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Employment Social Enterprise (ESE) Program Year 2024-25 (PY 24-25)

Grantor:

Employment Development Department

Portal ID:

81143

Status:

Active

Opportunity Type:

• Grant

Last Updated:

December 30, 2024, 7:54 am  |  View change notes

Categories:

• Disadvantaged Communities
• Employment, Labor & Training

Details

Purpose:

The ESE PY 24-25 grant competition solicits a second round of proposals to design, develop, and implement programs that will focus on the first step to transitioning participants into the workforce by placing individuals into employment, typically in a supported employment setting, to help them earn wages while building work experience, improving job skills as well as provide supportive services for California’s most vulnerable populations.

Description:

This initiative aims to design, develop, and implement programs that will promote job training opportunities and transitional employment through social enterprise programs for the hardest-to-serve individuals to provide economic self-sufficiency and life stability. The ESE also seeks innovative projects that demonstrate effectiveness in providing jobs, support services, and on-the-job (OJT) training while earning revenue from delivering products and services that they reinvest in people. By selling high-quality products and services and investing the money they make in their businesses and their people by providing good, paying jobs and vital support services that help their employees bust through barriers to employment.

To this end, the ESE will focus on the first step to transitioning participants into the workforce by placing individuals into employment, typically in a supported employment setting, to help them earn wages while building work experience, improving job skills, and providing supportive services and wrap-around support such as housing, access to childcare, mental health services, job coaching, and much more. When employees are ready, ESEs will help them find and keep their next good job  and continue building on their success. Applicants to the ESE program will serve the following special populations: disconnected young adults, justice-involved individuals, people with disabilities, long-term-unemployed individuals, older workers, and veterans.

This program will build on the success of the ESE program model and the ESE Program PY 22-23 grant as the first step to employment stability and success for the target populations as a priority program intervention. The programs will also coordinate with the state efforts across multiple agencies and departments to increase access and retention of transitional employment through Social Enterprises (SE)  to support recruitment, wrap-around support, case management, and job placement of the participants in the ESE program.

Applicants must demonstrate the ability to leverage a minimum of 20 percent of their budget with funds or services from other sources. The leverage needed for funds is based on the total grant funding requested. Applicants are encouraged to braid funds, leverage human capital, and utilize other resources to maximize the success of the project. Leveraged resources can come from a variety of sources.

Proposals must be received by 3 p.m. PT on  February 14, 2025. An informational webinar will be held on January 14, 2025, at 10 am PT. Preregistration is required for all participants.

Refer to the EDD’s Workforce Development Solicitation for Proposals website at https://edd.ca.gov/en/jobs_and_training/WDSFP_Workforce_Development_Solicitations_for_Proposals for the preregistration link.

To complete the preregistration, an applicant must fill out the pre-registration information. After successfully preregistering, a system-generated email will provide the webinar link. The EDD encourages applicants to submit a notice of intent to apply by January 21, 2025, at noon PT to WSBSFP3@edd.ca.gov.

Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Applicants:

• Business
• Nonprofit
• Public Agency

Proposals will be accepted from Eligible applicants include ESE organizations that collaborate with one or more of the following: public workforce development boards; human service agencies; public and private non-profit organizations, or a community-based organizations (CBO). Individuals are not eligible to apply. Applicants who were awarded ESE PY 23-24 funding may re-apply for funding.

Eligible Geographies:

Applicants to the ESE Program PY 24-25 may serve disconnected young adults, justice-involved individuals, people with disabilities, long-term unemployed, older individuals, English Language Learners, and veterans in disadvantaged communities across the State of California.