Representatives of the North Central Planning and Development District asked the Leflore County Board of Supervisors on Monday for a donation of office space to facilitate the implementation of a job training program.
Anjavette Payton, NCPDD case manager for Leflore County, said the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Out of School Youth Program will target young adults ages 16-24. It will provide job training in certification in a number of fields and specialties.
The program, which already operates in several other counties, is funded by the South Delta Planning and Development District.
Payton said the program has started recruiting and is seeking about 20 young residents of Leflore County who have graduated high school or obtained GEDs but are not currently enrolled in institutions of higher education.
Payton said she was asking for the office space and utilities so that the program can put as much of its grant money as possible toward salaries for its participants.
Chancery Clerk Sam Abraham said the only available space he could think of was at the business incubator building on U.S. 82 in Itta Bena.
District 1 Supervisor Phil Wolfe voiced his support for the donation.
“I was under the assumption that (the incubator) was put there for exactly what this young lady wants,” he said.
District 4 Supervisor Wayne Self said he was unsure whether the county is legally allowed to donate facilities.
Board Attorney Joyce Chiles agreed, saying, “I don't know of anything at this point that would allow the donation of county space without some compensation.”
Abraham suggested that the program might be eligible to use the space since participants would be employable by any department in the county and the SDPDD grant would pay their salaries. In a sense, he said, the program would be providing free employees to the county in exchange for office space.
Although the board was unable to find a definitive solution, the general tone was supportive.
“I think we can work something out,” said District 3 Supervisor Anjuan Brown. “We just want to find out legally what we can do.”
For more information on the WIOA Out of School Youth Program, call (662) 283-4614.
In other business Monday, the board:
• Approved a change in the employment status of Gastavian Ross at the Juvenile Detention Center from part-time to full-time.
• Approved the hiring of Kenneth Patterson as a part-time guard at the Juvenile Detention Center.
• Contact Nick Rogers at 581-7235 or nrogers@gwcommonwealth.com.
