MONROE - Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, wants to stop plans by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to close rural job centers, including one in Monroe.
Schultz sent a letter last week to DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman to protest the closures, which are expected to take place by the end of the year. Currently, there are 39 job centers throughout the state. DWD plans to consolidate services into 12 regional hubs.
The Green County Job Service center, at Pleasant View Complex on Wisconsin 81 north of Monroe, no longer will have a DWD staff member on a regular basis. Green County residents will have access to two "brick-and-mortar" centers in southwest Wisconsin - Janesville and Fennimore.
Instead of closing centers like Green County's, Schultz said, the state should work to provide more services to rural workers and employers "in response to the current economic and flooding challenges in rural Wisconsin."
He said the plan proposed by Gov. Jim Doyle was not responsive to rural areas because it failed to take into account opinions from rural community leaders, residents and others who work with local job centers.
Rep. Steve Hilgenberg, D-Dodgeville, said he doesn't think the DWD plan abandons rural workers. He said the plan is a shift in services and the DWD will continue to reach out to rural workers.
The Green County Job Service center serves the communities of Albany, Brodhead, Brooklyn, Browntown, Juda, Monroe, Monticello and New Glarus. About 750 people registered to receive services at the job center in 2007.
DWD staff continues to work in the Green County. In June, Dave Shaw, a DWD Job Service employee out of Janesville, told The Times he worked at the Green County center one day a week.
But staff soon will be "on the move" throughout the region, providing services to veterans, people with disabilities, all job seekers and employers in the area as needed. Staff may be meeting with citizens in technical colleges, libraries, community organizations and childcare centers, for example.
"Although we are moving to these regional hubs, we will continue to provide services to people all across the state. We will aggressively reach out to our customers wherever they may be," said Richard P. Jones, agency liaison for DWD.
But Schultz said closing job centers is unfair to local communities.
"Median household incomes are significantly lower in rural regions than in urban areas," Schultz said. "The result is that our current economic circumstances, including plant closings and mass layoffs, cause greater burdens on rural communities and workers than for urban areas. This past month's flooding disaster exacerbates the plight of rural folks."
Schultz said Doyle's plan also relies on providing services through the Internet. But many rural workers lack computer skills, and many rural areas don't even have broadband Internet services to access job search and job training services, Schultz said.
Wisconsin established 78 job centers in the 1980s, when funding was higher and technological advancements, like the Internet, were not available. The centers helped people access federally-funded employment and training programs.
Since 2003, centers have been reduced to 39 "comprehensive centers."
DWD Job Service staff is funded under Wagner-Peyser (W-P) federal funding. DWD partners with Job Service, providing labor exchange services, career assessment, advertising and training.
Schultz sent a letter last week to DWD Secretary Roberta Gassman to protest the closures, which are expected to take place by the end of the year. Currently, there are 39 job centers throughout the state. DWD plans to consolidate services into 12 regional hubs.
The Green County Job Service center, at Pleasant View Complex on Wisconsin 81 north of Monroe, no longer will have a DWD staff member on a regular basis. Green County residents will have access to two "brick-and-mortar" centers in southwest Wisconsin - Janesville and Fennimore.
Instead of closing centers like Green County's, Schultz said, the state should work to provide more services to rural workers and employers "in response to the current economic and flooding challenges in rural Wisconsin."
He said the plan proposed by Gov. Jim Doyle was not responsive to rural areas because it failed to take into account opinions from rural community leaders, residents and others who work with local job centers.
Rep. Steve Hilgenberg, D-Dodgeville, said he doesn't think the DWD plan abandons rural workers. He said the plan is a shift in services and the DWD will continue to reach out to rural workers.
The Green County Job Service center serves the communities of Albany, Brodhead, Brooklyn, Browntown, Juda, Monroe, Monticello and New Glarus. About 750 people registered to receive services at the job center in 2007.
DWD staff continues to work in the Green County. In June, Dave Shaw, a DWD Job Service employee out of Janesville, told The Times he worked at the Green County center one day a week.
But staff soon will be "on the move" throughout the region, providing services to veterans, people with disabilities, all job seekers and employers in the area as needed. Staff may be meeting with citizens in technical colleges, libraries, community organizations and childcare centers, for example.
"Although we are moving to these regional hubs, we will continue to provide services to people all across the state. We will aggressively reach out to our customers wherever they may be," said Richard P. Jones, agency liaison for DWD.
But Schultz said closing job centers is unfair to local communities.
"Median household incomes are significantly lower in rural regions than in urban areas," Schultz said. "The result is that our current economic circumstances, including plant closings and mass layoffs, cause greater burdens on rural communities and workers than for urban areas. This past month's flooding disaster exacerbates the plight of rural folks."
Schultz said Doyle's plan also relies on providing services through the Internet. But many rural workers lack computer skills, and many rural areas don't even have broadband Internet services to access job search and job training services, Schultz said.
Wisconsin established 78 job centers in the 1980s, when funding was higher and technological advancements, like the Internet, were not available. The centers helped people access federally-funded employment and training programs.
Since 2003, centers have been reduced to 39 "comprehensive centers."
DWD Job Service staff is funded under Wagner-Peyser (W-P) federal funding. DWD partners with Job Service, providing labor exchange services, career assessment, advertising and training.