(Photo Flickr/Clementine Gallot)
By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Openings are still available for a pilot program the Illinois Department of Human Services (DHS) and Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) say is meant to provide job training for people who receive government food assistance, in order to help them become more self-sufficient and less reliant food stamps.
The program is called Employment Opportunities, Personalized Services, Individualized Training and Career Planning, or EPIC. It focuses on adults without children who are able to work but currently get benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
DHS Communications Director Meredith Krantz believes the program will have a meaningful impact.
“It includes education and training, and it’s an opportunity to build on some existing SNAP education and training programs that will help us to test new strategies that will determine the most cost effective ways to help SNAP recipients gain and retain employment so they can eventually become self sufficient,” she said.
Krantz added that the training puts participants in line for quality careers like “architecture and
construction, health sciences, law, public safety, corrections, manufacturing. So these are jobs that have a lot of potential.”
DHS and DCEO have joined 23 community-based organizations for the program.
According to a statement from the state, the Illinois Community College Board and the Illinois Workforce Innovation Board are also working on the program.
“We are proud to be collaborating across state agencies and with local partners to implement innovative programs like EPIC that have a meaningful impact on the lives of Illinois residents,” DHS Secretary James Dimas said.
Illinois received a $21 million grant from the federal government for the pilot. The program began in March; it could last up to three years. At that point, the state will evaluate long-term effects of the specialized services for EPIC participants.
More information, along with a list of participating counties, is available online at ILEPIC.com.
