Agencies' goal is work force developments

The recent passage of the federal Workforce Investment Act means the Job Council of the Ozarks, at 1514 S. Glenstone in the Glen Isle Center, is undergoing a name change and a makeover.

The city of Springfield's Department of Workforce Development, which has operated as the Job Council of the Ozarks, will expand and renovate its offices to share space with the Missouri Division of Workforce Development. The new law now requires that work force development offices provide specific employment information and services at one regional location.

The Job Council of the Ozarks is now the Missouri Career Center-Ozark Region, a one-stop employment center that will coordinate the activities of the former Job Council and its partner agencies.

"We are bringing these two entities (the city department and the state division) together, plus a series of others ... to be a part of the one-stop' center," said Bob Simpson, director of the Springfield Department of Workforce Development.

Shirley Click, director of the Missouri Division of Workforce Development's Springfield office, is looking forward to the move from 505 E. Walnut to South Glenstone and what that will do for the programs.

"I can see many good things coming from this, specifically in enhanced services to the public," Click said.

The other organizations that are registered to have representatives at the Missouri Career Center-Ozark Region facility are the Ozarks Area Community Action Corporation, Green Thumb Inc., Missouri Division of Employment Security, Missouri Division of Family Services, Missouri Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Ozarks Technical Community College and Rural Missouri Inc.

This collaboration of agencies and organizations has led to a 14,000-square-foot expansion of the former Job Council offices. Construction began last November and is scheduled for completion May 1.

Simpson said the choice to expand rather than relocate was due to the facility's location, and he added that easy access to public transportation is the major advantage offered by the Glen Isle Center.

The Missouri Career Center-Ozark Region facility will remain open throughout the construction.

Another effect of the federal Workforce Investment Act was the creation of the Workforce Investment Board, which includes citizen members and whose purpose is to make policy decisions.

Serving as co-chairs for the board in its initial term are Carol Johnson, Marshfield Care Center administrator, and Rick Jackson, CPA, a managing partner of Jackson and Jackson.

Also involved in the decision-making process is the Council of Elected Officials and its chairman, Tony DeLong, presiding commissioner from Stone County. The council meets monthly.

"They're leading the charge to get this thing sensitive to the needs of the area," Simpson said.

"We, as residents of the building, implement their decisions," he added.

According to Simpson, the collaboration will create a dual emphasis for the center: to provide services for job seekers and for employers.

"The employer is the new emphasis of the law ... in these peculiar times the employers have some needs of their own," he said. "We are making a more concerted effort to network with the employer community to be sure we understand what they need and want."

The city department has a strong history of working with the individual, Simpson added, while the state division has a better history of knowing the employer community, Simpson added. "We're really trying to integrate those two services."

Simpson said funding for the Missouri Career Center-Ozark Region comes from the federal government and is distributed by the state to the local regions.