DCFS Partners with LCTCS to Help SNAP Recipients Receive High-Demand Employment Training

BATON ROUGE - The Louisiana Community & Technical College System (LCTCS) and Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2020, announced a partnership to help Louisiana recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits receive workforce training for high-demand jobs.

The partnership is part of DCFS’s SNAP Employment and Training (SNAP E&T) initiative, which offers SNAP recipients the opportunity to gain skills, training and work experience. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, and its goal is to help participants secure regular employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency.

The LCTCS effort will focus initially on allied health and construction programs at Baton Rouge Community College and SOWELA Technical Community College in Lake Charles. The partnership will allow LCTCS to leverage federal reimbursement for certain SNAP recipient-related expenses to fill gaps for those students – paying for credentials and other supportive services, such as transportation, dependent care, uniforms, equipment, books, supplies and tools.

Through student exit surveys, LCTCS data suggests students do not progress through their respective academic program for various reasons. Particularly, more than half of students claim non-academic reasons for withdrawing from courses such as lack of transportation, financial hardship, family responsibilities, scheduling job/work, and other personal demands pulling them from coursework.

“Today’s announcement reinforces our commitment to ensuring all Louisiana residents have access to life training workforce development programs.,” said LCTCS President Monty Sullivan. “The goal of this partnership is to remove those barriers and increase the chances for these students to connect to training that leads to gainful employment.”

“This is about helping our SNAP recipients get the resources they need to find meaningful-wage work and provide for their families,” said DCFS Secretary Marketa Garner Walters. “That’s the goal of SNAP E&T, and it’s at the heart of our mission to help families become self-sufficient.”

Allied health and construction are both pathways that lead to high-wage, high-demand careers and were specifically chosen for this partnership in June, following consultation with industry-employer partners and trade associations in response to current employer short-term and long-term needs.

Credentials in these areas lead to jobs such as nursing, plumbing, carpentry, industrial maintenance and others, with statewide salary averages of $40,000-$65,000.

For more information on SNAP E&T, visit www.dcfs.la.gov/snapet.

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SNAP Nondiscrimination Statement

In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its agencies, offices and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, religious creed, disability, age, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the agency (state or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English.

To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form (AD-3027) found online at: How to File a Complaint, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by:

1. Mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave. SW, Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
2. Fax: (202) 690-7442; or
3. Email: program.intake@usda.gov

This institution is an equal opportunity provider.