I have started meeting with the leadership of all of the state agencies to better understand their challenges and discuss opportunities for improving services to the people of Utah. My first meeting was with the Department of Workforce Services. Led for the past eight years by my current chief of staff, Jon Pierpont, and now by interim executive director Casey Cameron, Workforce Services has been one of the most essential and involved state agencies in Utah’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
While we cannot give enough praise to our medical workers and first responders, state employees at agencies like Workforce Services have been some of our unsung heroes of the pandemic. They’re helping Utah families to stay in their homes, put food on the table and get back to work.
I want to share some of the incredible efforts of Workforce Services leadership and staff in responding to the unprecedented demand for their services. The sheer numbers are staggering! Workforce Services distributed more than $1.7 billion of unemployment benefits and processed nearly 400,000 new claims in 10 months (compared to 57,000 new claims in all of 2019). Staff administered more than $2.6 billion in federal funds for Medicaid, SNAP, rental assistance and other financial assistance programs.
Plus, the department established 10 completely new federal programs that meet federal requirements, minimize fraud and distribute funds fairly and accurately, each within a matter of weeks.
But it’s not just about the numbers. Department of Workforce Services leadership and staff jumped into action to ensure the people of Utah could receive the support they needed from the very beginning of the pandemic. When it became clear that it wasn’t safe for hundreds of Unemployment Insurance Division staff to be working together in close quarters in the Olene Walker Building, staff came in to collect their computers and phones to shift to a work-from-home model. With a record-breaking number of unemployment claims coming in, this was no time for a disruption in service. Division staff dutifully arrived at the office on March 18, 2020 to individually pack up their computers, screens and phones to set up shop at home – that’s right – the very day of the 5.7-magnitute Magna earthquake. With fire alarms blaring, staff members evacuated the shuddering building, hauling their computer towers and screens down the stairwell so they could continue to serve their fellow Uthans.
In addition to these monumental tasks, Workforce Service staff changed the way they operated on a daily basis to ensure both safety and continued service. The department retrained nearly 100 existing employees to assist with the unprecedented demand for unemployment benefits and shifted 70% of the total workforce to work from home — up from 17% before the pandemic.
Staff began contacting unemployment claimants each week to make them aware of employment resources, opportunities for training and credentialing and other resources available to assist their household. To ensure Utahns have access to the thousands of employers that are still hiring, the department launched a new online Hot Jobs portal to easily access Utah’s most in-demand jobs in Utah’s growing industry.
The 29 employment centers around the state had to make some major changes, as well. To support Governor Herbert’s “Stay Safe, Stay Home” directive, the centers temporarily closed to walk-in traffic, while continuing to serve customers online, by phone and by appointment when necessary. Staff shifted job prep and training workshops to a new online format and started ongoing, monthly statewide virtual job fairs.
The department moved essential Utah State Office of Rehabilitation classes, like sign language training, online. The Refugee Services Office provided continuity of service to thousands of refugees living in Utah, while temporarily closing the Utah Refugee Center to in-person visits.
I could go on and on with illustrations about how our state employees rose to the occasion during the pandemic and recognized their importance as essential workers in helping our businesses, employees and families make it through this hard time. I’m grateful for the incredible efforts of our Workforce Services staff to serve their fellow Utahns, all while coping with the impacts of the pandemic on their own homes and families. This is what it means to be “One Utah.”
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