration sincerely gary
malloy commissioner thank you i want to before we move on to actually read all of the names of testifiers in block two
again we have commissioner Molloy presenting that he's already spoken about workforce development and to
also add he they are in contract negotiations for ICF the ICF company as put on as placed on the testimony by again
Darrell Griffith version of Housing Finance Authority director the contract was already awarded in February last month
to ICF for workforce development to the tune of 10 million dollars as part of the oversight efforts as part of myself as the
chair and also working with committee members the effort we have jurisdiction over the Department of Labor and so it is
important that as we go through processes where contracts are awarded and for purpose of transparency and information
to the public is important that these things are laid out now I have no control we have levels of control over invited
testifiers and my hope is that we will not have to exercise a particular tool which is a subpoena to get Commissioner
Malloy to it to participate in a future hearing as soon as possible and so to that end we also just put into on the record we
are going on four years post disaster and last year a number of presentations were made about workforce development
and here we are today with a commissioner who said they cannot attend because they're still in negotiation for a contract
that was already awarded there there's some there's some flags there but we'll move on madam clerk read all the names of
the testifiers and their agencies and then we'll proceed with the first testifier okay and block two invited testifiers. Mr.
Gary Malloy, Commissioner, Virgin Islands Department of Labor. Ms. Kimberly Cosi-Gomez, Commissioner, Virgin
Islands Department of Human Services. Dr. Michael Francois, Chairman,
1:27:39
Career and Technical Education Board. Dr. Susan Darrow-McGrath, Director, University of the Virgin Islands Center for
Excellence in Leadership and Learning. Mr. Michael Carty, Chairman, Virgin Islands Workforce Development Board,
Mr. Bernard Molebski, Senior Contracts Administrator, ICF, Incorporated, LLC. Thank you. So we will proceed for it
with our first testifier, Commissioner Kazi-Gomez. Also just for foundational basis, I will be asking each testifier for the
case of the Commissioner, she's brought members of her team, I'll just ask the Commissioner I'll be reading an oath.
Media, please, go ahead and let's have Commissioner Kazi-Gomez be featured, spotlighted. Thank you. Good morning to
you, Commissioner, and thank you again for your attendance.
1:29:33
I'm very much appreciated. So at this time, I will read the oath of office and for the benefit of the public, the rules of the
34th legislature, and for those who are interested in the actual rule, I'm talking about rule number 507 of our rules, 507B.
So Commissioner Kazi-Gomez, I will read the statement and you will just indicate I do. Please raise your right hand. Do
you solemnly affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony you will give to this committee will be the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth to the best of your knowledge and belief?
1:30:34
I do. Thank you very much. You may proceed. would you like to do an introduction of my team members yes yes thank
you very much for that thank you yes and go ahead please proceed also introducing the your supports um and your
leadership team thank you so much go ahead awesome my pleasure uh today we have commissioner mikhail rhymer
brown and then we also have um director of um our csep program cindy rollins williams And I believe we have Ashariah
Green who is the Administrator for our Disabilities and Rehabilitation Division. I think those are the only ones we have
today for you.
1:31:10
Okay. So good morning Honorable Senator Genevieve R. Ritaker Chairwoman of the Committee on Education
Workforce Development, Honorable Janelle K. Saru, Vice Chair, Committee members, my colleagues, and the listening
and viewing audience. I'm Kimberly Cozzi-Gomez, Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Human Services.
It is our pleasure to appear before the committee to provide testimony on programs and services regarding workforce
development, education and training, vocational rehabilitation, and senior employment opportunities provided by DHS.
Joining me today are Mikael Reimer-Brown, Assistant Commissioner, Sharia Green, Administrator of the Division of
Disabilities and Rehabilitation Services, and Cindy Rollins-Williams, Director of the Senior Community Service
Employment Program, otherwise known as CSAP. The Virgin Islands Department of Human Services is the designated
state agency responsible for the provision of vocational rehabilitation services. The VR program is administered by the
U.S. Department of Education and authorized by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The goal of the program is to assess,
1:31:58
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develop, plan, and provide vocational rehabilitation services for persons with disabilities consistent with their unique
strengths, abilities, resources, priorities, concerns, interests, and informed choice so that they may prepare for and engage
in an integrated employment outcome and acquire economic self-sufficiency. The Division of Disabilities and
Rehabilitation Services or DRS consists of four programs, Vocational Rehabilitation, Independent Living Services for the
Older Blind,
supported employment, and Randolph Shepard Business Entrepreneurial Program. The VR program is the largest
component and is designed to ensure that individuals with disabilities overcome their barriers to gain full employment. In
collaboration with its core and community partners, the program advocates for and supports the independent living
philosophy. Eligibility requirements are determined based on the following. The applicant must have a physical
emotional cognitive or learning disability that causes a substantial impediment to employment verification of the
disability must be provided consequently the vr program pays for medical and psychiatric or psychological assessments if
the applicant is financially not able to cover the cost associated it should also be noted that vr is not a primary payer of
medical care but supplements private and or public health insurance programs the applicant also must need the services to
prepare secure and maintain employment the program is also voluntary and services are based on your individual needs
as determined by your plan of employment we have vocational rehabilitation collaborations the program collaborates
with internal and external stakeholders such as the disabilities rights center of the virgin islands the virgin islands
association for independent living the virgin islands university center for excellence and disabilities or viu said we also
collaborate with mr julian henley the ada coordinator of the office of the governor and various councils and organizations
that cater to needs of persons with disabilities. As mandated by the Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, each state or
territory is required to submit a unified or combined plan to the United States Department of Labor. Vocational
rehabilitation is engaged with the development and modifications
1:33:52
of this unified plan for the U.S. Virgin Islands. The plan outlines a four-year strategy to align services and programs for
job seekers and businesses. The Vocational Rehabilitation program is an integral part of the workforce development
system and as such is a core partner of the American Job Center also known as the One Stop System. Other partners
include the Virgin Islands Department of Labor, the Virgin Islands Department of Education, Adult Education Career and
Technical Program, and Job Corps. Upon referrals from the One Stop to facilitate successful employment we've lost you
for a little a short minute you want to just sure start back from the yeah yeah from one stop current technical education
one stop yeah start from that point because you just were frozen for a moment upon referrals from the one staff and
various other entities and self-referrals the following services are offered to eligible participants of the vocational
rehabilitation program vocational counseling and guidance training and rehabilitation services to facilitate successful
employment outcomes maintenance for additional costs incurred while the individual is receiving VR services transition
planning for students enrolled in schools and pre-employment training and services development of an individual plan of
employment or an ipe educational informational workshops to persons with disabilities about services which they can
access to improve their employment outcomes transportation and travel assistance as related to access to vr services
1:35:52
evaluations accommodations and assistance with job placement transitioning and pre-employment services transitioning
services are designed to help students identify career paths and build the requisite skill sets that will facilitate the
successful transfer into the workforce or post-secondary education all students who receive special education services
have an individualized education program or an IEP the IEP includes information on how students are doing in their
classes their annual educational goals and accommodations modifications needed to help students make progress
beginning with the first iep meeting the focus is on the student's goals post high school and education and training
employment and independent living the dhs vocational rehabilitation counselors are an important part of the iep team
which also includes the student his or her parents or guardians their special education teacher general education teachers
and a school administrator pre-employment transition services represent the earliest set of services available for students
with disabilities under the vocational rehabilitation program the services are available to students as early as age 14 and
are short term in nature any student with a documented disability can benefit from these services additionally in
accordance with the workforce innovation and opportunity act the vocational rehabilitation program partners with the
department of education to provide pre-employment transition services to students with disabilities at least 15 of the
program's federal funds are reserved for these services the five required pre-employment transition service categories are
job exploration counseling including the career aptitude assessments work-based learning experience which may include
in-school or after-school opportunities or experience outside the traditional school setting including internships and
on-the-job training that are provided in an integrated environment counseling on opportunities for enrollment for
post-secondary education programs at institutions of higher education workplace readiness training to develop soft skills
and independent living skills
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and instruction and self-advocacy which may also include peer mentoring and education relative to available
accommodations through the summer months students are engaged excuse me are engaged in employment training or
they are placed at various government agencies and private businesses based on their career interest some of the
placements are done in collaborations with the virgin islands department of labor students have been offered full-time
employment opportunity as a result of their participation in the vr summer employment training program in the past the
vr program has partnered with local farmers to provide hands-on training to students in agricultural science. The students
learned about land irrigation, soil preparation, seeding germination, and marketing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the
DHS VR program launched our first online pre-employment training series that provided information around our core
subject areas. Participating students provided insight on career opportunities, interviewing techniques, resume building,
and employer expectations. We're now conducting our spring sessions, which began in February 2021 and will run
approximately for 10 weeks. The students will receive a stipend for their participation. Another key component of the VR
program is supported employment services. Supported employment is a mandated service that can caters to the severely
disabled population that cannot benefit from traditional employment opportunities and requires on-the-job support for a
specific amount of time the VR program has struggled to secure and maintain certified and consistent job coaches in the
territory the VR program receives a small grant for the provision of these services recently we partner with the local
private provider Island Therapy Solutions to provide job development placement and support to selected participants I'm
pleased to announce also that
1:40:02
we've been in dormant for many years, DHS has successfully reactivated the Randolph Shepard Business Entrepreneurial
Program in the territory. The federal Randolph Shepard program signed into law in 1936 by then President Franklin D.
Roosevelt is designed to assist talented and creative individuals who are legally blind to acquire management training and
business skills necessary to realize the American dream of becoming business owners. On March 1st of this year our
vocational rehabilitation staff was proud to see one of their legally blind clients implement a soft opening of the cafe in
the rondelugo federal building in st thomas st john district the operated assisted by our vr staff worked diligently to
acquire all certifications clearances and licensure required to begin operations she's not only employed but is now a proud
business owner dhs encourages the community to support the cafe in the rondelugo federal building we're also excited
about the possibilities that would be born from this achievement as the host agency we can work with businesses or
government agencies that are interested in providing their customers with on-site food concessions vindi or stack stations
this initiative will help to build the economy while providing viable opportunities for virgin islands that are visually
impaired currently the vr program assists approximately 300 plus participants territory-wide and averages about 15 or
about 52 successful closures per year the program is committed to serving the needs of the population to ensure that
persons living with a disability in the territory can lead independent lives one of the major challenges for the program is
the lack of training and certification programs available as we evaluate
1:42:01
the demand sectors there are not many entry-level positions available and employees are requiring job seekers to have the
requisite skill sets this creates a significant gap between what is available in the job market and the employability of the
job seekers ongoing education and sensitivity training of private and public sector employers will be a majority priority
for the for department of human services it is our hope that increasing our outreach and community education will help to
reinforce the goals and missions of the vr program and facilitate inclusive workforce in the territory. We also have our
Division of Family Assistance Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, otherwise known as SNAP, the Employment
and Training. In accordance with the Code of Federal Regulations CFR Title VII Subtitle B Chapter 2 Subchapter C Part
273 Subpart C 273.7, the Department of Human Services is required to design and operate an employment and training
program that consists of case management services and at least one or more or combination of employment and our
training components the purpose of the snap ent program is to assist members of the snap households in gaining skills
training work or experience that will improve their employment process prospects and reduce their reliance on snap
benefits the food and nutrition service provides state agencies with federal grants to fund the administrative costs of an
ENT program. ENT grants vary based on the number of work registrants and able-bodied adults without dependents in a
state. These grants are called 100% funds and must be used on the planning, implementation, and operation of a state
ENT program. 100% of the money cannot be used for
1:43:50
any participant reimbursements or support services such as transportation or uniforms vidhs 100 annual grant ranged
between 50 and 60 000 dollars in 2016 dhs received a one-time award of 425 000 additional 100 funding and successfully
expanded the case management and training programs offered to SNAP recipients. Historically, DHS has operated a
mandatory SNAP ENT program and partnered with the Department of Labor to provide case management and
employment training components.
1:45:45
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A mandatory SNAP ENT program requires that as a condition of eligibility, all individuals applying for SNAP benefits
who do not meet one of the exemptions were referred to the Department of labor and required to participate in the ENT
program. Therefore, recipients who fail to comply with the ENT program requirements without good cause lost their
benefits. Currently, DHS is collaborating with our federal partners at FNS, the Northeast Regional Office, or NERO, to
successfully switch from a mandatory to voluntary SNAP ENT program. The program redesigning will include the
following development of an internal comprehensive case management component and referral process which will be
incorporated into the new virgin islands integrated benefits eligibility system revives it'll establish and maintain
collaborative relationships with community and government agency stakeholders to guide industry driven service
provider agreements designed to increase recipient participation in the program develop and implement a process for
collecting and reporting performance measures in accordance with federal regulations. It'll emphasize service delivery to
identified target group based upon existing data analysis and of course an annual territory wide SNAP ENT outreach
education campaign. The SNAP ENT program includes approximately 5,220 total recipients and it's broken down by
3,020 in St.
1:46:23
thomas 570 in st john and 1630 in st croix as part of the overall strategic plan for dhs a creation of an employment and
training unit within the division of the family assistance will also combine the supplemental nutrition assistance program
employment and training or snap ent and the tanf job opportunity and basic skills jobs program is forthcoming this new
unit will enable DHS to maximize available resources and eliminate the duplication of services as we operate both
programs in accordance with separate federal guidelines.
1:47:55
The Virgin Islands Department of Human Services Division of Family Assistance also administers the Federal
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, Employment and Training, currently known as the JOBS program.
The JOBS program provides services to TANF recipients by moving them from dependency to self-sufficiency in
preparation for work. On July 1, 1997, the Virgin Islands joined the rest of the nation in the reform of welfare. Federal
law required all TANF recipients to participate in work or work activities after two years of assistance.
1:48:36
Failure to comply will result in a financial penancy for the territory. The federal law limits financial assistance to lifetime
limit of a 60-month period. The main goal of the jobs program is to provide services which would enable TANF
recipients to become economically self-sufficient by identifying and facilitating unique opportunities for their recipients
to acquire work. This is done through forging public and private sector partnerships with government and non-profit
agencies and private businesses to increase the number of individuals entering the workforce. Our key performance
measure is for TANF recipients to obtain and retain employment prior to their expiration of their lifetime limit of 60
TANF months unless a recipient is granted a waiver for three months transitional employment or extreme family
violence. Eligible applicants must be 16 years or older. The federal lifetime limit of TANF benefits is 60 months or five
years. As of 2002, there is a 50% federal minimum caseload requirement of recipients to be in a work activity each year.
All TANF recipients must participate in a work activity except for the following conditions for TANF recipients heads of
household who are in their third trimester of their pregnancy, have a child under six months old, have a child under six
years old and does not have child care or are caring for a child with a disability. The federal government requires all
TANF recipients to participate in a work activity unless the recipient is exempted or waived. To qualify with federal
regulations, a work activity must be 30 hours per week or longer except for job readiness components. the work activities
are as follows unsubsidized employment subsidized private sector employment
1:49:13
subsidized public sector employment work experience is also any knowledge enhancing or skill enhancing services
provided to an employer by a customer in exchange for training needed to make that customer more marketable for three
months with a legitimate job vacancy during which time they are rigorously evaluated upon satisfactory completion the
employer is strongly encouraged to hire that participant it should also be noted that the initial american recovery and
reinvestment act federal funding the department of human services other virgin islands government agencies and private
non-profit agencies participated in a subsidized public sector and private public sector employment work experience with
jobs where over 20 jobs participants were placed in departments and agencies many of these participants were able to
obtain permanent employment after and gain valuable work experience dhs will be moving forward in the near future
with other subsidized employment work experience for our jobs participants on the job training which is any knowledge
or skill enhancing service provided to an employer by a customer as a precondition of hire and or a post hire basis to
ensure the recipient is guaranteed employment the department of human services jobs program has partnered with the
department of labor workforce and development opportunity act for recipients to take advantage of the training
opportunities the department of labor will also offer a work opportunity tax credit to employers who meet the eligibility
requirements for hiring vocational rehabilitation clients Education directly related to employment for individuals with no
high school diploma or certificate of high school equivalency is theoretical and or practical
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instruction provided to a recipient to assist said recipient obtain the necessary knowledge and or skills for those
employment. Unless exempt the recipient must be enrolled in a school component within the next 24 months of an
enrollment in the program based on need. Satisfactory school attendance for individuals with no high school diploma or
certificate or high school equivalency is academic instruction intended to assist a customer obtained a high school
diploma or certificate or high school equivalency. Other approved TANF employment work activities include job search
and pre-employment assistance, community service and nonprofits and government agencies, career technical or
vocational educational training in general, theoretical and or practical instructions provided to a customer in a particular
skill or discipline that would help the customer become more marketable. DHS will be moving forward with a redesigned
and re-energized action plan for our jobs participants in 2021 in career technical training with an emphasis on high
demand jobs in our territory. The Department of Human Services TANF jobs program will undergo a redesigned active
recruitment and will be renamed in 2021. It has been almost 25 years since the welfare reform transformed the way the
federal government operated cash assistance programs to low-income and indigent families. The University of the Virgin
Islands Caribbean Exploratory Research Center on Health Disparities completed a research project focused on the Virgin
Islands TANF employment and training program. The research will serve as the catalyst for improving our DHS, TANF
employment and training program as we move forward in assisting our TANF clients to not only get a job but also take
the necessary steps on a career pathway and qualify for higher paying jobs and more stable jobs in careers to achieve
self-sufficiencies for themselves and their families. One last division
1:52:57
we have regarding this is the Division of Senior Citizen Affairs and it's in the Division of Senior Citizen Affairs is the
U.S. Department of Labor a grantee of the Senior Community Service Employment Program or CSEP. CSEP is a
community service and work-based training program for older workers who are 55 years of age and older, unemployed,
and have a family income of no more than 125 percent of the federal poverty level. It was first unauthorized under Title II
of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and funded in 1965 as a part of the demonstration project called operation
mainstream but later transitioned to an established program under the older americans act in 1978 it was redesignated
under title five of the older americans act and this is the still statutory author authorization of the program today cseps has
operated in the virgin islands for over 35 years csep enrollees gain employee gain work experience in a variety of
community service activities in a non-profit and public entities including but not limited schools, hospitals, child care
programs, and senior centers. They work an average of 20 hours a week and are paid at the highest or federal, state, or
local minimum wages. The Virgin Island CSEP enrollees earn $10.50 per hour. Their community service training and
subsidized employment services as a bridge to unsubsidized employment opportunities while enrolled in csep seniors
receive personalized help in meeting employment goals which prepare them to enter or re-enter the job market our
priority group group for the program enrollment is given to veterans and their eligible spouses if their discharge was not
dishonorable the second priority group for csep is given to individuals with at least one of the following characteristics.
They're 65 or older, have limited
1:54:56
English skills, have low reading, writing, and math skills, live in a rural area, they need extra support and training to
secure employment, did not get a job after receiving employment services from an American Job Center, or are homeless
or risk of being homeless. CSEP enrollees are experienced, responsible qualified and talented and as we often share with
our employees in the wider public when speaking about csep age is an asset experience of benefit hire a senior worker
today this concludes my presentation i would like to personally thank our department of human services team of
professionals who've been on the front lines providing direct services to our virgin islands community throughout the
whole covet 19 pandemic as always dhs is committing to work into myth together to make a difference it's been my
pleasure to provide you with the information on just a few of our programs and services offered under the virgin islands
department of human services umbrella my team and i are available to answer any questions you may have specifically
regarding our testimony today thank you very much commissioner gomez causey gomez thank you very much for your
testimony and i just would like to um again to the listeners and viewers because i'm also tracking of course commentary
that's important as we move forward because as we engage the public we want to make sure we're all aligned on the first
block once again we have revised the agenda which was sent out through the social media channel for the um for the
legislature legvi.org Again, for those members of the public, I encourage you to go to ledgevi.org, click on committees,
go into the subfolder for today's hearing, which is March 15th.
1:57:01
Also, if you're on social media, under my Facebook page, Senator Genevieve Whitaker, I even went ahead and created a
short link. So you can click on that bit.ly link. It's a short link that will take you also there. The issue for the Block 1 and
the agenda for Block 1 concerned unemployment in all its forms from the perspective of the CARES Act and the COVID
virus rather and to all the different unemployment services. Commissioner Gary Malloy, again as I placed on the record
earlier for those who may just be joining, indicated that he did not need to testify because he testified to these items
already and it is my position as well I'm sure of the position of all of most if not most of all and all my colleagues that we
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have jurisdiction areas and again in exercising oversight over the requisite agency that falls under our committee of
jurisdiction it is important for us to hear from those commissions and directors by way of transparency as we break down
the information and we go through this process for hearings and the work that is done before then I want to continue to
thank those for the block two who agreed to testify earlier and adjusting their schedules will now move on to our second
testifier dr. Michael Francois who is the chairman of the Virgin Islands Board of Career and Technical Education at this
time dr. Francois and I'll first read the oath of office to you. Media if you wouldn't go ahead and and feature Dr. Francois.
Spotlight him.
Oh, we're gonna hear you but we can't see you. There you are. Yes, you've been off for a while. Thank you so much. So
Dr. Francois at this time please raise your right hand do you solemnly affirm under penalty of perjury that the testimony
you give to this committee will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the best of your knowledge and
belief I do thank you very much dr. Francois you may proceed good afternoon honorable senator Jennifer Whitaker
members of the Committee on Education and Workforce Development and other members of the 34th Legislature of the
Virgin Islands, fellow testifiers, and members of the viewing and listening audience.
2:00:36
The Virgin Islands Board of Career and Technical Education members, thank you for the opportunity to testify before our
committee. My name is Dr. Michael T. Francois, Board Chair. Joining me here today is Board Executive Director Antone
Deuce. Critical to our mission as board members of the Virgin Islands Board of Career and Technical Education is the
mandate that employability skills, both academic and technical, be provided by all students in the Virgin Islands, sorry,
be provided to all students in the Virgin Islands regardless of whether the goal is to attend college or enter the workforce
directly after high school. Today's testimony will include the status of career and technical education programs, an outline
of the CTE curriculum, and an overview of the teacher certification process. Recently, the Virgin Islands Board of Career
technical education had an opportunity to visit the CTE classrooms, both on St. Croix and St. Thomas. Our conclusion of
the talk was that CTE classrooms in the territory lack basic upkeep, to say the least.
2:01:26
On St. Croix, the Central High School, Braden and Neal Technician class has resumed classroom learning. However, the
classroom leaves much to be desired. classroom on our visit had exposed stripped wiring, leaks, and a lack of basic
maintenance. Furthermore, the equipment in the classroom was outdated. Both the environment and equipment placed
our students at a learning disadvantage while being subjected to health and safety hazards. The Career and Technical
Center has nine programs that resumed classroom learning. Although the classrooms at CTEC are in workable condition,
they are also in need of basic upkeep. For example, there are missing ceiling tiles, leaks, and outdated equipment. On St.
Thomas, the situation was worse. If I had to describe the St. Thomas CT classroom in one word, that word would be
deplorable. At the Charlotte Amali High School, we found classrooms that consistently flooded, a culinary lab missing
basic sanitary requirements set by the Department of health and buildings with mold in plain sight. The bottom line is
such an environment is unsafe and unhealthy for our students. Why after years and millions in federal funding this has
not been remedied is buffling, especially when modular units for academic teaching have been provided. several years
ago the virgin islands board of korean technical education suggested in just such a hearing legislation that would move
funding from department of education the virgin islands
2:02:49
board of korean technical education for ct classrooms upkeep it also bears mentioning that the virgin island's board of
career and technical education by law bi code title 17 chapter 26 sub chapter 26 allows us to hire instructors and
determine salaries instructor position in the testimony um we give me a minute Regarding the CTE curriculum, Career
and Technical Education is a program of study that prepares Virgin Islands students for real world knowledge, college
and career through a multi-year sequence of courses that integrate both core academics with technical skills within a
career path. Many CTE courses are offered in both territorial districts resulting in national certification such as National
Center for Construction Education and Research, NCCR, and National Academic Foundation . Virgin Islands Board of
Career Technical Education is tasked with the review and approval of curricula for 16 career clusters. Exposure to these
clusters include careers students may not be familiar with or may not even ever have considered while will produce the
next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs in the Virgin Islands. CTE allows students to figure out what they are
passionate about, what they love to do and what they would like to try. CT gives learners or gives a learning boost. It
combines regular academic courses curricula with career focused courses, skill building, mentoring and on-the-job
training with real life
2:04:53
experience through interpreneur internship. This experience helps students build confidence and leadership skills to meet
their goals in and out of the classroom ct programs provide information on various post-secondary options available in
the community territory or overseas when young people develop valuable skills make connections and build a network
while they are in high school, they have an inside track to a successful career. A little bit about the teacher certification.
Teacher certification, what the board has done, the first step for a teacher to be certified is an individual getting certified
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by the board is to determine his or her eligibility, whether they're eligible to be certified. The individual should have a
bachelor's or of arts degree or bachelor's of science degree trade certificate or apprenticeship in their field this
requirement is set by the virgin islands board of education and enforced by the virgin island department of education
through the division of personnel it is preferred if the individual is pre-qualified by hr and the department of education
but it is not required. Second, the candidate must complete the Virgin Islands Board of Korean Technical Education
application. They must provide proof of citizenship and education with supporting documents, certificates, transcripts,
and other proof to support qualifications. If the application is applying, if the applicant, sorry, is applying for a renewal of
certification, they should include any additional coursework completed as part of the education requirement. The
individual can complete the first two steps by visiting our offices on St. Thomas and St. Croix or online at
www.victeb.org. Once the office receives the application and supporting documents they are reviewed by the office staff
sorted labeled for priority and loaded to the cloud if requirements are met the certification committee members
individually review the candidates information as soon as they are available the applicants are further analyzed at the
teacher certification meeting which occurs monthly the team then decides as to certification eligibility instructors are
prioritized by first-time applicants renewals of temporary or provisional certificates and renewal of expired certificates
presently on st croix there are 30 instructors certified and 26 not certified on st thomas there there are 17 certified with 41
not certified. This is a total of 47 certified CT instructors and 67 not certified in the territory. 41% certified, 59% not
certified. 21 of the 67 not certified had their instructor certification expired in December 2020. Approximately 10 of the
21 are on hold for additional information and the rest are being notified of their status and hopefully will respond and
complete the application for certification. This board has certified 35 instructors so far, and we are also in the process of
certifying the Reserve Officers Training Corps, ROTC instructors in the territory. We are actively exploring ways to
improve the teacher credentialing process, including establishing an automatic instructor notification system to ensure
certification does not lapse. Virgin Islands Port of Korean Technical Education is in the process of developing a protocol
for certifying licensed constructors, as well as being a conversion, sorry, as well as being in conversation with agencies,
partners to improve accountability and ensure students have optimal instructional experiences. Madam Chair, this
concludes my testimony. Thank you for allowing the CTE board the opportunity to testify and we are prepared to answer
your questions. Thank you, Dr. Francois. Can you also please place on the record the meetings of the CTEK board, how
often are there? And to point out the regular nature of the CTEK board meetings for the purpose of the public, especially
those who are tuned in, who follow us on social media, who are engaged, and please provide that information.
2:11:39
Yes, ma'am. The city board, we meet on the third Wednesday of every month at between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Sometimes
we may go a little over based on the presenters that we have on that day. But during that meeting, we have our
committees, different committees give a report on what they did at their monthly committee meetings. We usually have
presenters that bring new ideas about things we could do in the territory when it comes to CTE. And our executive
director also takes that time to give his monthly report.
2:12:16
Thank you. Thank you, and to the benefit of the public, this is one board in particular has regular meetings so that us as
senators and you as even members of the public can attend and put that on your calendar and attend on a regular basis and
that's beneficial as we work on towards reform efforts thank you very much dr francois dr susan mcgrasse for uv iso we'll
be with you and first on and start off also with the oath of office dr mcgrasse thank you very much dr francois um okay
good morning to everyone first let's um put you up as the spotlight and then we're going to do the oath and then we will
begin okay okay dr mcgrass do you please raise your right hand do you solemnly affirm under a penalty perjury that the
testimony you will give to this committee will be the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth to the best of your
knowledge and belief i do thank you very much you may proceed dr mcgrass your testimony thank you so much and
good morning to all i am joined today by my team member dr wendy corum vla she is the ubi cell community
engagement manager and director center for the study of spirituality and professionalism so good morning honorable
chair Genevieve Whitaker members of the committee on education workforce development other members of the 34th
legislature to the viewing and listening audience my name is dr suzanne daryl mcgross and i serve as the director for the
university of the virgin islands center for excellence in leadership and learning
2:13:00
uvi cell this testimony includes an overview of uvi cell including information on courses programs, and our admissions
policy. UVI-Cell was established in 2002 to meet the workforce and professional development training needs critical to
the economic prosperity of the Virgin Islands and surrounding Caribbean islands. For nearly 20 years, UVI-Cell has
provided continuing education and training opportunities and has served as a bridge to the university. We are accredited
through the International Association for Continuing Education and Training , and can award continuing education units
or CEUs for coursework. We are also an accredited American Heart Association, AHA International Training Center.
Over the past two years, UVicel has evolved through a change in reporting under the president's office and leadership by
Dr. Haldane Davies, VP of Business Development and Innovation. Mergers with the Institute for Leadership and
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Organizational Effectiveness, ILO, and the Center for the Study of Spirituality and Professionalism allowed us to
increase quality training and community engagement services. We also expanded our capabilities in consulting,
contracting, and professional services. There are 10 cell staff members between the two UVI campuses. At the Orville E.
Ken campus on St. Thomas, we are located at Faculty East. On the St. Croix Albert E. Sheen campus, we have an office
on campus and a satellite office in Frederickstead.
UVI CELL aims to be self-sufficient and generates revenue through consultancies and grants, student tuition, assessment
fees, and legislative funding. We also receive funding through the Veterans Office as all CELL courses are free for
veterans and through charitable donations. We work with government agencies to deliver education and strategic
planning solutions, and our open enrollment continuing education courses are available online and in person. Individuals
may subscribe to notifications or follow our Facebook page for updates.
2:16:13
Current offerings are posted on our website, www.cell.ubi.edu, along with our admissions and enrollment policies. And
that page is cell.ubi.edu forward slash courses forward slash policies. We are guided by the university's policy manual
and primarily serve adults. Potential students may contact us directly for enrollment support. current courses include
grant writing and grant management conflict management mediation training and our anti-money laundering and
financial crime series among others we are working to expand offerings in culinary arts construction management cloud
computing cyber security cyber security marine maritime training agriculture and aviation and align with middle and high
schools on curriculum and workforce development pathways our assessment services include administration of the uvi
entrance exam pan testing for the transportation security administration that's tsa and u.s customs and border protection
for metric testing where we can provide the ggre praxis the ged and human resource certification and psi for vi licensure
tests including assessments for plumbers electricians real estate agents cosmetologists barbers and others through our
occupational safety and health administration osha safety and paradise consultation program we offer free confidential
safety and health services to small businesses and partner with the small business development center the sbdc and the vi
economic development authority the vieda in carrying out many tasks related to the economic growth and stability of the
territory our program has been visible and offering COVID-19 related webinars and training sessions. To request an
OSHA consultation visit, please go to safety.ubi.edu. Notable partnerships include the Division of Personnel
2:16:47
for the Certified Public Manager Program, the VI Fire Service for Emergency Medical Responder Training, and the VI
Bureau of Corrections where we provide strategic planning, education, and and re-entry planning services. In the re-entry
space, we also engage with the Department of Labor, the Workforce Board, the Department of Human Services, the
Youth and Rehabilitation Center, YRC, the Department of Education, the Department of Justice, the Law Enforcement
Planning Commission, and community and faith-based organizations. We actively work with law enforcement partners to
support public safety, the rehabilitation of inmates, the reduction of recidivism and reductions in serious and violent
crime. In 2019, under the leadership of CSAP director, Dr. Wendy Corm, VLA, we hosted the nonprofit violence
prevention summit and assisted in writing the bill that is now law to establish the office of gun violence prevention. In
collaboration with the VI department of education, we support the Man Up Academy and junior university programs.
2:18:48
These are programs for middle and high schoolers and are launching a new initiative with Rotary International Building
Peace Through Service, which will provide monthly virtual student workshops. We also partner with the Attorney
General's Office and the VI Police Department on Project Safe Neighborhood Research. Other community engagement
efforts include our active involvement with the Children and Youth Task Force in conjunction with our CYTF leadership,
Dr. Celia Victor, she's with the Bureau of Corrections, and Dr. Greg Wonnell from UBI. UVI Cell hosts bi-weekly virtual
meetings where the emphasis is on the complex needs of children, youth and their families, pre and post disaster,
including the impacts of COVID-19. We support training on resiliency, disaster preparedness and trauma informed
methods to cope with stress.
2:19:53
Upcoming sessions include human trafficking training. Under the leadership of Dr. Haldane Davies, recent consulting,
contracting and professional services include awards through the government Virgin Islands Office of Management and
Budget, OMB, to develop the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, SEDS, and the Tourism Master Plan for
the Territory. We also engage in strategic planning and feasibility studies, including work with the Government
Employees Retirement System, GERS, and the USVI Economic Development Authority. In the coming year, we will
work to further engage with our agency and community partners, identify strategic collaborative opportunities and
engage in innovative evidence-based grant writing and grant management efforts uvi cell belongs to the community we
encourage all to engage with us and let us know how we can provide support i thank you for the opportunity to testify
before this committee and welcome any questions you may have thank you very much dr mcgross thank you and there's
some questions as to to the block 2 and as the nature of what's taking place for those who may not may or may not be
aware what is what is taking place is an effort to restructure our entire career and education system the board members of
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the CTECH board as presented during the February 12th hearing provided laid the foundation as the role of the CTECH
Board. Dr. McGrath was also present during that hearing and so there are collaborative efforts going on because as we sit
here and as we engage, there are issues surrounding funding.
One of the questions before we begin our round of questioning, I want to put out there that we have a lot of funding that
is out there. In the case of a workforce development, on the community development block grant disaster recovery fund
as shown as cdbg dr there's also committee development block grants for mitigation under mit cdbg mit for disaster
recovery to the tune of 10 million dollars the virginal housing finance authority board awarded the workforce
development board 10 million dollars for those who are especially following the money and following the budgets the
current education board is a board that which i will ask dr francois what is the current budget level but i'm the the
awareness is that the board has put in a budget of 500 000 and i will be confirming with dr francois the exact number and
so when we talk about the sharing of funds going around there's issues with resources i want to thank the ctech board for
the leadership because it is in the what's in the third week of January that's the third week of January the CTECH board
led the effort for the school reopening in us going and conducting the site visits to the second year CTECH classrooms in
both districts which I joined them as a committee chairwoman along with committee members and non committee
members so the state of our schools is of great importance and outside of the hearings process there are series of efforts
being made to be brought out to the public so that the
2:22:24
public is going to be part of us being part of transforming the system the system is largely broken as we all are aware but
in order to fix it we have to analyze placed also if you listen to the testimony for each individual there There are entities
that are collaborating. In order for us to proceed, there must be critical collaboration efforts. To Commissioner
Kazi-Gomez for the Vocational Rehabilitation Program, it is going to be now up to your department to work with the
CTEC Board, with the Workforce Development Board to achieve some of these goals. Because what is happening by
way of workforce development, there's a lot of, and that's over time a lot of silo behavior not to the fault necessarily of
anyone in particular but over time so today's hearing as we delve out workforce development we're addressing it bit by bit
the virginal's department education also has an entity within the department that deals with career and technical education
that is known as the state office of career and technical education that is a current state and that's the current infrastructure
we have to step back and analyze has that been working and so as we move forward and we assess and analyze and do
the work necessary to reform our career and technical education system so to that end i want to start off we're going to
move into seven minute rounds and be um before getting into one final note and getting into the rounds what I will let the
public also know is that we're gonna have of course upcoming hearings one of the other areas of focus is on curriculum
the test of both Dr. Francois and Dr. McGrath touched on curriculum and we'll be dealing with that as well so thank you
very much so in the order of I'm gonna first recognize Senator Potter and I recognize you for your seven minutes. You
may proceed. Senator. Thank you very much, Madam chair. Good
2:24:14
morning everyone. Morning testifiers and colleagues. My first question really goes to Dr. Francois and I'm going to make
a statement before asking the question. I'm very, very disappointed over the years to see what I see as the systematic
gutting of our career and technical education programs in the territory. I know a number of persons in our community
who got their start from a career standpoint by going through some of the various programs in our schools and that is not
happening today and I think it is it is sad. I think Dr. Francois's statement about the physical state of physical plants at the
you know the various career classrooms, he said that he would characterize the condition on St.
2:26:31
Thomas as nothing short of deplorable, and it just broke my heart when you mentioned that Dr. Francois. The question to
you is, given the realities of the state of the physical plant, and it's hard to get anything done when the condition of the
physical plant is deplorable, what has the conversation been with the Department of Education regarding the upkeep,
repair, maintenance of the physical classrooms where learning has to take place? Good day, Senator. We've been trying to
communicate the importance of having a CT classrooms ready and prepared going back and forth with the Department of
Education and I get the impression that they're doing the best they can but it's almost like they don't have full control of
maintenance I understand that in some cases they're not allowed to do any temporary work because of federal monies
situation however that's the situation we're in it's almost this board would like to somehow take control of of getting those
things done however we don't have control we have to go through the department of education and in in a lot of cases the
department of education is dependent on maintenance or the maintenance department or or finances to to get those um
classrooms fixed but in in a lot of cases though i know a lot of people will say is it's it's the last two hurricanes and so
forth but in a lot of cases a lot of these classrooms were in similar states before the hurricane it's it's almost like it's a
neglect of cte that's how i feel personally and i think you might be hitting the nail on the head it is the commitment and
the belief that there is a benefit in having these career and technical training opportunities for young people if you don't
believe in it um it's difficult to support it and i um it saddens me to think that that would be that would be the case My
next question, Dr. Francois, and you mentioned in your presentation that CTE is by law charged with setting instructor
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salaries, and I didn't know that that was the case, so thanks for that information. Now, with that power, do you have or
what has CTE done with regard to developing job specifications and salary scales for critically needed instructor position
how has that been been working out well senator to be frank when the members of this board came up the
members you have right now came on board it's almost like the city board was gutted or they gave up their responsibility
and somehow the board has lost its authority to make those type of decisions we're fighting that right now we're back and
forth talking to the Department of Education I've had meetings with the with the teachers union about about salaries for
for for for city instructors however most of the hiring of city instructors is done by the Department of Education with no
input at all from this board except for certifying except for certifying the teachers as they come on board making sure
they're certified CTE teachers but as far as salary and so forth we we're fighting that right now to get some sort of input
on that if not based on the law the full input is like the law states at least some sort of input okay I think that as the
subject matter experts and as the board that is charged with those types of responsibilities, you must have a role, you must
have a seat at the table to develop those salaries. That is a part of why, to the best of my knowledge, you're having some
major challenges finding qualified persons, you know, to serve as instructors because of the salaries. And I'm wondering
whether or not there is an option to bring persons on contract rather than necessarily bringing persons in as full-fledged
government employees with benefits and the like, which could add to a much more costly situation.
2:30:55
But I'm going to leave it at that for now and ask a couple of questions to Commissioner Kazi-Gomez regarding the
vocational voc rehab program and I mean Commissioner what is every student in the territories public schools who are in
special ed are they all automatically connected with the voc rehab program how does that work I would like our
Administrator Shari agreeing to answer since she does she's on the front lines with that okay certainly good morning can
you hear me okay certainly our evoke rehab counselors are invited to the iep meetings on a regular basis they attend
meetings as they are requested so basically each student that comes through the public school system that has an iep we
are invited to those meetings the referrals come to the department of education Okay. Just one more question, Madam
Chair. I won't abuse my time. I think you mentioned Commissioner Gomez in your testimony that 52 persons had
successfully, there were 52 successful closures per year with regard to the voc rehab program. And I just wanted to know
what constituted a closure how does that look i'll have miss green to continue she's done great okay as it pertains to the
successful closures once an individual has attained competitive employment or gainful employment if you will that
would constitute a successful closure having received training and the different types of services that the program
provides if they're
2:33:00
able to attain employment, we are able to then close it out as a successful closure. The counselors still have to maintain
contact with that individual for at least six quarters after the closure, but we can indicate it on our report that it is
successful. Okay. Thank you very much. My final question regarding the struggles to secure and maintain certified and
consistent job coaches in the territory. I wanted to know whether or not, what sort of certification, you know, is entailed?
Certified by whom? Have you had any opportunities to touch bases with retirees of the GVI or UVI personnel? how does
a certified job coach look it's it is usually done on the university level job coaches are certified through the university and
this is a discussion that we would have to have with our local university to see if that's something that we can definitely
implement job coaches we've had over the years have came to us indicating their interest and we've worked with them but
they have not been certified so this is an area that we definitely need to work on and again discussions are being had
around this topic thank you very much thank you very much madam chair for the extra time thank you um before we
proceed with the my next colleague i want to put on the record there were there were two other testifiers who are absent
and sent in excuse letters madam clerk please read in the first the two letters
2:35:21
the virgin islands of the united states workforce development board 4401 cyan farm christian said vi 00820 march 11
2021 honorable genevieve whitaker legislative secretary 34th legislature of the virgin islands 3022 estate golden rock
christian stead vi 00820 dear senator whitaker i am in receipt of your invitation to appear before the committee on
education and workforce development on monday march 15 2021 taking into consideration the importance of providing
you and the members of the 34th legislature with updates on the activities and projects currently being undertaken by the
vi workforce development board and our most recent appearance before the committee i respectfully request another day
to appear before your committee the board has several initiatives in the pipeline and require additional time to finalize a
few key ones this will give us the opportunity to be more detailed in our presentation to you thank you for your
consideration respectfully michael carty chairman vi state workforce development board before you read the next letter
just to be clear on the process that's involved the and just to highlight something that's really important the workforce
development board is at the center of workforce development and while it's understandable that people have to collect
themselves to get information there is a board of 27 people that the governor the Virgin Islands has appointed and if you
can tell me that in the in all this is going on with the disaster recovery and the fact that this board
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is you know has ten million dollars to use for workforce development and other boards and entities in need of funds that
also put in the record that the Department of Human Service for the vocational rehab number the programs require
federal matches so to again to highlight a problem we have we have a situation where persons who have the
responsibility to execute are falling behind it is the goal of this committee to exercise jurisdiction and to also give an
opportunity i will also put on the record that it's also been placed on the record again that the one of the contracts that the
workforce development board executed was already awarded in february and for all those who know what it takes to go
through the procurement process there's a lot of negotiations that go on beforehand and this will be the first time i've ever
learning that a executed contract that post contract you're negotiating on terms there are some issues i will also highlight
that i would suggest that the departments under the jurisdiction of workforce development to start to have the
collaborative meetings you can use various boards who are developing models of engagement models meaning they are
doing the collaboration join them work with them and get the work done the so we have to start to do that i'm hearing um
different items placed on the agenda today because we're not meeting it's for the staff to attend the commission to attend
make it possible that the discussions are not just discussions but we're into work sessions and we're getting the work done
so to the icf corporation you're indicating that
2:39:14
you need more time just know that this is this is not not the last and that we're going to continue to be on top of you to get
this information and through investigation and exercising oversight that's a commitment that i have and i know that my
other colleagues support that some of them support that as well we'll move now on to senator joseph for your seven
minutes of questioning thank you and fine and we also now read um mr um mr mulepski's letter into the record thank you
and then senator joseph okay march 9th 2021 icf letter of excuse invitation to testify the committee on education and
workforce development hearing 3 15 21. good day senator whitaker thank you for the invitation to testify before the
committee on education and workforce development on march 15 2021 it's our understanding that the virgin islands
department of labor has competitively awarded icf incorporated llc icf the contract for the skills for today project
however contract negotiations are still underway after the contract is finalized and fully executed icf welcomes the
opportunity to support vi department of labor leadership and their testimony before the committee on vitals skills for
today project therefore after consultation with commissioner gary malloy of the vi the vi Department of Labor, we
respectfully request rescheduling the presentation for later this spring. Should you have any questions or clarifications
about skills for today, we respectfully defer to Virgin Islands Department of Labor, Commissioner Malloy, sincerely
Bernard J. Milewski, Senior Contracts administrator. Senator Joseph you may proceed with your seven minutes. Thank
2:41:09
you madam chair a pleasant good morning to the listening audience my colleagues our testifiers, as well as our viewing
audience. I trust that everyone is doing well. I wanted to first of all thank all the testifiers who agreed with the shift in the
time and was able to accommodate us. We are deeply appreciative of your time and also of your teamwork and your team
spirit in making that shift given the short notice. I wanted to start off my questioning this morning and it will be first
directed to our Commissioner of the Department of Human Services Miss Kimberly Kasi Gomez. Miss Gomez I really
did a wonderful job with your presentation but there are some items that I do have some questions relative too, and I'm
more so into the statistical information, so I'm just going to read it off to you what I'm looking at and looking for.
2:43:29
For the Division of Disabilities and Rehabilitation Services, what is the cognizant U.S. Department that you receive the
funding from, and what amount is that? Assistant Commissioner Rimer Brown has all the fiscal information in front of
her, I believe. AC Rimer Brown? Yes, the vocational rehab program, they receive funding through the Department of
Education.
2:44:40
The grant funding, anywhere between $1.8 to $2 million per year. Okay. And how many, how much have you already
expended or, or have you asked for extension given our pandemic? Well, for the pandemic and by the rules of the
vocational rehab program, we do have an additional year which we can use the funding. So although the grant is awarded
in one year, you can expend in a second fiscal year.
2:45:13
So for example, FY20 funding, we still had access in FY21. So if there's any unexpended, and especially because of the
pandemic, the activities may be reduced, we do have that second fiscal year to expend our federal funding from the
Department of Education. Do you have a performance period for your grant? Yes, it would be that period once they gave
you that second year.
2:45:53
It's two full calendar FY fiscal years, and then you have the usual 90-day period to liquidate funding. Thank you kindly.
Now, let's get into the meat of the operation of the vocational rehabilitation services. I noted in the testimony there was a
reference to the Individual Education Program. What is an Individual Education Program? So an Individualized
Education Plan is developed within the Department of Education for students with disabilities.
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So it's not a... One moment, please, Commissioner. It's not a program. It's actually the plan, correct? Yes. It must have
been my mistake. It's an IEP, so Individualized Education Plan, not program. My apologies. No worries. I understand. I
just wanted to make sure we're clear on the record. Now, when you take into consideration, how many students are
currently enrolled in the Vocational Disabilities and Rehabilitation Services? How many are currently enrolled? Ms.
Green.
2:47:02
Majority of our populations are students, so I would say anywhere from 70% to 75% are students. I'm sorry, would you
just give me the numbers, the numbers? How many are currently enrolled? How many are students? How many are
adults? Break it down for me and then try to break it down for me by district. I don't know if you have that statistical data
available.
2:47:38
No, I do not. I can definitely provide that information. I can do the district breakdown, but I cannot indicate which ones
are students and which ones are adults at this time. Well, how is it that you can't distinguish it when you have individual
education plans that are coming from the Department of Education? Those individual education plan also extends when
they graduate from high school? It's not that we cannot distinguish it, it's just that I don't have that information readily
available at this time.
2:48:10
But we can definitely provide that information to you. Okay, beautiful. Madam Chair, are we noting that I'm requesting
that information? Thank you kindly. So do you have, with that information, do you have a round figure of how many
individuals currently enrolled in this program? In the VR program? Yes, ma'am. On a whole, on a whole, yes, we do. And
what is that number? 315 students. 315? 315. Okay, 315. I said students, I'm sorry, participants. I meant participants, I'm
sorry. Understood, understood, I understood. Yes. Thank you kindly yes okay you have 315 participants that are currently
enrolled in all of the four and that's the total four programs you offer correct no no no just we have the older blind
program and we have the randall shepherd program those do not apply this is basically the vr program okay well break it
down for me the numbers that are totally enrolled in each one of the program under your leadership the number of
persons enrolled in the programs right now do you have okay once again that no that that statistical information is not
readily available but i can definitely provide that to you beautiful thank you kindly um a point of clarification is it for
fiscal year 21 or is it for 2020 or overall um what grant are you currently operating under i'm sorry madam yes you
represent what current what current grant year are you performing under we're actually performing under the fy 2020 and
also the fy 21.
2:48:45
So, provide the information for both years, because you also have programmatic enrollment baselines and indicators that
you must meet with your funding source? Correct. And also provide for us your performance measures that you have met
or have not met in the areas that you are having challenges. I'm saying all of this, I don't want anyone to leave with a
sense that we are trying to be critical, but we want to get the information, the data, because it helps build our case relative
to braiding and supporting and the collaboration, because you need significant collaboration to deal which your area and
if we can be of assistance and advocate for that based on the number of persons you have enrolled in your program we all
from the executive to the legislative even to the judicial and the private sector we should be saying that because you need
significant supports and that's what it is about so provide us the statistical data for us please thank you certainly Madam
Chair, I wasn't finished, are we going to have another round? Yes, we will. Okay, may I continue my- That's your last
question and then we'll be back for another round. Okay, now I wanted to move on, thank you kindly Madam Chair for
your leeway and your indulgence. I wanted to move on to asking some questions relative to, let's see, This is on page 8 of
the testimony, Commissioner, relative to the program, it would be line 143, your major challenges.
2:50:45
You said in your testimony, one of the major challenges for the program is the lack of training and certification programs
available. So kindly indicate the type of training based on your assessments your clients are interested in. What are those
areas that your clients have found that they are passionate? This is going to be where they want to have their career going
forward. So tell us if you've done assessments, what are you seeing are some of the top three career pathways that your
clients are are interested in the screen top to the top three I just as a prerequisite thanks for the question Senator well I
think one of the things too is like the interest is there but it's not always the ability to have that as a career too and so i
think that the reality is that we need to make sure that the reality is as available to you but miss green what do you think
the top three um of your clients their interests are what i would say is that as we analyze the workforce and the needs for
the clientele uh there hasn't been a lot of vocational trade programs available to the to the clients um i know in the past
we used to have a more robust uh training curriculum however recently that has changed areas like cna plumbing
electricity those are areas i think hvac it there are a lot of areas that we don't have training in and as we move forward we
definitely need to consider um these type of programs we have even heavy equipment crane operators these type of
positions that would then allow our clients to be employed by hovenza or should i say line tree these different entities that
they are seeking employment they don't have the requisite skills to then be able to acquire these jobs may i ask uh madam
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i know just in respect of time because um we're gonna have another round if you want to just close off but this is a key
follow-up i
may i ask thank you kindly just just be just so kind thank you thank you uh commissioner cossey gomez do you have
representation or from the department of human services on the workforce development board who is the representative
um it's myself actually and have you communicated this to the workforce development board regarding this thing yeah go
ahead sharia okay thank you okay i just wanted to add that yes commissioner gomez is on the board but i too serve on
that board and we have had discussions with our core partners regarding the need for these trainings yes Thank you,
Senator Joseph. Before I proceed to my next colleague, we also have to put in the record that the board hasn't met in
several months. Okay, so one of the things we have to be, if we're gonna deal with this issue, we have to be honest. That's
how you reform a system. Let's be frank and let's be honest.
2:55:14
Let's be honest with the public. The board is not meeting and the board needs to meet because the only way you can get
to these things and these items is to meet, vet, and do the work necessary to get this achieved. The Workforce
Development Plan was put out, and so these objectives and these information should have been worked into the plan, but
a plan is just on the piece of paper, it will mean nothing unless we have a plan of action. And so I would really ask, I'm
asking each person, each stakeholder, the commissioner and her leadership team, I already am aware that the CTECH
board is collaborative, so I don't have to ask Dr. Francois to do that because that's what the board is doing. UVI Cell, Dr.
McGrath, she's a champion collaborator, I would add to that, and so let's meet, vet, and work on these issues. Senators, I
think I see Senator Saru.
2:56:18
I recognize Senator Saru for your seven minutes. Hello. Morning Madam Chair. Good morning to all. Is this the
morning? No afternoon. Afternoon to all. Commissioner Kazi-Gomez where are you on the use of VEVIS? Hi. Good
afternoon. Good morning. So good afternoon. On the use of what? I didn't quite hear that. VIVIS. AC Rhymer Brown
that's yours.
2:57:15
Yes. VIVIS. Unfortunately in the last couple of years I know there was some action but I was disappointed upon
returning to the government. It is not has not been very very active. I am not even aware I know the Department of
Education but with as far as the interface not very active. Okay so this frustrates me a bit because VIVIS is a virtual
information system and data drives policy so we have not these discussions today but had we had a tracking system on
VIVIS the contributors to VIVIS would be education, health, and human services. You share a system and millions were
acquired to establish VIVIS for this very same purpose. So to have a discussion on workforce development, issues
surrounding our people, how we can improve them without the data, the comprehensive data, not data just from DHS,
this government continues to work in a silo over and over and over again and we expect different results. That's the
definition of insanity. So we passed the VIVIS legislation in the 33rd legislature and it was vetoed like everything else,
like WAPA. We vetoed WAPA five times. So what in a cabinet meeting is anyone discussing the importance of the
VIVIS system? UVI cell Dr. Noreen Michael came to discuss the importance of VIVIS and what it could do. Almost
every few years, UVI continues to collect data in between the census. Had we had a repository for that data, our
discussions would be very, very different today. So what are your discussions in a cabinet meeting? Do we allow a
million dollar, a three point something million dollar project to just die um because data is so critical
2:57:51
we i'm really glad that you're bringing it up uh senator saru because this is a conversation we have internally uh speaking
um and i do agree with you when it comes to data it does drive policy it also drives what you need in order to
accommodate the needs of our our community so i appreciate that. As far as specifically cabinet meetings I think most of
the work is usually done in between a cabinet meeting. And so I think that you know in light of today's discussion I'll
make sure that I bring it up again and just kind of bring it back around to ensure that we have a system even within
human services we serve a lot of people in in the public. I'm not going to take much of your time but we do that and we
need an integrated system and so we are actually working towards having that specifically moving forward. that's what
we're actually working on right now with internally because nothing is more frustrating to sit in a budget mock-up and to
craft policy with no data you just say oh let's get him an extra million dollars and get him get him 500k extra because we
want this program to work and we really at a point where we're in the year 2021 data should be driving policy for the
federal government to give dhs money and federal grants is on data it's on the census for the stimulus checks to come out
it's based on the number of people and who file their taxes this is what happens but in the virgin islands we just so we like
you know the cartoons the jetsons and the flintstones we win a flintstone era when do we move now going to the ctech
board there's still a issue with lack of teachers. I heard your vague response earlier to the Senator to the right of me.
3:00:02
What are some possible solutions to improving the amount of teachers in the CTEC program? Well, Senator, the big issue
we have with getting teachers for the CTEC program, and I'll be frank, is salary. When you have an individual... I need a
problem. I had a salary. Tell me the proposed solutions on the discussions you're having to address the salary issue. Well,
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I've had meetings with, I've had a meeting with the teachers union, which allowed me to speak, but you could tell. I didn't
want to entertain the idea that CTE instructors be paid different than teachers, than academic teachers.
So does a CTE teacher have to be unionized? As far as I know, in the Virgin Islands, the teacher in the school, the teacher
would have to be unionized. I probably still need to do my research on that. But I've done research on salaries. Hold on a
second, doctor. Sure. Hold on a second, Doc. The question would be, that's the research. Nothing is wrong with breaking
the norm. In the absence of, this is, we're talking about trades. Across the nation, you have magnet programs, you have
Vogue schools. So, have we looked at the model across the U.S. to see if CTECH teachers are in a different union, if
they're unionized, non-unionized, is a hybrid program? Have we done any of that research to try to fill this gap? I've done
research on teachers' salary throughout the United States as far as CTE. I don't even like to call them teachers.
3:02:40
I like to call them instructors. I'm not talking about salary. I'm talking about how you incorporate them into CTECH
programs. I know the salary is an issue, but if we're able to get them on contract, if we're able to remove them from the
union but hire them on a different model, have you looked at the models across the United States? No, I haven't. But we
can hire CTE teachers on contract. But again, the board has no control over that. That's all done and determined by the
Department of Education. And until the board has some sort of say or control over those things, we're just a shadow.
We're just there to say we have a CTE board. we have no control over hiring we have no control over salary we're
fighting just to have control over programs that ct programs in our school okay i just have one more question it's only like
a little bit of us here so madam chair may conclude i'm not done with this teacher situation in the second round i'll follow
up can i follow up madam chair you can proceed okay commissioner We have a high level of recidivism from those who
leave our prison system.
3:03:37
Do you have any conversations with the Board of Corrections, not Board, Bureau of Corrections on a prison-to-work
transition program, U, Labor, BOC, and I'm asking, well, you seem to be the only one that decided to show up today, so I
guess I'll have to direct my portion of the question to you um because it's a problem and technically education boc labor
and dhs you share the very same population so is there any conversation on a on a prison and breaking a prison to
pipeline program i haven't been recently i haven't been involved in any of that i'm not sure if any of my colleagues have
um specifically we've done our youth program and try to you know decrease the recidivism rate within our youth
programs as far as YRC is concerned but as far as it specifically graduating and going to bureau of corrections and then
trying to break that mold I have not been personally involved in that quite yet anyone on the line and then we also have
an apprenticeship we passed the apprenticeship bill in in the 32nd at 8063 and the apprenticeship program is fully funded
and it has yet to kick off, which would be the Department of Labor. But like I said, this whole silo thing, lack of data, no
conversation. Is anyone on the screen today having that collective discussion on how, cause our crime rate is a problem
and we continue to treat the symptom and not the disease.
3:04:57
And the disease is really that detached, You know, whether it's a lack of education, a lack of a skill, you know, something
is wrong. How are we trying to address crime through programs like the apprenticeship program or breaking that, you
know, that continuance of returning to crime when you come out of jail, you have no skill. There's no prison to workforce
program to get them in jobs. So they end up, a few prisoners have come, well, not say prisoners, but ex-cons have come
to the office begging for work. And I am confused as where to send them. And they're looking for work and they don't
want to go back on the streets, but we don't have a system that cultivates that. So what among you guys on the screen
from CTECH to UVicel to DHS, what are your conversations?
3:06:37
Senator Sarra, if I may, this is Ms. Green from Vofria. Can you hear me? Yes, I can, go ahead. Okay, in reference to
conversations, I know we've been in conversations with the Department of Labor in regards to their second chance
programs. So they have been looking at the different populations in which they need to work on getting training and
employment to those individuals. We've had discussions several times. I'm not sure where they are with that program, but
we have discussed that. They recently, I know, worked on their Work Opportunity Tax Credit Program, which would also
provide employers with a credit if they were to hire individuals that came from the prison system or came from the
juvenile justice system, voc rehab program, any one of the target areas they're trying to work towards, trying to shore up
the services to those populations. and to conclude i don't want to abuse the time because the conversation is critical but
we are at a critical juncture in this territory with crime and we have to get beyond the point of the conversations at some
point you have to just do it and every time somebody comes we're having a conversation we haven't we're going to talk
ourselves to death so it's my hope that we really really leave today's meeting and go back with a renewed sense of
purpose and how we can address as the fundamental issues of our time. Thank you, Madam Chair.
3:07:28
Thank you very much, Senator Saru. Very, really, really resonates with questions. And I just wanna continue to put on
record and to help the public understand what we're facing, right? The Virgin Islands Board of Career and Technical
Education, and that's Title 17, Section 262, the Virgin Islands Board for Career and Technical Education shall be the sole
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agency in the administration the career and technical programs in the Virgin Islands and what we have by way of practice
is a misalignment with the law and if we follow the and if we also analyze for those who are aware of the history of
workforce development many of our elders speak about the CETA program the CETA program is the workforce
development program the workforce development board in CETA days of the board then the same board now under
different names so you can name it differently and and but also our history is very informative in terms of the breakdown
I think that dr. McGrath I saw your hand was up you had a you wanted to make a comment yes thank you so much this is
Suzanne Dara McGrath I'm the director for UVI cell I had a technology challenge there a moment ago I apologize but I
did want to weigh in on what Senator Saru was asking in regards to the Bureau of Corrections and the prison to work
program since I have I've started here in September of 2019.
I have been extremely passionate and working very hard to build that relationship between the Bureau of Corrections,
Educational Connections, the Department of Labor, make sure we're engaging our folks at the YRC to ensure they are
also connected. UVICEL, we were contracted to do the Bureau of Corrections Strategic Plan, which really helped us to
understand all the challenges that the Bureau is facing, especially in the re-entry space. So as we know, there is no
re-entry, no formal re-entry program here in the Virgin Islands. We are very far behind and we see the violence that
happens here on a regular basis. And from my perspective and from my team's perspective, this is our mission to reduce
recidivism and to stop the bleeding that is happening. So we do meet weekly with the Bureau of Corrections every single
Friday for an hour with the Director, Director Testamark and Peter Abrahams and other folks who are involved in
re-entry.
3:10:26
And then on the third Friday of each month, we have our re-entry task force. That is a grassroots effort that we've started
through UVICEL to bring together all of our collaborative partners to ensure that our returning citizens have a path to
employment. So what we have accomplished, it's been very, very effective to date. We have helped the Bureau of
Corrections to establish vocational and academic programs within the facility, including our NCCR program. We
certified eight individuals, including one inmate who is now a welding instructor and will be providing courses within the
facility. We're also supporting other NCCR courses there.
3:11:22
On the academic side, we're supporting the online high school program. We know that the majority of our inmates do not
have a high school diploma. So we're engaging in that space as well. We were able to connect the Bureau of Corrections
and Department of Labor around that transition. And we've connected now our case managers who are at the Bureau of
Corrections with our case managers at the Department of Labor. And we know there are 35 employers here in the
territory that are able to receive support and funding through providing those pathways to employment for people that
have barriers, like our folks who have been incarcerated. This is something we're very, very passionate about. And I don't
know if Dr. Khorram, if you want to also weigh in on the work we are doing with the Bureau of Corrections. Before you
proceed, Dr. Khorram, good morning to you. Senator Suru, you had a point of inquiry. You wanna let Dr. Khorram speak
or you wanna proceed with your point of inquiry?
3:12:06
Dr. Khorram could respond and then I'll do my point of inquiry. Okay, thank you. You're on mute Dr. Coram, you're on
mute I'm so sorry okay you can you can start my apology good afternoon thank you and good morning to everyone I just
wanted to also add that the university has engaged the BOC in developing educational, access to education here at the
university. So there are some inmates that are currently enrolled online at the University of the Northern Islands in hopes
that later on, once they transition through their re-entry program, they'll be skilled to enter the workforce from that
perspective as well.
3:13:05
Thank you. Thank you, Senator Saru. Your point of inquiry. Thank you. So the last question would be, and I guess I'll go
to CTEC and to everybody else. The Bureau of Economic Research conducts, of course, they're the main statistical
agency within this government. Have we looked at the information from the Bureau of Economic Research to indicate it
shows you the flourishing industries in the territory, whether it's industrial, tourism, you know, whatever. Have we
looked at those industries and the areas that lack the capacity for it to be done? Like look at the road work.
3:14:06
We have people doing road work, but our local people are waving a flag. That's what we do, right? How do we get on the
machines? How do we get to the heart of those industries? So are you looking at that data from BER to shift the focus
within CTEC to say, okay, hey, the hurricanes have showed us that we do not have enough work at people and skilled
people. So our target for the next five years strategic plan includes producing 20% more masons and plumbers and
electricians. You know, how are you interfacing or utilizing the Bureau of Economic Research data to determine the
direction you want to go in okay that's one of the tasks that my executive director the executive director for the board has
where he goes on and downloads that data from the Department of Labor actually website and so he would be able to
answer that better than I would mr. deuce Mr. Deuce, are you there?
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My concern, Dr. Francois, is you sent me a lifeline to talk to somebody else, but as chair at CTECH board that should be
in the discussions listen we need to get this and this happening and you should be able to at least tell me that the plan is to
produce this amount or this percentage of of masons and plumbers and painters those who paint the walls outside or
indoors or whatever like what what you transform it to somebody else but as a head of CTECH what is that discussion
that based on this data and the territory has a um an unemployment gap how are we moving to fill the gap from the
avenue of ctech of course labor has a role dhs has a role but you have a role they begin with you and then when they
come from you they move someplace else so i need i need some i need an answer somewhere somehow again senator the
problem we have as a c-tech board is that the c-tech power that power that we supposed to develop programs and we
supposed to decide what programs are are in our schools and territory the board hasn't had that we're we're in a struggle
right now to gain that type of authority and it takes more of our time struggling to gain that authority than moving
forward with anything else that we have Because for many years, the Department of Education and other departments
have decided what programs or CTE programs we're going to have in the territory.
3:16:11
Even now, programs are being developed unbeknownst to us. We find out through the grapevine, and then we have to go
and research and find out why these programs are being worked on and nobody told us. So until we get that authority
back where we make decisions on CT programs in the territory, to answer your question will be extremely difficult.
Thank you.
3:18:01
Thank you, Madam Chair, I digress. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. Well, I think we're getting into the weeds of
things and we're getting into some areas that present challenges for us to move forward. that end, an effort that is being
made, is to address the issues surrounding the authority. The Virgin Islands Department of Education, again, has a state
career anti-education office. That office has, for some time now, gone ahead and taken over the authority of the Career
Ontario Education Board taking over the funding source the Carl D Perkins grant that we have from February 12th
hearing we requested that Commissioner Barry Benjamin provide us with the update regarding the expenditure of that
fund the board is over supposed to oversee the fund but to date the board with basic meetings about basic expenditures,
wherein the State Career and Technical Education Office has decided what programs have set the salaries. Now the law
states that the CTECH board is responsible for the vetting and hiring of teachers as well as of course contractors and then
sent to the governor as a practices right now through the collective bargaining process the c-tech teachers have been are
under the union so the process by which is going to require collaboration is going to require exercise of authority is going
to require oversight and support to fix this situation because as it is right now the lack of power lack of you know
infrastructure is really breaking down the system and we should we should also find it really alarming that the board of
the center of this turns the Department of Labor the center of recidivism because actually CETA was once a once upon a
time we were addressing the issue of reentry and we were working hard and we had programs in place but have all been
destroyed through various efforts over time so
3:18:27
So we're now on the cusp, the push is to reform the system, set the boards properly, align them, the departments to start
engaging and collaborating and moving from discussions to putting items on paper and executing. I will proceed, Senator
Joseph has a point of information and then I will proceed with my time by seven minutes to ask my questions thank you
so much madam chair i just wanted to point out from the last meeting we had for this committee and i'm sorry he is not
here the chairman of the vi workforce development board indicated and stated some very uh clearly on the record the
demand driven industry and he had construction being absent from those demand driven industry. I believe that
construction is part of the state plan for the development for the Workforce Development Board and so it is clear that
there is some misalignment. If I would like to recommend, Madam Chair, the next time you invite the VI Workforce
Development Board, also extend an invitation to the Executive Director of the VI Workforce Development Board, which
is Ms. Sonia Boyce.
3:20:42
Thank you for that, Colleague, and just to emphasize, I've had a critical meeting one-on-one Because the role of the
chairperson, have the one-on-ones, get my committee members involved through the caucus process as well, and then
outwards. And then a lot of the work has already we go back to the files of the history of this committee, and we work
forward. Now, in terms of the outreach to the director and to the board chairman, that's why I had the first interim
meeting with them to get this information. And so that is why he was invited. But again, we should recognize that they've
been awarded $10 million, and that is not to the exception of the other millions of dollars they receive from the U.S.
Department of Labor. And so today was to find out from the main vendor, the vendor that's getting all of this workforce
money, what are they doing with the money? that's the goal because when I when we follow the money and when when
research is done to analyze what happens to communities of color we see that we've been taken advantage over and over
again I come from the background of the whole issue of human rights so when I get into housing and crisis and all that
we look at it from a racial dimension and and that's you know those are apparent in different spaces and I see it also in
this for in this regard we have to deal with things as they are there's an awarded contract and we were asked for them to
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present the workforce development board board members if you are on this board some of you on the call are on the
board petition mr. cardi to have meetings we had a meeting we had a hearing the other day regarding morons that
representative from the marine industry indicated that she also confirmed that the board had not met yet and still monies
are awarded for morons you know so you go on and on money's being doled out and doled out and given where there's
been no meetings so there is that investigatory action that needs to be taken I've initiated that I'm gonna work with my
colleagues on this and we're
gonna uproot these these awful like we have the roots of oppression these we have a lot of roots of oppression here in the
Virgin Islands some is acted against ourselves so that's the purpose of the meeting let me go ahead and ask my questions I
want to you know focus in on if you want to start my start the clock for me please okay so come Commissioner Kazi
Gomez I want to focus in on one of a few a few of the items surrounding your testimony particularly as it pertains to the
we have rehabilitation of clients so what are the eligibility requirements for employers so through the work opportunity
tax credit programs what are the um requirements for employers what are the general requirements thank you for the
question senator whitaker um either ac rymer brown or um the screen please yes uh good afternoon mikhail rymer brown
assistant commissioner so the work opportunity tax credit although it is open for employers it must be employers who
usually file on the mainland so you're going to have some restrictions you have i know office depot you have certain
hotels you have um walgreens and miss green may know of others but there is that restriction that there is has to be that
connection to the mainland um filing and um connection with the larger corporations so for the territory that that is a
limitation there but there's several that we can get the work opportunity tax credits um with the department of labor i
don't have an exhaustive list but i mentioned just a few of those that are readily available and that we refer our clients to
and in terms of addressing as we can see there's some duplication of efforts to some extent right what MOUs or what
agencies are you in partnership with in terms of specifically for vocational rehab what agencies are you have any
3:24:28
MOUs with or just partnerships I think we've mentioned a few in the testimony you know department of labor department
of education disability rights I know I'm missing about 12 other ones uh sorry who else do we have um as it pertains to
the workforce innovation opportunity act you basically mentioned the core partnerships um it's department of labor and
department of education okay so what i would suggest you have a partner right here we were gathered here today i would
suggest you add the ctech board as a partner the board education um as a partner so we can work holistically together and
we can continue develop partnerships and of course UVICL. I cannot forget you, Dr. McGrath. Okay. The question I
have to you, Commissioner Cozzi-Gomez, Commissioner Gomez, did you make any interface or meet with the version of
Housing and Finance Authority Board specifically as it pertained to workforce development funding or any funding for
vocational rehab? Did you have any exchanges with the board, Mr. Griffith, on securing any necessary funding to address
any matches or federal matches that you could have been used through federal funds or just overall workforce
development and vocational rehabilitation housing finance authorities specifically regarding workforce development
correct because they were working on a lot of other things but not specifically for me ac ram around you're shaking your
head that's we're not no workforce development not at this point but certainly that is an area that we'll be pursuing um we
are working more on the rehabilitation of our facilities with housing finance but definitely uh sharia green cindy rollins
and um miss bailey who oversees our tanf and snap employment we will be um pursuing that as soon as possible that's
That's excellent. Thank you. Dr. Francois, can you speak and give us just a general
3:26:39
overview of the collaborative efforts, naming key departments that the CTEC board has engaged with concerning
workforce development, and as well as highlight, you indicated that the ROTC program is gonna be, well it's now a
program for CTEC. Can you give more details on that as well? and that on that effort to make that effort for that program
to be your newest program. Okay, thank you, Senator. Colonel Charles, who's over the ROTC program in the Virgin
Islands approached us recently. I brought it to our attention that in the United States, in most states ROTC is under the
CT programs. programs. And he would like to do the same here in the Virgin Islands. So we took a look at the program,
we see what was required, and we went ahead and petitioned, for lack of a better word, to get ROTC under CTE with the
approval of the Commission of Education.
3:28:43
So that was done. And what we're doing presently, we're in the process of getting the ROTC instructors certified as CTE
instructors even though they're already certified as ROTC instructors we want to make sure that they meet the Virgin
Islands requirements to be CTE instructors so we're working on that as we presently speak as far as well I just want to
stop you there that so and and in terms of that effort you still have to go through the department education to get that
program approved then it goes to the governor then comes back so again we're talking about that added layer of
processing yes okay and then the other other programs collaboration in that regard at fast collaboration we try to have
meetings with several different entities um try to do it on a monthly basis if possible if the other entities are available so
we have a monthly meeting with the board of education we haven't had a meeting since the board got its new members
but that's on our schedule to have a collaboration meeting at least once a month with the board of education we also do
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the same with the department of education where where we meet with the commissioner and her team monthly.
We're also trying to set up meetings with the workforce development board, but we have a member on our board that's
also a member on that board. So a lot of the information is passed through her, which is Dr. McGrath. And we also, we've
had meetings with the department of labor, but we would like to continue having those type of meetings, if not on a
monthly base with Department of Labor, at least a quarterly base with the Department of Labor.
3:31:24
Time. Thank you, and so, and I believe, so what does, and there's any other program that the board is currently working
on? Yeah, yes, right now the curriculum committee for the board is looking at an agriculture program. They're working
hard on an agriculture program together for our high schools. Okay, and just to reference agriculture, a requirement for
our children to learn agriculture from kindergarten to 12th grade and just by way of background and research the um the
board is now unearthing a 19-year gap in the review and updates to that curriculum and certainly the work that's going to
be involved therein so thank you for that. I know my time has been called I just want to ask of Dr. McGrath. Dr.
McGrath. Can you you outline in terms of as we continue to support workforce development under your purview what
kinds of financial aid or even scholarship programs are being offered in some of these key areas you mentioned of course
that UVI cell is on the cusp of developing various programs so we're speaking about construction earlier in terms of that
importance of that industry are there any scholarships and then also with support for teachers have to come back in and
go through the certification process through the CTEC Board of Board of Education.
3:31:53
Yes, thank you, Senator. This is Suzanne Darin-McGrath from UVICEL. We are approved providers through the
Department of Labor, and we are able to tap into WIOA funding. So right now we have three courses that individuals can
go to the Department of Labor and apply and receive funding. and those three courses are administrative assistant, child
daycare management, and clinical medical assistant. So all three of those courses are currently available through the
Department of Labor, through WIOA and UVicel. Those courses are online and they do include the certification exam as
well as a one-year access to our computer lab to take classes if you don't have access at home or internet access at home.
3:33:18
So we don't have, we're not able to tap into UVI's tuition or free tuition at this point in time, but we do offer free courses
for our veterans. When it comes to our teachers, we do offer many courses that are in support of teacher certification as
Dr. Francois mentioned, we have a critical gap with our teacher certification. And so we do provide online Praxis Prep.
That's one of the requirements for our teachers to take Praxis. We have the VI History and Culture course, as well as
we're exploring online courses that can be substituted for certification, which I'll be presenting to our UBI School of
Education soon. I've been working with Ms. Nancy Colwood from the State Office of Career and Technical Education,
and she is working hard to, they have funding available for NCC, our teacher certification. So we're looking to certify
four teachers in the next couple of weeks here, as well as provide up to 15 teachers with their tuition to the VI History
and Culture course. And we'll have a separate class that'll be established for those teachers, for CTE teachers specifically.
Thank you very much, Dr. McGrath.
3:34:04
And I will close up with, back to human service. So to Ms. Green, the question I have for you for you really centers on
the current programs the Department of Labor, particularly the One Stop, have any of, do you have like the, well, I know
we asked questions about numbers earlier and that's really critical. I also believe in data. How many students, well, rather
clients I should say rather have gone through even the One Stop program.
3:35:19
The Department of Labor has a One Stop program. One of, a vendor was awarded $5 million. that closed out last fiscal
year. How many of our people were able to really take advantage for a entity that was awarded $5 million to assist
persons with employment, or re-employment, I should say? Prior to COVID, Senator, the counselors were in the one-stop
at least one day a week. Since COVID, we have yet to return. But many times the counselors would have the participants
come to the Department of Labor so they can work with them there, go through the job search and do what they have to
do on the view system. So a lot of our participants do frequent the One Stop. So we do want to continue that partnership.
3:35:51
And I think under WIOA, this is where these discussions should take place because we already have the partnerships in
place and we just want to make sure that all the stakeholders are also invited to the table so we can have a cohesive
delivery of services to the population. Thank you and I know we definitely have is a significant gap, you know, the
school workers and so a lot more resources have to be placed within our education system from the elementary, middle
school and high school level. So otherwise we're gonna continue this cycle that we're in, a cycle where a large percentage
of money has been towards the adults and very little towards the children's actual skills necessary to get grade by grade
and certainly be part of the workforce system. So we'll now proceed with our final round of three minutes. Okay, Senator
Potter, you may proceed for your three minutes.
3:36:44
Thank you very much, Madam Chair. Well, question is to Dr. Francois and it's regarding the vacant critical technical
positions at CTEC. How long have these positions been vacant? How long have these technical positions been vacant?
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Mr. Deuce, you want to answer that question? Good afternoon. How long have these positions been Well, that question
would be the best answer to individual principals of the schools. I can give you a listing of openings that we have. How
long have they been open? It's a question I cannot answer you directly. Okay. Okay. Well, my reason for asking the
question was really that I believe that the positions have been vacant for quite a long time, in some cases for years. My
question was if it would be in our best interest or the interest of the board to pursue, my mother used to say there's more
than one way to skin a cat. I was thinking about maybe some of the standout persons in the program, standout high
schoolers or seniors, being given the opportunity to have a scholarship, maybe to go to a technical school for a couple of
years. They do that for two years, they come back, they enroll in the free tuition program at UVI just to get the core
educational courses, and then they agree to come back to work for
the Virgin Islands government. I'm wondering if some creative approach like that, whether or not you would be
amenable, Dr. Francois, to an approach like that. Identifying those standout students in the program right now, offering
them a scholarship opportunity to a technical college on the mainland, and getting them to, in exchange for that, agreeing
to come back to the territory to teach some of these courses that have, you know, been vacant for many, many years.
What are your thoughts on that? I think that's an excellent idea. Even with the scholarships we give now, one of the
things we try to do is get the recipients of those scholarships to come back and work in the Virgin Islands or do some
kind of CT work in the Virgin Islands. I think that's an excellent idea. also one of the things i want to add with with that
recommendation is that in a lot of our city courses we have one instructor and when that instructor leaves or pass pass
away or whatever that program comes to a heart i think that we need to also look at hiring at least two instructors for each
program that way when one instructor leaves we have an additional instructor to carry on those programs but i think that's
an excellent idea and that's something maybe um the board needs to do a proposal for or not maybe we should we will
look at that to do a proposal and um see how we could get funding to do such a thing the next time i speak with you i'll
ask you the status of that
3:39:34
Yes, sir. Yes, sir. Very good. My final question, Madam Chair, is to Commissioner Kazi-Gomez and her team. And it's
regarding a TANF program on, I think, line 278 of your testimony, Commissioner Gomez. You mentioned the University
of the Virgin Islands Caribbean Exploratory Research Center on Health Disparities completed a research project focused
on the Virgin Islands TANF employment and training program. This research will serve as a catalyst for improving our
DHS TANF employment and training program as we move forward.
3:41:25
My question is, I just wanted to hear a little more about the results of that project and how the new TANF program, how
you project the new TANF program to look. I believe from what I am understanding, TANF is structured in a way that
single parents or a single head of household families are the only entities that qualify. And if you have a dual parent
household where both parents are unemployable, they would not be qualified just based on the fact that you have two
parents in the household.
3:42:03
I don't know if that's a fact or not, but I was hoping if it was that maybe this new redesign program would make some
changes to the way that program looks currently. Thank you very much. I'm going to allow AC Robert Brown to answer,
but I just wanted to kind of just check in about the, when we began the process, we wanted to make sure that our
efficiencies were done and emerging into one, I feel, is the best interest of everybody involved and so I think that that
will be a good use of our our team our resources as y'all know that it's been difficult to hire in the past and so in futuristic
but as far as the research concerned go ahead AC. Yes as our commissioner was just talking about doing a bit of a merger
of the SNAP and the TANF employment and training programs one of the things that we definitely will be doing is
renaming the program name has a lot to do with with something and and programs and really for this the TANF
employment and training a job is not the only end-all and be-all many times the low-income TANF person may take a job
and they may be a cashier or a low income or minimum wage. I believe in the redesign we are looking to expand the
career pathways and that type of employment and training focus and focus on the high demand industries. Yes you are
right. Currently we only have the single parent household. That is a restriction.
3:42:45
We will look at that. But Senator we do also have some caps federal caps of monies in the area for TANF so funding is
will play a role one of the key ideas under the research was really more employer outreach and employer gauging their
openness to accept TANF clients into their businesses that is an area we're going to be doing a lot more employer
education and also building up the skills and the levels of the TANF clients themselves so they can see a pathway
forward so it's going to be a dynamic process we're about to engage a new director of employment and training for both
SNAP and TANF so we're excited about the possibilities for the rest of 21 when we have a redefined and a re-energized
TANF and SNAP employment and training program thank you very much thank you and to highlight that also to the
human service you also are working on the 21st century principles that's you know really looking at improving the
operations as well so I know that you indicated that and so with that I will continue to say really and truly it won't be
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effective unless it's collaborative, unless the department specifically meets with all the entities. The Department of
Education is a huge entity and we can see now over the years it's this whole breakdown of CTEC is not working. The
State Education Office has not been able to really uphold, it's really, really and truly it's not working and we know that
we see it so before our students you know poor individual matriculate and finish school that they have as many skills we
can get you know them involved with as possible and trained in and move forward on senator saru you're up for your
three minutes there's a room That's the room.
Thank you, Madam Chair. Have you looked at the data from VIPD? They have a planning and research division. Have
you looked at the data and the amount of criminals repeat offenders? That directed to me, Senator. Yes, Senator.
Everyone, we're having a workforce development discussion, so...
3:46:40
Have we... Do we look at the... Go ahead. Go ahead, Dr. Amin, Commissioner Gomez. Thanks for the elevation. Thanks
for the elevation. I have actually looked at the statistics, but it hasn't been recent, within the last probably four or five
months. I do think that just taking a quick look at what that looks like looks like and seeing past clients or their clients of
our system and how they're they're going they're feeding into VIPD and what they're seeing right now would be probably
beneficial to us we just haven't gotten to that part right now okay Dr. Francois no I know I haven't I don't know if anyone
else on my bottom my executive director has but i haven't um i've been more focused on saving our students in high
school and junior high than looking outside of that at this time the data for the um planning and research division has data
from the juveniles as well those who go to yrc those who are in the juvenile programs and what how many times they've
been arrested picked up on what's not so mr So Francois, your answer does not suffice at all. Dr. McGrath?
3:47:10
Yes, good afternoon. I'm looking for the latest data, but we do receive that regular information from the Bureau of
Corrections. They are actively tracking that now with the different software tools that they have put in place. So we
should be able to get that information to you pretty quickly. I just have to make a couple of phone calls. But that is
something that is being actively tracked on the strategic plan. It's one of the critical metrics. And I know the BOC, they've
recently hired someone to manage the strategic planning and support strategic planning efforts. And it would be
definitely data-driven, which I know is critical for all of our efforts here in the territory.
3:48:34
That's something that we've historically struggled with. Okay, and I think I'll just conclude there. I just asked about vivis
in the first round. I asked about how are we using a view of economic research. We're not using that data. The VIPD is
producing their data. We're not using their data. Because if we're able to see, Madam Chair? That's fine. Is your
indulgence? Go ahead, go ahead.
3:49:19
If we're able to, okay, if we're able to see the outcomes and what the outcomes are, then we're able to, on the front end,
push programs that would prevent what we're seeing at the VIPD. The VIPD is the last step in workforce development in
saving our people, period. So I'm just a bit exhausted today. And I think my tone expresses my exhaustion of the fact that
we are just having conversations and we're in planning, we're in preparation, we're doing this, we're gonna meet next
week and the streets are running red. And of course, parents and schools have a duty, but government has a duty to fill
the gap as well. We all have a role, and on this end, we have not fulfilled our duties insofar as developing a skilled labor
workforce.
3:49:47
I mean, when people start to work, they feel valued. Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you. And I will move now on to
Senator Joseph for your three minutes. Thank you so much, Madam Chair. I just want to say that I have spent significant
time in my career working in the trenches with both young people who are recidivist, adjudicated, and we had to have
data available to be able to apply for funding and demonstrate that level of need definitely we have a huge gap relative to
the collaboration the conversations working together as I have termed it to be to breed just like we as people who have
hair are accustomed to or even twist, to braid those resources so it is aligned and everyone is neatly working together
with the end in mind.
3:50:48
That end outcome is definitely providing these services so that our participants, our students are economically
self-sufficient. That is our end goal. That should be our end goal, the economic self-sufficiency. I know, Madam Chair,
you spoke eloquently regarding the level of oppression. There is a system of oppression, and we have to see how we can
work to eliminate it. I wanted to ask if, and this is to Dr. McGrath, relative to your work with the private industry as well
as a public industry that you mentioned on page two of your testimony do you have articulated moas or mous with uh
your partners and how does that work just be succinct yes so we do have moas with partners and we go through the
property and procurement process um we get contacted to um do custom training and then we do the research on our side
to establish what those courses will be if we need to develop curriculum we will if we need to identify um instructors we
will do so and we'll put together an agreement a contract and share that with our partner agencies and then we'll go
through the property and procurement process and get our legal folks involved. Okay, Dr. McGrath, my time is running,
and I want to ask the same question to the Commissioner of Human Services, Dr. Casey Gomez. Kindly indicate, do you
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have existing MOAs or MOUs with your partners? Those will be the public-private partners. Do you have those,
and how are they working? I don't need to know the process. Actually we do have MOUs because you know usually in
especially with federal money we can't get into an agreement or conversation usually without an MOU or an MOA
depending upon if it's money or not money. Whether it's when you say it's working right now we're in the process of
reviewing every single contract lease agreement MOU to ensure that it's working. As far as workforce development I
believe that there always needs to be improvement. system that we talked about the data collection we have data for every
single program that that's not the problem the problem is is that it's not an integrated data system where you're able to pull
to see and cross-reference at the same time so um what happens when we're when we're preparing we have the data it just
would be nice to be able to have that cross-reference of okay well this particular client crosses three programs right and
so i think that that's really our it's ultimate goal for it but as far as the mou and working relationships with our partner
agencies i think that we're doing a pretty good job and i think there's always room for improvement senator okay thank
you i just want to wrap up really quick because my time has expired and i'm trying to be respectful even though that our
our committee meeting because persons have deemed that that these items were already covered, is that the MOUs and
MOAs are critical because that is how we are able to align the services required. MOUs and MOAs should be in
existence with all low-income, any type of service existing for low-income families, families, and that include a single
parent or a single person is in a low income bracket. That includes also the Virgin Islands Housing Authority
3:54:02
because they also have that economic self-sufficiency component. So we have to be able to go into where people live, a
lot of them live within the Virgin Islands Housing Authority. And so those are some of the things that we need to look at
braiding those resources. i know my time has expired i want to thank you all for the work that you do and i just want to
let you know to just be encouraged to continue the work and continue to build on the collaborations that are existing
thank you thank you and so i will conclude just with my statement and then we'll we'll move into conclusions for each
testifier. And so there's one particular quote that I want to conclude with. Education is the most powerful weapon which
you can use to change the world.
3:56:02
That quote is by an individual Nelson Mandela, who inspired many. And as we close out this this hearing today and as
we look forward to future hearings I really want to continue to emphasize that we are facing critical issues. It is our duty
as the Education Committee to have oversight over the Department of Education, Department of Labor, Board of
Education, the CTEC Board, and we are all engaged in the process. I ask that was we invite testifiers that they respect the
process after the hearing we have a hearing there's been requests for information so I ask all the departments to
respectfully give us the information we are seeking and we can and let us move from the conversations to work sessions
and then present before hearings and where we see legislation needing to be had we vet that ask for your input and we
come together in a collective collective effort I'll go ahead now and start have you first Commissioner Kazi-Gomez
provide your closing statement first and foremost I always a special thank you to our frontlines essential employees of the
Department of Human Services they are really the ones that are doing the work chairwoman Genevieve Whitaker and the
members of the Committee on Education and Workforce Development. We really truly appreciate the opportunity to
provide our testimony today. I think it's an ongoing conversation. Our employment and training programs and a
consolidated effort should always be together.
3:57:01
Collaboration and of course like Senator Saru said earlier the data-driven system is really truly the key component of our
development and the workforce especially. I think workforce development allows for our individuals to gain and improve
their skill set not only for themselves personally but also in the job market in the workplace. We are lifelong learners and
training is always a good return on investment. So for our for even within our internal and our organization I always
always support professional development and making sure that we're getting through it. So if we can track can continue
to track our measurable skill gains and show how we can prepare for the workforce for the success I'm all in.
3:58:46
um and so especially training in our seniors and persons with disabilities and of course our families that we serve on a
regular basis we stand committed um to not only this legislature the executive branch and a special thank you to the brian
roach administration we're here to serve so thank you so much for the opportunity today thank you thank you for
attending today's hearing dr francois your concluding statement our last thoughts yes yes thank you i'd first like to thank
you senator whitaker and the rest of the members of the committee for allowing us to testify the city board to testify here
today we have a lot of work ahead of us we we're doing the best that we can for now I'd like to say but we're pushing
forward and I made a lot of notes on on certain things that certain senators brought up and and we're gonna figure out
how to address those things but other than that I just like to thank you for having us Thank you. And Dr. McGrath. Yes,
thank you so much. I do want to just clarify one point on the recidivism data. I did misspeak on that. The online data
system is not fully implemented at the Bureau of Corrections and the last rate collected was in 2019 where the recidivism
rate was 21%. So just to make that clarification. I'd like to thank you, Honorable Chair Whitaker and members of the
3:59:27
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Legislature USVI · Committee on Education and Workforce Development | March 15, 2021
committee for the opportunity to testify on behalf of UVicel today. I have sincerely appreciated today's conversation. I
too have been taking a lot of notes and identifying opportunities for follow-up and future partnership. And I will remain
hopeful as we move forward in collaboration to support the education and workforce development needs of our
community. Thank you.
Thank you. And I wanna definitely thank you, thank all of you for your testimony here today. And I believe I do. I don't
have to push for that. I'm from Commissioner Kazi-Gomez, Dr. Francois, Dr. McGrath. I do believe that from this
hearing that there will be collaboration, that there will be work sessions. And I look forward to also meeting with you.
We go through caucus processes and us moving forward on behalf of, in this case, of the children, the adults, and also
even the seniors as it pertains to workforce development. Thank you very much and thank you to all those who tune in.
Thank you to my staff, on the media, on the staff of the legislature who makes today possible.
4:01:27
I'm just thankful and thankful to the community for tuning in because even throughout this hearing when I emphasize
people are making comments, right? The public is participating and that's what I'm emphasizing. Let the public be part of
this process. Let them give feedback and critical feedback can only make you stronger, especially when it's constructive.
So thank you everyone, everyone have a blessed day and enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you very much and be safe.
Thank you. This meeting stands in recess, is adjourned. Thank you. Thank you. We'll be right back.
4:02:09
People named in this transcript
SUSPECTED, and a finding aid only. Names were matched by machine against the spellings used across all 426 of our transcripts, and the
title is the one used in the room. Being named here is NOT evidence that a person attended or spoke · only that the name was said. Speech
recognition mishears names, so a spelling may be wrong even where no alternative is offered.
18x
Senator Novelle Francis
the surname alone also matches: Aracelis Francis
heard in this transcript as: Francois, Michael Francois, Michael T. Francois
11x
Senator Janelle K. Saro
heard in this transcript as: Janelle K. Saru, Saru
9x
Commissioner Gary Malloy
the surname alone also matches: Ruben Malloy
heard in this transcript as: Gary Molloy, Malloy, Molloy
8x
Senator Genevieve R. Whitaker
heard in this transcript as: Genevieve Whitaker, Whitaker
7x
Senator Carla Joseph
the surname alone also matches: Clifford Joseph; Karla J. Joseph
heard in this transcript as: Joseph
6x
Senator Milton E. Potter
heard in this transcript as: Potter
3x
Dr. Haldane Davies
3x
Senator Kurt Vialet
heard in this transcript as: Kirk A. Viale, Viale
2x
Commissioner Barry Benjamin
2x
Senator Kenneth L. Gittens
heard in this transcript as: Kenneth L. Gittins
1x
Senator Donna A. Frett-Gregory
heard in this transcript as: Donna A. Fred Gregory
1x
Senator Donna Frett-Gregory
heard in this transcript as: Donna A. Frett-Gregory
Machine transcript · UNVERIFIED. Verify every quotation against the recording. Speakers are not identified.
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