The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) is responsible for supervising programs that provide assistance and support to eligible families and individuals throughout the state. Examples of the supports provided include subsidized employment and work force development programs. Subsidized employment and work force development programs help low-income youth and adults earn a paycheck through employment opportunities that likely would not have been available due to the lack of jobs in the current economy. Two such programs are Summer Youth Employment and Career Pathways. Summer Youth Employment provides summer employment and educational experiences that enable youth to acquire work skills, gain income and participate in activities that support their occupational goals. These and other subsidized employment programs provide employer wage subsidies as an incentive to hire individuals who are unable to secure a job through conventional means Career Pathways is a workforce development strategy that links basic education to occupational training, and when combined with integrated support services, enables participants to advance over time to higher level training and education and to living wage jobs in specific industry sectors. Many of the programs provide opportunities to improve jobs skills through participation in education and job skills training programs. The purpose of this Assembly public hearing is to gather information on the quality of subsidized employment and work force development programs and how OTDA is ensuring that low-income adults are continuing to receive education and training.

Persons wishing to present pertinent testimony to the Committee at the above hearing should complete and return the enclosed reply form as soon as possible. It is important that the reply form be fully completed and returned so that persons may be notified in the event of emergency postponement or cancellation.

Oral testimony will be limited to 10 minutes. In preparing the order of witnesses, the Committee will attempt to accommodate individual requests to speak at particular times in view of special circumstances. These requests should be made on the attached reply form or communicated to Committee staff as early as possible. In the absence of a request, witnesses will be scheduled in the order in which reply forms are postmarked.

Ten copies of any prepared testimony should be submitted at the hearing registration desk. The Committee would appreciate advance receipt of prepared statements.

In order to further publicize these hearings, please inform interested parties and organizations of the Committee's interest in hearing testimony from all sources.

In order to meet the needs of those who may have a disability, the Assembly, in accordance with its policy of non-discrimination on the basis of disability, as well as the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has made its facilities and services available to all individuals with disabilities. For individuals with disabilities, accommodations will be provided, upon reasonable request, to afford such individuals access and admission to Assembly facilities and activities.

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Persons wishing to present testimony at the public hearing on New York State's Subsidized Employment and Work Force Development Programs are requested to complete this reply form as soon as possible and mail it to:

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