JACKSON - More than 2,000 unemployed workers statewide are benefiting from a federal program that provides free training, relocation and extended benefits to those whose jobs were lost to foreign imports.
The Trade Adjustment Assistance program is little known.
But it's a Godsend to those who have been laid off because a company either moved jobs out of the country or was forced to cut back because foreign competition was cutting into profits.
Most recently, more than 600 workers at International Paper's Natchez mill qualified for the program when the mill closed.
Fortunately for those workers and others laid off since November, the program's benefits have been beefed up.
"There's been some changes for the better since November 2002, and the benefits run for longer periods and they're better," said Jan Garrick, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Employment Security Commission.
The state will also get more money to help those who qualify.
For the program year that began July 1, Mississippi will get $2.29 million, compared to $750,000 last year, said David McIntyre, chief of workforce operations at the Employment Security Commission.
"Congress gave more for the program," McIntyre said, adding that the amount of the state's appropriation is based on the level of activity in the program.
To be eligible for benefits, you must have been laid off or had your work schedule reduced by at least 20 percent. The Department of Labor determines who is eligible, and companies must apply on behalf of their employees.
Here's some of the benefits the program offers:
- Employment training for up to 104 weeks plus 26 weeks of remedial education or language proficiency classes if needed.
- Up to 130 weeks of unemployment benefits during the time a worker is participating in an approved job-training program.
- Relocation assistance: There's no cap on the amount that can be paid. Garrick said the program's Mississippi recipients have received an average of $6,000 to $7,000.
- Training supplies: There's no cap on the amount paid for supplies such as textbooks. The current payment is averaging $5,200, Garrick said.
- Health benefits: The program will pay 65 percent of health care premiums paid by program participants who can choose to continue coverage under their former employer's plan or get into another program.
