Milwaukee-based UMOS, Inc. has been awarded two new contracts totaling $1.87 million to operate transitional jobs programs in six additional Wisconsin counties.
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families contracts include a $595,000 grant to run the program in Kenosha County and a $1.275 million grant to operate the program in Brown, Outagamie, Winnebago, Oconto and Marinette counties.
The Transitional Jobs Program provides subsidized employment for unemployed individuals who are ex-offenders, have child support orders, have child welfare reunification plans or are former foster youth. UMOS pays the employees’ wages for the first 6 months of on-the-job training at an area employer, after which the employee joins the employer’s payroll.
UMOS currently operates the program in southeastern, rural northeast and central Wisconsin counties, and runs the Transform Milwaukee Jobs Program in Milwaukee County. UMOS said it assisted 740 job seekers secure employment in 2019 through the programs.
The two new contracts are designed to serve about 220 people, including 70 eligible Kenosha County residents and 150 residents in Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago counties. The contracts are for 2.5 years.
UMOS, which has its headquarters on Milwaukee’s south side, has operations in Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin. Its services are focused on workforce development, including farmworkers job, TechHire, and Wisconsin Works (W-2) programs; child development, including Migrant Head Start and child care programs; and social services, including a bilingual domestic violence prevention, home energy assistance, food pantry, HIV testing and case management and off-farm labor housing assistance programs.
In October, the organization announced its expansion into Illinois with a $1.75 million annual U.S. Department of Labor contract. In November, it was awarded a $25 million annual federal contract to operate a Head Start program for migrant and seasonal worker families in Texas.
