Helena employee training non-profit to close after new company gets statewide contract
A "Now Hiring" sign is seen as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nonfarm payrolls increased by 235,000 in February and the unemployment rate was 4.7 percent in the first full month of President Donald Trump's term on March 10, 2017 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The director of a Helena-based non-profit employee training agency said her organization would be closing its doors following the state’s recent decision to contract those services to a single company statewide.
Career Training Institute’s Executive Director Jasyn Harrington said in a letter posted to the agency’s website Wednesday, she made the announcement to close the organization, which had been in operation for more than 40 years, with a “heavy heart and great sadness.”
Offices like Career Training Institute are meant to connect clients in two programs, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), to employee training, jobs and education opportunities, which they may be required to participate in to receive aid.
Career Training Institute is the latest employee training agency to say it will be closing its doors in Montana due to the Maximus contract, with Butte’s Career Futures Inc., saying earlier this month it also wouldn’t be able to keep its doors open as a subcontractor.
In February, Virginia-based Maximus was awarded $15 million for the statewide contract. In the past, the state had contracted with multiple organizations.
Democrats have previously voiced concern about the Maximus contract, saying it may lead to the multiple community organizations that have connected low-income residents to job training and opportunities to close. But DPHHS says having one contract with Maximus streamlines the client’s experience and virtual options give people choices for how they can participate in the program.
Harrington said in her letter the organization did meet with Maximus representatives, but “it was apparent that subcontracting would not be feasible.” TANF Pathways and SNAP Education and Training made up the majority of their budget.
Current Career Training clients would be transitioned to Maximus between April 1 and June 30, Harrington said. She said that’s what the state has told them.
Harrington said the organization helped thousands in the community improve their lives.
“We have established working relationships with our community social service partners, training providers, post-secondary institutions and employers, all in an effort to provide individualized assistance to our clients to overcome barriers to employment and enter the workforce,” Harrington said. “I, and many others, have great concerns regarding the new service delivery model DPHHS has chosen and its potential devastating impact on clients.”
Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Charlie Brereton told lawmakers earlier this month contracting with one company, as opposed to multiple contractors, ensured participants in the programs across counties had the same user experience.
Helena will be one of Maximus’ five Montana urban locations that is slated to have a brick and mortar in-person office, and so will Great Falls, Billings, Missoula and Bozeman. Rural in-person services would be through subcontractors. The department also said there would be “pop-up” locations at libraries or college enrollment periods.
The department also made the decision to transition to a “single performance-based model” where a percentage of the payment to the contractor would be dependent on whether clients achieve certain outcomes — like earning a General Education Development certificate or getting a job.
Gov. Greg Gianforte’s office has previously told the Daily Montanan he is committed to ensuring these programs are “results-driven, help the vulnerable, and bring Montanans to greater self-sufficiency.”
Idaho contracted Maximus to operate employment services in 2016. States Newsroom reported in August Maximus call-center employees protested for better working conditions after hundreds of workers across several states were laid off.
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