Washington DC Taking Step To Address Trans Job Issues

According to the DC Trans Coalition,  the city has promised to help address on of the pressing problems in the local trans community in terms of unemployment.

As the Injustice At Every Turn report painfully pointed out,  Black transpeople are facing unemployment rates as high as 26% almost double the African American employment rate. 

The program had a start date of September 12  and would start with an initial class of 20 participants.  The participants would spend the first three weeks of in class pre-employment training and job coaching followed by 6 months of subsidized employment.

The Department of Employment Services will pay each participant minimum wage, while they are placed in an apprentice role with an employer. The goal is to support the participant in finding full-time employment by the end of the six months.

Eligibility Requirements

 All potential TEP participants must meet the following requirements for enrollment:

• Age 22 to 54
• District resident (as verified through a DMV records, lease, or judgment/commitment papers)
• Currently unemployed
• Not receiving government assistance, such as TANF, SSI, or Unemployment Compensation (Food Stamps are acceptable)
• Not currently using any illegal substances (there will be a urinalysis conducted at Orientation)
• Not a participant in a Project Empowerment workforce development program within the past 2 years

In addition, all potential TEP participants must demonstrate a substantial need for intensive employment assistance by exhibiting 3 or more of the following barriers to employment:

• Basic skills deficiency, demonstrated by a lack of sufficient mastery of basic educational skills exhibited by CASAS scores below the 8^thgrade reading level and/or an English language deficiency with an inability to speak, read, or write the English language
• Lack of a secondary school educational credential (high school diploma or its recognized equivalent)
• A documented history of substance abuse
• Homelessness
• A history of Job Cycling in which he/she has not maintained employment for more than one (1) consecutive quarter in the past eight (8) quarters, as verified through UI Wage Bumps
• A conviction for a Serious or Violent Offense

Pending referral to TEP, all potential participants must be in compliance with and actively engaged in the employment activities outlined in the plan developed during the pre-enrollment assessment with a OneStop case manager for a period of at least four (4) weeks.