(Washington, DC) - Congresswoman Corrine Brown is thrilled to announce that Work Source Florida, Inc., and Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation will be granted a waiver from the United States Department of Labor which ‘waives requirement(s) under WIA, regarding competitive selection of providers of youth activities.’

The Congresswoman, who had sent a letter to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, urging the Department to grant the waiver to Florida, said that "this issue is of utmost importance to youth throughout the state, and in particular, Duval County."  

The Congresswoman continued: "in the last decade, Duval County has suffered from a sky rocketing crime rate, an extremely high incidence of high school truancy and dropout rate, as well as a dramatic increase in gang activity and violence.  To me, it is indisputable that one of the best ways to confront this situation is to provide area youth with a purpose, particularly during times when school is out of session.  Summer jobs do just that, giving them an opportunity to obtain real life work experience, acquire practical job skills and become productive members of society."

Essentially, the waiver will allow Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation to do the following:

1. Allow workforce boards the capability to quickly and effectively start-up and operate the summer program;
2.  Allow the State of Florida to quickly implement a substantive summer youth program for the 2009 summer in all the state’s 24 workforce regions;
3. Permit a greater number of youth to be served throughout the state during this first summer.

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