On May 13, Gov. Jay Inslee announced that Kitsap County, along with two others, were awarded $193,000 to help return “the long-term unemployed to work.”

The funding will be used to serve 80 long-term unemployed individuals with a goal of placing 64 of them into jobs, according to a press release from the Kitsap County Human Services.

“Thousands of workers with good work histories have been left behind in our economic recovery,” Governor Inslee said. “It’s exciting to advance our partnership with our local workforce development councils to start turning that around.”

Overall, a total of $4 million was awarded to Washington state’s 12 workforce development councils from federal Dislocated Worker Rapid Response funds. The councils will deliver services to the long-term unemployed through WorkSource offices, partnering with local employment and training providers.

“Workforce development programs successfully help businesses and job seekers. We know that people who use WorkSource services have great results finding jobs. It’s a significant return on investment,” stated Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido, Chair of the Olympic Consortium.