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Amend the bill in section 1 in §8614 by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 1, lines 14 to 22 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
 
‘2.  Coordinator.     Each welcome center under subsection 1 must employ a full-time coordinator. The coordinator shall:
 
A.  Administer the center;
 
B.  Collaborate and work in conjunction with the department including the office to carry out the purposes of this section, including developing a program or series of programs designed to serve the needs of initiative participants; and
 
C. Make efforts to secure additional funding from public and private sources, including donations, grants or public-private partnerships, to provide ongoing funding of the welcome center, as needed to support ongoing operations or to expand capacity.’
Amend the bill in section 1 in §8614 in subsection 4 in the first line (page 2, line 2 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "may" and inserting the following: 'shall'
Amend the bill in section 3 in the 3rd line (page 2, line 12 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "training program" the following: ', including training classes,'
Amend the bill in section 3 by striking out all of subsections 1 and 2 (page 2, lines 14 to 39 and page 3, lines 1 to 15 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
‘1. Program requirements. The Department of Education's office of adult education and family literacy, referred to in this section as "the office," shall administer a 2-year program. The program must prepare immigrants for identified workforce needs of employers in the State to accelerate entry into livable wage employment and employment advancement and to enhance employer retention of the immigrants by combining vocation-specific English language acquisition with training in the specific vocational areas required by the employers. Training classes must be provided and funded pursuant to a grant process under subsection 2.
2. Training grants. The office shall establish a statewide competitive grant process to carry out the purposes of subsection 1. The amount of a grant under this subsection is determined by the office based upon the needs of the area to be served and the availability of funding. The office shall consider grants to cover all areas of the State with emphasis on areas with large immigrant populations or where there is a need for skilled workers that training under this section may provide. An eligible proposal for a grant under this subsection must include:
A. Intensive vocation-specific English language and vocabulary classes for participating potential, newly hired and incumbent employees. For the purposes of the grant program, "potential employee" means an individual seeking to change the individual's employment, to find new employment or to acquire new skills and "incumbent employee" means an employee already working for the employer either as an employee or through placement by a staffing agency;
B. Intensive workforce training classes for participating potential, newly hired and incumbent employees that include soft skills and acquaint immigrants with the culture of the workplace. For purposes of this paragraph, "soft skills" means those basic skills necessary to obtain, maintain and advance in employment, such as interviewing and communications skills;
C. Interviewing immigrant participants and identifying the education level, English language ability, skill sets, work experience, qualifications and credentials of each immigrant participant;
D. Collaboration with participating employers to:
(1) Identify the employers' specific workforce needs;
(2) Identify skills needed for positions required by the employers;
(3) Receive input from the employers for the design of the training classes, including information on required English language proficiency, workplace culture, on-site space or other vocational training elements such as tools, manuals or site tours;
(4) Ensure that the employers provide the time and space to offer training classes on site at the employers' workplaces or, where that is not feasible, that employers provide at no cost to their participating newly hired or incumbent employees supports such as transportation and incentives to prioritize, encourage and facilitate employee participation; and
(5) Ensure that within the first 12 months of participating in the program, employers receive at least 12 hours of formal cultural competency training regarding bridging effectively across a wide variety of cultural similarities and differences to help establish an inclusive workplace environment, unless employers can establish that they have already undergone such training within the previous 12 months;
E. One or more training classes to prepare the immigrant participants as potential workers to enter into and retain livable wage employment within 6 to 18 months of the beginning of the training; and
F. Collection and reporting of data including outcomes of employment and job retention.
 
The office shall give special consideration to proposals for grants under this subsection that provide incentives for immigrants to participate in the training classes, such as agreements by employers to pay an employee the employee's hourly rate while attending the training classes.’
Amend the bill in section 4 in subsection 1 in the 2nd line (page 4, line 6 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "manage" and inserting the following: 'accommodate'
Amend the bill in section 4 by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 4, lines 9 to 13 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
‘2. Program elements. The office shall establish by rule the elements of the program. The program must provide for a planning process for communities that have experienced recent growth in their immigrant populations, or that would benefit from immigrant employees or population growth, to assess needs and plan for initiatives to help attract or integrate immigrants into the communities and local workforce. Initiatives may include, but are not limited to, provision of English language acquisition classes, training in vocational skills, launch of a welcome center as described in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, section 8614, identification of employers, cooperating partners or target areas and cultivation of community support.’
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 6 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 6. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
 
EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF
 
Adult Education 0364
 
Initiative: Provides ongoing funding for expansion of the Welcome Center Initiative within the City of Lewiston's adult education program to attract, educate and retain foreign-trained workers residing in Androscoggin County.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21	
All Other	$150,000	$150,000	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$150,000	$150,000	

Adult Education 0364
 
Initiative: Provides ongoing funding for the New Mainers Resource Center within the City of Portland's adult education program to assist foreign-trained professionals.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21	
All Other	$150,000	$150,000	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$150,000	$150,000	

Adult Education 0364
 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for grants for proposed welcome centers.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21	
All Other	$25,000	$75,000	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$25,000	$75,000	

Adult Education 0364
 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for grants to adult education programs to increase English language acquisition instruction in communities experiencing an increase in immigrant populations or demand, which will serve 800 participants in both fiscal years of the biennium.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21	
All Other	$600,000	$600,000	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$600,000	$600,000	

Local Community Planning Support Program N256
 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for counties, municipalities and school administrative units to accommodate new immigrant populations who have settled within the counties, municipalities and school administrative units or to attract immigrant populations to address depopulation or workforce shortages within the counties, municipalities and school administrative units.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21	
All Other	$150,000	$150,000	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$150,000	$150,000	

Vocation-specific English-language Acquisition and Workforce Training Program N255
 
Initiative: Provides one-time funding for grants to service providers to provide English language instruction and vocational training and to place immigrant populations in the State with employers in the State. The grants will serve 500 participants in each fiscal year.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21	
All Other	$400,000	$400,000	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$400,000	$400,000	

EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF			
DEPARTMENT TOTALS	2019-20	2020-21	
			
GENERAL FUND	$1,475,000	$1,525,000	
			
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS	$1,475,000	$1,525,000	
 
’
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
 
SUMMARY
This amendment provides additional details and clarifying language regarding the welcome centers, English language classes, training grants and local community planning support program. The amendment also changes the appropriation for proposed welcome centers from $50,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 and in fiscal year 2020-21 to $25,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $75,000 in fiscal year 2020-21.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)