Assembly Select Committee Community Economic Mobility And Investment

I'll see if any Assembly members have words to share at the beginning. Well, good afternoon, everybody. I want to thank you. Obviously, we all have busy schedules, and obviously this is an important matter, So I want to say thank you for taking the time. Looking forward to possibly learning some more stuff. I don't know everything, so please teach me more. Thank you.

Thank you Dr Rambler if you don mind I like to defer to my colleagues to probably to start with, and then I will, if it's okay.

Thank you, Chair Rambula and Member Heleniz. I appreciate the opportunity to speak to you this afternoon. I'm Adam Peck, Executive Director of the California Workforce Association. We're the statewide member organization for California's local workforce development boards. Before taking on this role a year ago, my entire career was in the Central Valley where I was born and raised and where I led the Workforce Investment Board of Tulare County for 18 years. While at Tulare County, our board stated the problem this way and had offered as a frame for my comments. Too many people are unemployed or in low-wage jobs that don't sustain their families, while at the same time too many businesses have high-quality jobs that go unfilled. And that becomes the challenge of where we kind of come together to try to solve those problems. Both halves of that are true at the same time in every county in this valley. Closing that gap is what the local workforce development boards exist to do. Here's how they're built, and because of the structure is why they can effectively tackle these challenges. Federal law requires that a majority of members of every local workforce board come from the private businesses in that community. and the chair must be one of them. At least 20% of the members represent labor and community organizations, and the board is rounded out by community colleges, adult education providers, economic development, and vocational rehab. That design reflects something worth saying plainly. This is a big country and a nation of more than 340 million people and in a state of nearly 40 million people spread across regional economies that have little in common with each other. Nobody in Washington or Sacramento, with all due respect, can know which employers in Porterville are hiring next quarter or which training provider in Modesto places people into jobs or why a program that works in Fresno doesn't work in Merced. Only local business, community, education, labor leaders can see that clearly enough to decide how to invest in their own workers. That premise is what this system is built on. In 2025, the annual unemployment rate across the eight San Joaquin Valley counties ranged from 6.7% in San Joaquin County to 10.8% in Tulare County. Statewide, it was 5.5%. We know there's chronically higher unemployment in the Central Valley. All eight were above the state rate. But the harder problem isn't the number of jobs, but that as jobs have steadily been added, wages haven't kept pace with the rest of the state. But let me give you a few examples of what local boards in the Central Valley have been working on to tackle these challenges. The Fresno Regional Workforce Development Board runs mostly on funding. It scrapes together through effective grant writing. Close to 60% of what it spent last program year came from competitive grants rather than the federal WIOA, Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act formula funding that is the base of funding for local workforce boards. Example of one program that some of those competitive funds prepares one prepares women for construction trades that have been largely closed to them of the 78 who enrolled 71 finished and 11 entered directly into registered apprenticeship programs in Kern County employers trained resource enrolled more than 1700 individuals last year and place 841 in employment it signed 452 on-the-job training agreements that returned about $2.2 million to local employers to compensate them for training the new hires that they brought on. Kern is also managing, as we all know, the oil and gas transition. Since August of 2024, it has served 561 laid-off oil and gas workers in close to 200 are back in unsubsidized jobs at a median wage of almost $23 an hour, trained by community partners like the Kern Community College District and Cal State Bakersfield. In Tulare and Kings County is the board's partner to convene three employer-led partnerships in manufacturing, healthcare, and agriculture. Twenty-six companies sitting at those tables. They've reviewed over 22. They've reviewed 22 local education programs to see the match against what employers are hiring for. In Madera County, who also effectively braids all federal, state, and local funding, They listened to employers who said that there was a dramatic school bus driver shortage that was costing them money. The board trained 55 drivers, and 93% went to work in the field they were trained for. Farther north, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, and Merced Counties put their boards at the center of the region's California's job first work. The regional strategy there was led by the Merced County Workforce Development Board with their workforce director as the region's convener in a partnership of all three boards with it written into the governance. Merced, though the smallest and most rural county of that region, has been leading that work. I want to be clear about where this money goes because I think it gets misunderstood. When the state funds a local workforce board, it is funding local community colleges and adult schools because that's who delivers the training. It is funding labor organizations that run apprenticeship and pre-apprenticeship programs because that's who runs the Earn While You Learn pathways. And it is funding community-based organizations because that's who reaches the people furthest from work and opportunity. The board is the mechanism to determine where investments will be most impactful. And, of course, the K-16 collaboratives are another strong resource that are strong partners in that same effort. The return shows up in wages. Across those eight counties, roughly 5,400 people who left these programs were working in the quarter that followed, earning an estimated $42 million in that quarter alone annually. That's on the order of $168 million earned, and it's a conservative estimate. That is money earned and spent in Valley communities to support Valley businesses and families. One more thing I'd ask you to keep in view. When the state talks about artificial intelligence and jobs, the measure is usually how many workers hold roles directly exposed to AI and automation. By that measure, the Valley looks less exposed than the Bay Area and other tech centers. I'd ask you to weigh a second thing alongside it, how easily a worker can adapt when the work changes. The Valley's exposure is largely indirect. It shows up in warehousing, food processing, back office, and customer service work, and increasingly in the fields. Those jobs are held by people already near the bottom of the wage ladder, often without the credentials, the English language capacity, and with few other options nearby. A tech worker who is displaced by AI may have the skills and options to easily pivot someone working warehouse work in Stockton or packing work in Tulare has fewer places to land for the next opportunity. There's a more immediate pressure that lands harder in the valley the new work requirements in HR one will reach roughly 840,000 Californians on food assistance and millions more on Medi-Cal and they bite hardest where unemployment is highest and job openings are scarcest. That's this valley Merced and Tulare are two of of only seven counties in the state still operating under a waiver and expires October 31st. Participation in the program counts towards compliance under federal rules, which means a workforce board is one of the few doors a person can walk through and keep their benefits and get on a path to work that supports their family. Our boards are working with local social services to be part of that work. I should say we don't do any of this alone. The Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Workforce Service Branch of EDD, and the the California Workforce Development Board have been steady and constructive partners for all our local boards. When something isn't working in the Valley, we can get a call returned and a problem worked through. That relationship is part of why this system functions. Say, having said that, three things would be helpful. First, build on the planning. California Jobs First is past the planning stage and is well into implementation. And the Valley has three regional plans with real project pipelines behind them. What the region needs now is for the workforce, education, economic development systems to be funded together with the partnerships and accountability structures those plans already built in at a scale that reaches workers across the whole valley rather than one county at a time. The planning identified the work the system needs to be resourced to continue to carry it out. Second, fund systems rather than just individual projects. A project ends when the grant ends. A system compounds. Fresno's board successfully competed for close to 60% of its budget, one application at a time last year, and every application with staff time not spent with an employer looking to grow or a dislocated worker struggling to know what to do next. Multi-year investment in these systems paired with strong accountability will help offset long-term federal divestment in a moment when labor markets are facing their largest shift in a generation. Third, watch the base funding for the program year that started July 1st. California's federal WIOA allocation for adult training fell more than 8 percent and youth funding fell more than 7 percent. So in a year when Valley unemployment ran as high as 10 percent, the funding that trains an adult or young person for a career went down. CWA will keep pressing for more best federal investment, and we aren't giving up on that. But California cannot wait for the federal government to work out how this state invests in its own workers. If we intend to keep the most productive and nimble workforce in the nation, this is a decision California has to make and fund on its own. Let me close where I started. Too many people in this valley are working and still not making it, and too many good jobs are sitting unfilled. Nobody in this building can fix that from here. What you can decide is whether the people closest to it, the employers and colleges and unions and community organizations who sit around these local board tables have the resources and the time horizon to finish what they start. Thank you.

Ms. Foster. Oh, sorry. No problem. Thank you, Mr. Chair. I am pleased to be here. Thank you, Mr. Hellenus. And I am thrilled that we have an opportunity to share some information regarding the Central Valley which has long been under a shadow of northern and southern California in many instances Unemployment in the San Joaquin Valley ranges between 6.2% and 1% and 10.1% with Tulare, Merced, Kern, and Kings Counties hit the hardest. The Office of Community and Economic Development, OSED, leverages federal, state, private, and philanthropic funding, as well as the resources of the Division of Continuing and Global Education and the broader campus at Fresno State to support equity, education, and economic growth throughout the Valley. Our USDA Rural Business Development Grants have supported small business development in the underserved cities of Taft, McFarland, San Joaquin, Huron, and Parlier. Without those funds, these communities, as you both know, are underserved, and many individuals do not have access that they need to provide economic growth. The Small Business Administration and the California Office of the Small Business Advocates are primary sources and sponsors for the Central Valley Women's Entrepreneur Center, which is housed in OZ. In addition, funding from Cassava Adoption and Regional Consortium Grants, Verizon, Comcast, Access Plus Capital, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, and Irvine Foundation, as well as Cameo Network, supported the work of the center. Without that braiding of funds, like was mentioned by Mr. Peck, it could not have done the work in the Valley. In addition, the braiding of these various funding streams enabled the center to assist 5,210 unique clients with 13,368 hours of counseling and 624 training classes. 81% of the clients served resided in low wealth areas. These results were only possible through a collaborative cross-sector effort to address economic growth and development in the Valley. Public and private partnerships, when intentional, increase the public's trust in the work being performed. OSED provides a bridge for partners to operationalize connections that align individual priorities to forge innovative shared goals. Higher education drives local economies, modernizes agriculture, strengthens schools, and expands health care. It builds a skilled workforce and sparks research and innovation. High-speed broadband connects these efforts, making the impact faster and stronger across every sector. Fresno State's Carnegie Community Engagement designation is an integral driver that marries the commitment to community service, partnerships, and real-world experiences for students through service learning These efforts have been recognized by the Wall Street Journal ranking Fresno State fifth in the nation for social mobility OSID's campus engagement spans diverse disciplines, including research and sponsored programs, industrial technology, social work, public health, business, graphic design, and agriculture. OSID and our efforts mirror the university's vision to empower students, advance social, economic, and environmental programs. Fresno State is recognized as a valuable partner within the Valley and generates over a billion dollars in regional industry activity. Fresno State's many economic contributions strengthen local business and wages, support targeted regional growth, advance workforce development, and foster agricultural innovation. These factors support higher education as an integral player in promoting inclusive economic development. Building an inclusive, sustainable community that supports the wellbeing of all members requires a shared effort. No single person, group, or organization can achieve this goal alone. It takes active teamwork from all members. This challenges us all to reflect on what we can each contribute to the effort. How can I maximize participation and minimize the challenges that partnerships and collaborations present? That means not pushing away from the table. It's getting large bureaucracies to function and push the edge of what their guidelines and rules are, as well as connecting with other partners in the region to support activities around permitting and laws that slow the process down incredibly. Only collectively can we create partnerships and collaborations that go beyond individual priorities, rules, and guidelines to establish an environment where we participate actively to establish the foundations that allow communities and the families within those communities to thrive. Thank you.

Good afternoon, Chair Rambla and Assemblymember Alanis. I appreciate the opportunity to speak in front of you today. My name is Arne Sowell, and I'm the Executive Director of NextGen Policy. Next Gen is a nonprofit organization that fights for transformative policy, budgetary, and program solutions that break down systemic barriers, foster economic opportunity, and empower community engagement. We work across a range of issue areas, climate, health care, affordable housing, workforce development, income inequality, et cetera, just to name a few, particularly in communities that have been underinvested in. And over the last two-plus years, we have been one of the strategic partners in the CME initiative, along working very closely with the Sierra Health Foundation and a number of the other strategic partners. As a strategic partner our focus and our goal is to work to try to help CME grantees and the ecosystem that the CME model has spawned to engage with state and local governments to access resources, participate in legislative proceedings, and implement economic development programs. Specifically, our work focuses on technical assistance and strengthening the capacity of community organizations to more effectively interact with state and local government to support local economic development. Today, I just want to spend just a few minutes with you discussing a few NGP and CIMI-aligned projects that I think relate to this committee's focus today, which is on training, education, inclusive economic development, as well as I want to make a few recommendations to you as well. As has already been stated, and I don't want to just sort of restate the obvious, but I think it's important. Too many Californians, particularly from underrepresented communities, face barriers to stable living wage jobs. At the same time, a shortage of qualified workers pose obstacles to growth in key industries like health care, technology, infrastructure and climate resilience. NextGen believes strongly that workforce development and training, particularly traditional and non-traditional apprenticeships, are critical tools for accessing economic opportunity and, in turn, providing levers for educational achievement as well as economic mobility. Simply put, our theory of change is as follows. To address income inequality and generate economic and upward mobility opportunities, we must create the policies and tools, the systems, to expand the apprenticeship infrastructure in California. And to that end, we have been fortunate enough to receive both a federal grant and a state grant that builds on this. The federal grant we received was from the Department of Labor, and it's to help expand the public sector apprenticeship programs in California, particularly for underserved populations. The project is entitled the California Statewide Registered Apprenticeship Hub, and it is focused on building and strengthening nontraditional public sector register apprenticeship programs throughout the state, which will lead to sustainable career pathways and improved workforce development and economic mobility opportunities. The hub supports government, nonprofit, educational, and community-based organizations with design, registration, and technical assistance, and its unique focus is on nontraditional apprenticeships. These are apprenticeships that are in high-demand fields like healthcare, education, technology, infrastructure, legal operations, social, financial, administrative, et cetera. And that is the federal grant that we received, and that was a four-year grant. We also received a state Employment Development Department grant, EDD, which is a grant for what was called Opportunity Young Adults, the Career Pathways Program. And this was a program that was focused almost entirely on Sacramento County, and it was to try to support young adults who were justice-involved and to work with them to give them the necessary training and tools so that they could get into and be successful in the job market with the requisite skills that they needed. It offered career readiness and exploration training, work-based learning opportunities, college and career certifications, and comprehensive wraparound services to improve employment outcomes. And that was an effort also to try to reduce recidivism and also bridge some of the labor market gaps. The program engaged 31 partner organizations, including training programs, community-based organizations, higher education institutions, and employers to serve nearly 200 program participants. And of those participants, 106 secured jobs with an hourly wage weight of over $20 an hour, and 15 participants are now enrolled in higher education programs. I would also mention that NextGen is also co-sponsoring along with the California Workforce Association, a bill, Senate Bill 845, which is focused on youth apprenticeship and expanding youth apprenticeships. And this is a statewide effort to build youth apprenticeship models, codifying some definitions, and also trying to make the system more streamlined and more aligned with the needs that higher education systems are requesting as well as employers are requesting. Finally, I'd just like to say just in terms of an overview of programs that we've been involved in, we were a co-sponsor of the Jails to Jobs program. This was a program that was funded just most recently in the state budget. It's a pilot program, and it is a program designed to try to assist individuals who are justice-involved, who are pretrial and are presented with an opportunity for diversion programs. And so it is a pilot at this particular point in time, but we feel very strongly by intervening pre-trial, the Jails to Jobs program will offer training and support at a moment when people really, really need it and have the greatest opportunities to sort of secure sort of meaningful, stable employment that will really, really sort of assist them in terms of their future endeavors. and get them out of this cycle of being justice involved. I was a longtime Assembly legislative staffer, and I know the importance of select committees. I know their importance as it relates to the influence they have in terms of bill ideas, in terms of budget ideas, those sorts of things like that. And I just wanted to offer just three very, very sort of quick sort of recommendations to the committee as I conclude my remarks. First is that this CME model works, and this is a collaboration of nonprofit organizations, philanthropy, government, the private sector, and others. There is an ecosystem here that touches every corner of this state. And I would just encourage this committee as they continue to work through the CME model to consider it as a model that should be more formally realized in state government. and a model where government funding, philanthropic funding, other sources of funding, as well as the lessons learned through this process, will help to deepen the work of CME as well as expand its work statewide. I believe very, very strongly that many of the problems that the state is facing, rather than have them siloed with government trying to attack them or the private sector trying to attack them or the nonprofit or philanthropic sector trying to attack them, This is something that deserves the collaboration and cooperation across sectors and CME represents that and it has worked Secondly I would just sort of offer that I know that the Assembly right now and the legislature is grappling with the Capit Invest program and I would just sort of say this is one of the sources of money that has provided economic opportunity to underrepresented communities. It's provided affordable housing funding, public transit money. It's provided funding for small business. And it is something that we need to continue to support and to maintain. And the final thing that I'd like to make note of is that it was mentioned that we need to also be thinking about artificial intelligence and think about tech. And I think it is incumbent upon not only this this select committee, but incumbent upon us as we as we think to the future. We cannot leave communities behind and we cannot allow for what is happening with the boom and et cetera to leave communities behind. And so there is a real opportunity through the CME model. There's a real opportunity through apprenticeships. There's a real opportunity through the work that I know that is already underway in this legislative body that we focus on artificial intelligence. And we focus on how it can be an economic mobility lever and driver. And so with that, I just thank you for the opportunity to have a few minutes to engage with you.

Not really a question, just more of a comment. I was in another meeting during lunch, and we talked about AI a lot also, and how we've got these preconceived ideas of what it's going to be doing or possibly doing, replacing people in their jobs, but we're also finding out that it's actually becoming a very good tool to help in the workforce. So with that narrative, and hearing from you right now, I'm seeing that maybe we'll grasp it, embrace it, and maybe grow with it and make it, again, a tool more than something that we're going to fear. So I appreciate those comments, all of your comments. Thank you.

Yeah, everyone is grappling. I appreciate the state leadership, both at the Labor and Workforce Development Agency and Department of Social Services have put together a pilot of seven counties where the Department of Social Services and Workforce Boards are working together to to figure out some of these things because it fast moving There a sense that well there's more than a sense. There's a realization that the effort is to push some people off of the rolls and that we want to make sure, and that at the same time, workforce development is a system that helps transform lives and gets people the skills they need. It's not about helping people maintain busy work hours. And so there can be a where on the social service side, there's a desperate effort to make sure people don't lose the safety net and whatever means it takes. Well, we think these are folks as the workforce development system should be serving and we think we can help towards an opportunity, but without the resources. When I came into this work when TANF, late 90s when TANF came on board, and there were resources to assist with that transition on the workforce development side to make sure that as we are moving people in and prioritizing work, that there were the resources to make sure people could do that. That doesn't exist this time as we're getting hit the double barreled on the food stamp and the medical side. So there's a lot of concern, a lot of technical rules coming and trying to figure out how to not have people's lives caught up in that. And requirements, work requirements for TANF where there was a check is different than when there is a balance to help pay for food is different from access to health care. And people's recognition that something's gone awry in their benefits is different in those different systems. And so I don't think anyone has it totally figured out, but I do appreciate that the state has taken some leadership with these pilots to assist in figuring out the best way to take care of these folks.

Yeah, the state-led folks going through a lot of work over a lot of years. OSED was one of the sub-regional tables. We had one of the sub-regional tables when I was in Tulare County. A lot of works with a lot of voices in. and very important in pulling together economic development and workforce development and community college education and CBOs. And then the state turned this into a statewide blueprint to economic development. And all those pieces make sense, and it's helped even piece together going after federal money and things like that, which was the whole plan. But it feels like there's real concern that as we go through some leadership transitions and administration, that that work will fall aside and that it'll all have been a lot of table setting without getting to get into the work. There's been some implementation funding, but there's a lot more work to be done. And I'd say, especially in the Central Valley, there are good systems, economic development, community college, adult ed, you know K-16 partnerships that existed before the K-16 collaborative funding came out. Good work going on there and that should be held accountable and should the state should have a say in how that accountability should look but the pieces are there. The people are at the right table and it and it be a shame not to invest at a time when AI is is upending both creating risk but also creating a huge opportunity that California has always been on the forefront

Dr. Goldsmith I do and would love to hear from you. Yes thank you I I knew I was with the first panel and I wanted to make sure I shared a few things. I've heard the words Community College said a few times and first of all I want to thank you Assemblymember Aramblin member Alanis. We are so grateful for you, for your leadership and your deep understanding of the fact that health is linked to education and careers. Thank you for your deep understanding of the power of collaboration which this session is really focusing on. In the Valley, I think we all can attest to, my colleagues at the table can attest to that we're hyper focused on an inclusive economic health for all. And so the California Community College is serving 2.2 million, state-centered community college with our four colleges serving 72,000 students. I want to focus on California's newest Community College and the one in Madera, Madera Community College, which is the only higher educational institution and provider along with our workforce investment board. We're working really diligently and closely with our community partners to not only train students but to develop the workforce that attracts and retains employers in our region. I think that's something we really need to focus on too. We don't want our employer base to leave because they can't find high qualified people and we know the people in the valley are hard working and they prove that each and every day. For us, we know that workforce development is economic development and Madera Community College, in addition to all the community colleges across the Central Valley, not only the ones in my district, but you heard about Kern and COS and West Hills. We are really working closely with our employer partners, our four-year university partners, and our high schools. You heard about the K-16 project, how we're creating pipelines that responds to industry needs and supporting that upward equitable economic mobility and strengthening the region's long-term competitiveness. I'll give you a few examples. In Madera, we are doing a couple of things in interesting ways. We are standing up now in Agave Innovation Center. You may be thinking, what is that about? Well, as you know, we still face issues in agriculture around water. Agave is a product that is a low water plant that not only can be distilled, but the byproduct of that can be used for a feed, can be used for very similar like hemp for rope. There's a lot of products made from agave. And we're currently offering a community college education courses through this and through our partnership with UC Merced and the UC Ag Natural Resources, working towards a four credit program. But we know our employers, they're so hungry for students. It could be for credit, not for credit. Dr. This past June, we planted 20 different varieties of agave in Madera at the campus, and we will be evaluating how each Dr. Each different variety performs in our region's climate, working with our agricultural partners up and down the valley. This research will help inform our industry partners and provide the valuable data that supports farmers who are interested in cultivating agave. As I shared, we have a great working relationship with UC Merced and UC, the Ag Resource Center. We're also working very closely with Fresno State in their distilling program, and we're excited about this new work. And of course, if you've been up and down the freeways of 99, you know that there's a lot of trucks on the road. We continue to move a lot of product out of the valley. We are focusing on increasing our truck driving program, working with large employers like OK Produce and others. We know that those programs often are very expensive, so we're trying to provide it for a very low cost through a private training provider. Our students can get their truck driving license in little nine or 18 weeks for less than $400. That is a great savings for our families when we know that it's not knocking the private post-secondary. They have a place at the table as well, but they're expensive and some of our students just can't afford it. We know that our graduates are getting well-paying jobs with wonderful benefits many of them are union jobs we're it's a high demand industry speaking of high demand industry and traveling of goods you know the central valley we make a lot of goods and we're working with the san joaquin valley manufacturing alliance to do just that we're hearing from our partners that maintenance mechanic machining and welding all of those are in high demand and all of those programs our students are being trained at the Madeira campus and the other four colleges as well so they can get a certificate and a degree and then find employment in these industries. You know earlier I heard you all speak about the impact of HR1. I know Assemblymember Arambul you are keenly aware of how this is going to impact our hospitals. We're working closely with our hospital CEOs and our nursing CEOs because they've stressed that this is going to put an additional impact of stress on the system and so they're they're coming to us and our private uh for-profit colleges as well as the four years to say we need more nurses allied health and and the like so we continue to have a vocational nurse program at madera a nursing program a bridge program all are at full capacity all of these graduates are finding jobs we're looking at creative ways of working with fresno state to expand the access to our transfer program for the bsn program at fresno state in all of these programs and i could go on but i'll stop all of these programs are made possible by our ability to braid funds both the state and federal dollars philanthropic dollars and the strategic private public partnership with many of our industry partners, many of whom are sitting at the table right now. And Arnie's right. The CME model, it works. Community colleges are well working with other institutions, are working well with employers and governmental nonprofits, not just my community colleges, but all of the community colleges and the CSUs. You know, this work together, advancing the workforce development and economic mobility and inclusive development in the Central Valley, it's working. It's difficult. It challenging But the cross collaboration is important and our community is needed So I urge all of us to be able to work together for that greater good Thank you my friend and grateful that you as always would stand up and advocate and make sure that your voice was heard It's needed today.

Thank you, Dr. Arambula. But when you look at federal workforce development funding, I think there's a good structure. Local boards, I explained the importance of that structure. But the total funding level, just on nominal terms, not even accounting for inflation, has dropped by over 80% over the last 30 years. and at a time when we – so I think states have often looked and just seen this as – because the structure has been federally funded, and this workforce development isn't the only area where this has occurred, where that the federal support has eroded over time without a real recognition that the amount of work to do. There used to be robust summer youth programs. The number of people I still talk to who tell me the first job I got was a summer youth program and the first thing that kind of let me see something different from the path I was on. Those programs went away. The funding for those went away as standalone summer youth programs. And just that erosion over time, and it just has come to strike as I look at some other states that have invested state dollars. And I know state dollars are there's a lot of competition for limited resources. But we're really in this moment as we try to take advantage of shifting a workforce that that that will need to shift because the economy is just going to shift. It's going to be great opportunity and a great lost opportunity if we don't, especially in the Central Valley where the population is overall younger. There are a lot of young people coming into the labor market, and I'm happy to share some statistics on how that looks different than the rest of the state. So there's tremendous resource of human capital there, but it will be a lost opportunity if we don't figure out how to invest in those. So I don't know how to make that happen, but having, and I can give some examples of other states that have come alongside with state investments in the workforce, and they get to have a little bit more say about it, deciding who gets served with those funds and such to understand where the gaps are. If we're trying to transition an immigrant workforce that some federal funding can't touch, and there have been examples of that. We just need to understand that we're at this inflection point, and if we don't make an investment in what it will take to prepare our workforce for the opportunities that exist over the next decade, it's going to be a lost opportunity, I think, will regret.

Taft, McFarland, San Joaquin, Huron, and Parlier, I represent, or at least represented three of them over my tenure up here, and Huron, San Joaquin, and Parlier. and my father grew up in McFarland where he was picking in the fields. And I was born in Delano, just down the street from there. And so I know that many of these cities are our poorest cities that we have. I actually think Huron might be the poorest city we have in the state of California. El Corazon del Valle, the heart of the valley. and really look towards how you focused on public-private partnerships to help us to address the needs. That you had seen 5,200 roughly, and that you had 624 that were currently in training and more than 1,300 hours of counseling, and how it really positioned Fresno State to be about social mobility. You're the fifth in the country in terms of taking people who grew up poor, but helping to position them into a better space. So we just wanted to give you the floor a little bit to highlight a pride of the Valley that we have.

I really appreciated your comments here, Ms. Foster, especially about being more diplomatic. Having a brother who's the board chair for the entire CSU system, I see the importance of bringing everyone together as well as ensuring that the flagship university for the CSU system is supported. So I'm grateful for your comments here today. I'm going to turn to a favorite of mine in Dr. Goldsmith, if I can. I was with you as we helped light up downtown as the building with the big G downtown got lit up, was wonderful for us to see. and you know and a big proponent of economic development and ensuring that where our students start, where the vast majority of our students go to are getting the investments that they need. I've been following you since your West Hill days, going to Fresno City, rising then to be Chancellor, the creation of Madeira, and have been such a big fan. I've helped to support your mechanics training, the welding training, the nursing program with grants from the state level that have brought investment to our local community colleges. And really want to come back to, if I can, the public-private partnerships that you highlighted. Later, we're going to hear from the Fresno EDC Economic Development Corporation. This last year, I was at their awards ceremony where they gave the giraffe award to OK Produce and the Matoyans who used to be neighbors of mine back in the day, that I wanted to hear more about these truck driving programs, the Agave Innovation. You know, we're focused forward. The work we've done in our West Fresno campus, the alternative motors, whether it be electric or hydrogen, the preparation for semi-trucks, the ability for us to be innovative with these new campuses, all happened under your leadership. How do we encourage more of that innovation across our community colleges throughout the state? And how do we ensure that we're meeting that willingness to listen to our private industry about what their needs are and then delivering resources to them through our students?

Thank you, Dr. Goldsmith.

I want to end with you, Arnie, if I can, because really this comes back to CME. And I don't mean to highlight any one particular grantee program, but it's not a mistake that we have the same acronym while we're here to focus on investments or initiatives. And what CME has been doing is showing us what works, whether it's through traditional or non-traditional apprenticeships. I'll come back to what Adam mentioned earlier. We've had a Valley Build for a very long time helping us to bring people into apprenticeships, but the Valley Build now stands for non-traditional occupation for women. And it was a state-specific grant of $3 million to the Fresno Workforce Development Board that addressed women's needs. it listened to them about needing child care and transportation and stipends, that they were the head of their own households and they couldn't take the time off to enter into an apprenticeship without that type of support. That allows us to address the requirements that we have from the state and federal government towards women participating in many of our trades, working on large transportation projects, and I believe that is an example that you were highlighting about needing for us to address the income inequality, needing apprenticeships that med all people, not just men entering into the trades, but women inclusive. I kind of wanted to come back to, if I could, some of the barriers to the stable living wage jobs that you were referencing. And the justice involved are many of those who are harder to employ historically. And so your work that you were mentioning, working here in Sacramento, the pilot that we had with jails to jobs, I was hoping you could speak a little bit more about both of those, is that a model that we should be looking to expand to other parts of our state to ensure that we all capitalizing on a workforce who whether they been diverted or whether or not they simply need employment After their time is done, we should be figuring out how to be inclusive of them into our workforce. But then more broadly, just wanted you to talk about youth. Maybe because I got three kids and maybe because so much of Fresno is young, You know, many of them talk to me about wanting to get a job here shortly, but not feeling like they can compete when there are so many people fighting for entry-level jobs. So how do we create that appropriate work ethic when there's a willingness, but there's not the opportunity that many of them desire?

I will invite the second panel up, which focuses on examples of collaborations between states, nonprofits, and industry overall.

Yeah, just go ahead and sit.

Do you have chairs?

Are we okay to go in order? Kai Ying, are you okay to begin? And I hope it's okay. I'm informal. I'm planning on you introducing yourself more generally, and it's great to see you since last night.

Thank you, Kai Ying. Next we'll hear from Tanya. But I noticed an emphasis when you said young people that you weren't including me and you in that conversation. But, you know, that's just me dealing with age as it comes. So, Tanya, when you're ready.

Thank you, Tanya. Next we'll hear from Will Oliver, CEO of the Fresno EDC. Great.

and as well as advanced manufacturing through the FAME program at Reedley College, which is a global best manufacturing modern apprenticeship. the first chapter west of the Rockies, hosted at Reedley College. Could not do it without the support and partnership of Chancellor Goldsmith and President Buckley. With this program in particular, it's amazing. Employers come together, they form a chapter, they agree on the entry-level wages that they're going to collectively pay. They sponsor students to go through that program for two, two and a half years. They go to work three days out of the week. They go to school two days out of the week with industry-informed curriculum, and they walk out of there with their associates and advanced manufacturing technician certification. So this is investing in the future leaders of those facilities and the production line created by Toyota. So that's the continuum that we're helping support through the Good Jobs Challenge. With just over two years of active implementation, we've now reached over 1300 job placements. We have over 2000 people in training or have completed training thus far. One of the most important aspects of this funding is that we have helped bring programs that have been historically concentrated in Fresno or Clovis, and we brought them to rural areas in Fresno County and here on Orange Cove Reedley Kerman Selma and hopefully soon Mendota A resident should not be excluded from opportunity because training is 50 miles away from where they reside where transportation is unreliable, or the schedule does not work for someone supporting the family. Just a couple quick anecdotes in Selma with Central Valley Training Center, a partnership with the Building Trades Council, with Fresno EOC and the Valley Apprenticeship Connections, and High Speed Rail. We've had over 300 people complete that program. We took a vacant, underutilized industrial facility. We have renovated it into this very modern, multidisciplinary training center, 22 cohorts. Many of those folks that come through this program, it's word of mouth from the program prior to them. And often their parents, their brothers have also completed it. So very, very impactful. And then just one of the last examples in the city of Huron. We've launched for the first time pre-apprenticeship construction training with Valley Apprenticeship Connections in Huron. Two cohorts so far. Half of our students have been placed into Leona 254. And when you take a step back and just look at those two initial cohorts, it represents 1% of Huron's labor force. That might not seem like a big number, but if we can spread that out over the next 5 to 10 years, that would represent a massive impact. And Good Jobs wasn't designed just around placement success, but also around what happens when someone drops off or isn't quite ready. That means creating intentional on-ramps or off-ramps for individuals so they can re-engage before they get lost in the system. As such, we've been able to leverage that federal money and secure state money, such as with our S.E.N.E. program, which is through EDD's Employment Social Enterprise Program, or one of the first implementation programs through Jobs First. So we're creating additional pathways for individuals. As I mentioned, they may not be ready. They may need some supportive services, some on-the-job experience. With SENE, for example, folks are going through a voluntary 100-hour period at Neighborhood Industries or Goodwill Industries. Once they complete, they're referred to a staffing agency, and they are placed into employment. The employers receive or get those wages offset and those individuals are advantaged and prioritized to be placed into employment. So really great backstop and off-ramp for folks that aren't quite ready for full-time employment. So we really do think social enterprises can play a very strategic role in our workforce and economic development system. And I would be remiss if I did not discuss on the business development lens how important retention is as part of our larger work. Businesses are confronting energy costs, operating expenses, and other cost pressures. As those costs go up, hiring is softening. You'll see that statewide with our manufacturing sector. And while our organization, over the past several years, has helped secure $22 million in state tax credits and energy rate reductions, we still need to do much, much more. And I think we need to proactively evaluate policies that are in place and the things that are creating a competitive disadvantage for our region and for our state. That's why we also sponsored AB 2377 with Assemblymember Soria this year to help improve California's ability to compete for capital-intensive manufacturing investment. So just in summary, in our viewpoint and lessons, industry brings demand and employment. They're critical. Community organizations and social enterprises bring trust and support. Educational institutions like State Center bring training and credentials and government brings investment and scale and economic development organizations such as the EDC can help connect those people pieces translate needs across sectors and keep them moving in the same direction So, very proud of that work and happy to answer any questions that go into further detail. Thank you, Will. Next, we'll hear from Ann Rogan.

Thank you so much. And finally, we'll hear from Irene.

if I can. I was really drawn to your comment about stronger economic, stronger economies create healthier economies. That's something many of us need to gravitate towards to own and to make sure that we're supporting. The better that we can create economies that work, the healthier we can focus on public health. That was the emphasis that I heard from you, and that's imperative for us to grapple with. That if we're harming economies, we're hurting public health. That if we're not retaining and attracting businesses, that we are worsening economies and thus affecting our community's ability to be healthy. And that's imperative for us as a body to make sure that we own a space for us to be and hence why we need so much local leadership in this space. I do want to highlight CME, if I can, as you've held forums up and down the state. And I think I went to your one that was in Davis a few months ago and loved that opportunity as we heard from grassroots organizations, as we heard from many of these nonprofits. I was glad that you quoted that 80% feel stronger to handle their own challenges going forward. But I wanted to share that your investment of $15.3 million led towards $178 million in terms of investment. Can you speak to how that level of investment, how a little went a very long way in making sure that we were building capacity and addressing local communities' needs. We're really proud on that return investment.

You also mentioned how you're building trust for local communities. And we're hearing that throughout the testimony today, how it's investing into you. How it's making sure that your voice gets included, how you're supporting then the beam or the Little Manila rising or restore the Delta or ensuring that it's future leadership that we're getting from Siskiyou County. And so I do want to allow both Tanya and Anne to be able to talk about long-term stability in funding, as that seems to be core to what many of you were discussing, is the need to make sure that this initial investment that we got, $1 returning $11, but how do we continue forms of investment that ultimately will build that trust even further? Make sure that communities don't take a step back after this much success that we've had.

Anne, I wanted to give you a chance to comment.

Will, align myself with your comments regarding community benefits and being aligned with local leadership. It's noted for me what you mentioned about Alaska and Wisconsin and opportunities we may have with AI going forward about ensuring that we have real investment into many of those nonprofits, coalitions, the leaders that we're building for tomorrow. Many of us are hoping that someone from this administration may be in the White House one day and that the California Jobs First initiative can be a model. for us then to be highlighting and to receive federal funding, knowing that the state can't do it all as well, that we're going to need to work with our partners to secure that ongoing funding, but to highlight all of the successes that we've had. I was really drawn towards being circular out of the three-year proposed. I've worked with Little Manila Rising. I'm very aware of the success that they've had over the years. But being circular was talking about agricultural waste and opportunities for us working with 200 different partners You know it was million from California Jobs First I believe Oh, okay. And it led towards $45 million in total. And so just wanted to give you a bit more of a platform to be able to speak about that. Is that something that other regions should be innovating in, working in, to bring that many partners together?

I appreciate your use of seed and root as we're talking about agriculture. Sure, we can see these innovations, but we should be rooting them in place and ensuring that our state continues to be on that cutting edge. Thank you for your testimony. Irene, I'm going to move to you next, if I could. I've seen your wine label. I love the depiction that's on it. It's both catchy, and I'm glad that you've now got up to seven participants who are in it. But you also spoke about permanent funding and to make sure that it was intentional and well-funded in the long run, especially nowadays with all the fear we're getting from the national level. How do we ensure we continue to build the trust, particularly with our immigrant communities, women-led immigrant communities? I wanted to give you a platform to speak to that.

Yeah definitely I think there a big difference when you receiving unrestricted funds like we did with the CME funds being able to explore different avenues with the input of the women themselves and the farm workers themselves And so permanent funding would allow us to develop these initiatives a lot more Something like a wine label is really meant to develop into something where the farm workers themselves can be the certifiers and it be a certification where the vineyard workers are actually ensuring that these practices are being fulfilled in the vineyards. And we know that other certifications like that exist in other crops, right, like EFI and whatnot. But it's initiatives like that, other work like the North State Collective where we're just sort of like stretching ourselves thin, being a part of this because we know it's necessary and it's going in a great direction. But, you know, you hope to not see organizations start to dwindle off in this very important work, especially its work being led by some of the technical assistance providers that have been very key in leading that work, right? And lifting us all up together, right? I think definitely just in this political climate, we're seeing our women farm workers even more vulnerable than ever. a big reason that Lidres Campesinas came to existence was because of the abuses that women face not just in the field but in the communities as well and so I think our work like with Cal OES accompanying women to their court visits and all of that like we're always fighting for more of that funding for it to be consistent and also for the women to make sure that we're doing that outreach so they're not more and more fearful or more vulnerable because also in the workplace people know okay here's someone that's even more vulnerable so let's threaten them with you know the the I guess the threat of being undocumented or whatnot so we're just finding a lot more cases of women facing abuse the the fear of reporting cases and so just a lot of this permanent funding would make a big difference in supporting our work and making sure that the community themselves aren't fearful of taking advantage of so many services that still are available in California. Also, just to mention our legal rights clinics. I mean, it's amazing to have attorneys there, but our participation is very low because of the fear of ICE being present and whatnot. So thank you.

That's perfect. I loved your comment about CalWORKs, mostly because I've worked for a decade trying to improve, strengthen, and ensure that we're meeting people where they're at. It's a program where over 90% of those served are women. Many of them are women of color, and it's oftentimes their first interaction with government support. And so to hear that 2,600 people had been supported through organizations like Neighborhood Thrift, which, by the way, is in my zip code, is less than half a mile from my house, which has received development funding from my office to make sure they could create these spaces. I just wanted to highlight it as a way for other parts of our states to be considering. You've put people back to work for 2 million hours. You affected thousands of lives in making sure through a program and the work requirements that you connecting them to industries How do we build upon our success locally but highlight it as a model then for everyone else to be utilizing Yeah, I think we should, as a state, challenge the organizations that possess those funds to innovate and recreate how they deliver programs for this population and involve a myriad of community stakeholders. As I mentioned, this was one of the first partnerships between the EDC and the DSS. This last year, what we also did differently is we put out microgrants to social enterprises and nonprofits, building off the model that we experienced with the Good Jobs Challenge, for them to help us inform the public, industry, and even potential CalWORKs participants of this program. So we're trying to socialize that work a bit more. And so I think there's a lot more we can do creating RFP or procurement standards that offers a race to the top by involving many other actors or disparate agencies and organizations to accomplish that. The other thing, too, with this particular partnership I didn't mention because of time, is this was essentially what got our organization into the workforce arena. We've used that fund to support over 700 people in training pathways as well, truck drivers training to pre-apprenticeship in the construction trades. And now we're opening that up across different sectors. So I think really being industry aligned, finding win-wins and incentives that can nudge positive behavior on behalf of industry. And it's just all the way around. It creates a very lucrative opportunity. You highlighted the subsidies that help with wage reimbursements that are through CalWORKS. I did want to highlight, if I could, the work requirements that are now being added to CalFresh and to Medi-Cal. That might not come with those subsidies, but it's going to increase opportunities. We're going to have potentially $1 to $1.7 million from Medi-Cal alone. That will now have work requirements. And so I just want to have us imagine what we could be doing if we could bring industry to the table and helping us to meet those needs. And I look forward to ongoing conversations as we address that. And potentially that's a space where the state should be looking to subsidize to make sure we're not having people fall off the rolls as much as we anticipate. Yeah, or perhaps even alongside, you know, incentivizing applicants that provide local hire agreements or project labor agreements, agreements with social enterprises. I think the power of a social enterprise is profound. Neighborhood Industries is a terrific example, as is Firm, as is, you know, Goodwill Industries, Hope now. They've figured out a way to take the power of the business model, which is one of the most productive tools to ameliorate poverty and put it to good use, and also provide a pathway for employers to confidently hire and allow time for individuals to get the wraparound services and support that they need and the confidence. I think we have a crisis in confidence. And that's also why we find some of our greatest successes are when they come from a referral from a family member, friend, or loved one. And that's also the population that we're marketing to because people need good role models. And to see someone else go through it, whether it's a brother or family member, it makes all the difference. Yeah, I just saw AP Armour, who's the head of neighborhood industry at Los This last week. And so just highlighted as an example, you know, he was able to really elevate himself and then has been intentional to turn around and open the door for as many people as he can. So we need more of that where we're looking at our neighbors as ourselves and bringing the humanity into this and ensuring that they're becoming healthier by supporting the economy and by helping to put them back to work. I do want to mention the Huron and the La Una. Our future governor comes from labor, comes from La Una himself, that I think these types of pre-apprenticeships will speak to him. And appreciate that we're starting with some of our poorest communities. As was mentioned earlier, it's the poorest city in California. And for us to be showing that level of success where now 1% of their population is working towards a good living wage job, you know, it's a wonderful thing for us to be speaking about going forward as well.

Earlier, I heard from you regarding automation and AI and focusing on business and attraction as well as retainment. And, you know, we heard from Stockton the ideas of statewide solutions instead of one offs. But how do we make sure that community benefits are aligned with us bringing in industry so we can then support some of the other good work that they've been talking about? the successes that they've been having as ultimately that allows us to build further upon our successes. You talk about the good jobs challenge and the 23 million we received and how you've been able to stretch it. How do we ensure that as we bring in more industry that we're similarly able to support many of the groups who have opinions on how to spend it themselves?

With that, I want to thank this entire panel and the conversation we've had today. And we'll now be opening it up to public comment for anyone who would like to. Don't be shy if you got something to say. If not, I will be thanking the entirety of this panel for Assemblymember Alaniz for joining us, for Tech and the Sergeants for helping to keep us safe. Thank you for joining today California Economic Mobility and investments sub excuse me select committee We are closed today Have a great day