The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) declared COVID-19 a nationwide public health emergency on January 27, 2020, enabling eligible applicants to request funding for Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs). The President also declared a national emergency on March 13, 2020. Economic Recovery DWGs are also available to states and other eligible applicants that are affected by major economic dislocations, such as mass layoffs. The National Dislocated Worker Grant Program Guidance transmitted by Training and Employment Guidance Letter No. 12-19 - Change 1 explains how eligible applicants can apply for DWGs, including emergency funding requests. The U.S. Department of Labor accepts applications on a rolling basis, which are then reviewed in the order received.

The approved emergency applications collectively include disaster-relief cleanup and humanitarian assistance activities for those communities the applicants identified as significantly impacted, along with employment and training activities for grant participants. Based on the current availability of federal funds, as well as the anticipated large volume of funding requests from across the nation, the Department approved reduced initial funding amounts to address the critical community needs in areas hardest impacted by the COVID-19 public health emergency. The amount initially provided is the lesser of 33% of the grant amount requested or a set initial award amount correlated to a severity rating. The rating is based on the following data points: COVID-19 cases per 10,000 people (reported daily by the CDC), unemployment insurance initial claims data (reported weekly by the Department), and population data (provided in the July 2019 Census estimate).

Grantees must submit a full budget and implementation plan to the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) within 60 days of the initial award. Additional time and the continued evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 on a project’s proposed service area may lead to further revisions to project size and scope. Should grantees require additional resources beyond the initial award, they may incorporate a request for additional funding in the submission of the full budget and plan. ETA will review their expenditure levels and performance outcomes prior to the recommendation of any additional funding.

Note: Total Award Amount may not represent current obligation of funds.

COVID-19 DWG Awards

  Recipient Total Award
1 Alabama Department of Commerce $1,998,000
2 California Department of Employment Development * $12,502,750
3 California Department of Employment Development $12,000,000
4 Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) DOL - Workforce Investment Agency $1,500,000
5 Colorado Department of Labor and Employment * $5,665,000
6 Colorado Department of Labor and Employment $4,995,000
7 District of Columbia Department of Employment Services $1,245,969
8 Florida Department of Economic Opportunity $40,394,746
9 Technical College System of Georgia $25,293,837
10 Government of Guam, Department of Administration $3,267,172
11 Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Illinois Department of $8,325,000
12 Indiana Department of Workforce Development $3,628,895
13 Kentucky Office of Employment and Training $8,883,493
14 Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development $6,993,000
15 Maryland Department of Labor  $2,881,060
16 Mississippi Department of Employment Security $11,257,012
17 North Carolina Department of Commerce - Division of Workforce Solutions $6,000,000
18 Job Service North Dakota $509,615
19 New York State Department of Labor $12,000,000
20 Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission $3,000,000
21 Republic of Palau dba Ministry of Finance $102,306
22 Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training $2,326,005
23 South Dakota Department of Labor and Regulation * $1,137,345
24 Texas Workforce Commission $39,685,179
25 Virginia Community College System $3,330,000
26 State of Wyoming Department of Workforce Services * $200,000
27 Arizona Department of Economic Security $1,332,000
28 Connecticut Department of Labor $2,331,000
29 Louisiana Workforce Commission $22,767,303
30 Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation $4,508,311
31 Oregon Department of Education * $3,000,000
32 Washington State Department of Employment Security $12,000,000
33 Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development $999,000
34 Idaho Department of Labor $2,722,281
35 Missouri Department of Higher Education and Workforce Development $1,332,000
36 New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions $3,000,000
37 Oklahoma Department of Commerce $999,000
38 South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce $593,540
39 Virgin Islands Department of Labor $1,500,000
40 State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations $1,500,000
41 State of Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations * $1,500,000
42 Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity * $8,325,000
43 Upper Shore (Maryland) Workforce Investment Board * $496,080
44 Montana Department of Labor and Industry * $582,750
45 New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development $8,487,304
46 Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development $14,815,295
47 Maine Department of Labor $1,500,000
48 Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity $3,330,000
49 Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry $6,993,000
50 Washington State Department of Employment Security * $12,000,000
51 Iowa Workforce Development * $1,665,000
52 Indiana Department of Workforce Development * $6,660,000
53 Ohio Department of Job and Family Services * $8,511,480
54 Tanana Chiefs Conference (Alaska) $982,905
55 Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development $2,535,795
56 Cherokee Nation (Oklahoma) $4,333,333
57 Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation * $10,975,389
58 Delaware Department of Labor * $1,341,690
59 New York State Department of Labor * $12,000,000
60 WorkForce West Virginia $1,500,000
61 Cherokee Nation * $4,995,000
62 Lummi Nation * $1,160,278
63 Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development * $4,995,000
64 Adaptive Construction Solutions * $1,561,667
  TOTAL AWARD AMOUNT $398,952,785

*Indicates Employment Recovery dislocated worker grant type. Others are disaster recovery grants.