The Virginia General Assembly appropriated funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant to provide funding for competitive grants for community employment and training programs designed to move current and former TANF participants, and those with incomes 200% or less of the poverty level, into meaningful employment. Each appropriation year, VDSS awarded these competitive grants in three rounds.

It is important to note there is a limit on the number of times a contract can be renewed before a new RFP must be initiated. VDSS has completed three rounds of the RFP process encompassing the period from July 2017 to July 2022, (round one) and July 2019 to July 2023 (round two). As a result, contracts in rounds one and two were unable to be renewed beyond July 2024 without initiating a new RFP. Round three runs from July 2021 to July 2028. 

To date, this program has supported 7,682 participants in obtaining meaningful employment.

Highlights from this reporting year:

2,015 Participants
751 Entered Employment
294 Employed with Benefits
274 in Part-Time Employment
477 in Full-Time Employment