Contact: Conor Williams, Community Advocates Public Policy Institute
262-442-4646 and cwilliams@communityadvocates.net
Milwaukee— Eloise Anderson, Secretary of the State Department of Children and Families, will be the honoree and main speaker at the Transitional Jobs Celebration, Tuesday, December 11th from 6:00 – 7.30 p.m. at United Way JCI Volunteer
Center, 200 W. Pleasant St., Milwaukee. Secretary Anderson’s Department administered the Wisconsin Transitional Jobs programs since their inception in 2010 and has been a champion for these programs up to the present. She will be honored for her groundbreaking leadership by the Milwaukee Transitional Jobs Collaborative, a Milwaukee coalition, comprised of 30 area agencies and organizations, that is sponsoring the celebration. All are welcome at this community event.
“Secretary Anderson championed Transitional Jobs when few understood their value and many were skeptical of their effectiveness,” said Pastor Joe Ellwanger of MICAH. “Before she steps down, we want to recognize her leadership and dedication to improving the career opportunities of struggling workers.”
Transitional Jobs—short-term subsidized employment for job-seekers with barriers to employment—were launched as a pilot project in Wisconsin in 2010, enabling hard-to-place but eager workers to get into the workforce and build a bridge to unsubsidized employment. Since that pilot program, the state’s Transitional Jobs initiatives have grown and found support among employers, community groups, and legislators of both parties. Most recently, Transitional Jobs were expanded to veterans via the Hire Heroes Act authored by state Rep. Cody Horlacher (R-Mukwonago) and state Rep. Daniel Riemer (D-Milwaukee). The legislation passed unanimously in both houses of the state legislature and Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law in April 2018. Since 2010, the state’s Transitional Jobs programs have placed more than 6,000 workers into unsubsidized employment
The Milwaukee Transitional Jobs Collaborative was created to monitor the program’s effectiveness in the city and is made up of state and local administrators, employment agencies, community organizations, faith groups, and policy researchers. Members are celebrating the program’s successes on December 11th to reaffirm their commitment to providing a path to employment for marginalized jobseekers. The celebration will include testimonies from employees that have gone from the transitional job to a permanent job, and testimonies from employers who have hired persons in the program. Besides honoring Secretary Anderson, the Transitional Jobs Collaborative will also recognize the agencies that have recruited the employees and the employers and have mentored the employees during and after their employment: UMOS, Milwaukee Urban League, Silver Spring Neighborhood Center, Northcott Neighborhood House, YWCA Southeast Wisconsin, Milwaukee Careers Cooperative, Employ Milwaukee, Goodwill Industries of Southeast Wisconsin, and the City of Milwaukee.
“Over the years we have seen how a steady job has the power to change an individual worker’s immediate and long-term circumstances,” said Conor Williams, Community Advocates Public Policy Institute. “We’ve also seen how employers have integrated their Transitional Jobs workers into their workplaces and enabled them to build a better future for themselves and their families. We want to recognize Transitional Jobs workers and their employers for seizing opportunities to prosper.”
