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After shutting down a corrupt one-stop, The Anti-Displacement Project (A-DP) in Springfield, MA has taken the next step and partnered up with its local mayor and the Regional Employment Board to set a national precedent for investment in low-income workers and job training.

This new partnership puts aside millions of dollars in funding for job training and offers a system of accountability to track placements in permanent living wage jobs for workers in the Springfield area.

"What is happening in Springfield is a precedent for all cities and states in the nation to follow," said Maurice Emsellem of the National Employment Law Center in Oakland, CA. "It redirects federal dollars to where they're needed the most: real job training and living wage jobs."

These reforms are the result of A-DP's study, "FutureWorks: Roadblocks to Success," released earlier this spring. The study tracked the work of a local for-profit job-training center, FutureWorks, showing that the agency had consistently denied clients access to basic education and skills training.

The A-DP study is the first in a series being completed by National People's Action and local organizations across the country.

On the heels of the study, A-DP members forced Mayor Michael Albano and the REB to change the corrupt for-profit into a locally controlled non-profit. The new non-profit will be the first to implement these unprecedented reforms, including:
l A requirement setting aside 50% of all federal Workforce Investment Act funds for job training and education for low-income adults.
l Streamlining the process for receiving job training.
l Full disclosure of all services provided under WIA, signed and dated by both career counselor and customer.
l Creation of a grievance process for customers of all career centers.
l Establishing a system to track wages and benefits in job placements as well as success rates for training programs.
l Promoting permanent living wage jobs for job placements at career centers.
l Appointment of a low-income A-DP representative to the Workforce Investment Board.