Coordinated Response, Households Facing Economic Crisis: Regional Employment Transition Center

About the Program

Category: Personnel Management, Employment and Training (Best in Category)

Year: 2010

Faced with unprecedented job losses, Henrico County faced serious circumstances with the closing of multiple local business including Qimonda (a computer chip manufacturer), Circuit City, Land America and Wachovia Securities. While Richmond metropolitan area unemployment usually stays around 2 percent, it currently lies at an elevated 8 percent. The county recognized that their citizens needed assistance during this severe economic downturn. As a result, county officials convened a meeting of County agencies, departments and representatives from non-profit organizations to explore the possibility of a triage system for helping households facing economic loses. This meeting grew into the Households Facing Economic Crisis Task Force. The Task Force recognized that this global recession reached beyond Henrico County and needed a coordinated, regional response if its effects were to be ameliorated. This led to the opening of the Regional Employment Transition Center in the former Innsbrook Branch Library donated by Henrico County. The 17,000 square foot handicapped accessible center provides employment services ranging from filing for unemployment compensation, electronic resume writing to career readiness testing. Staff from non-profit agencies, local Social Service Departments and the Virginia Employment Commission provides additional services for the recently unemployed. Since opening, the Center has experienced 11,148 visits by individuals seeking these services to counter the effects of this current economic recession.