[Excerpt]

A group of nearly 100 people gathered Thursday to address challenges facing the state’s workforce and what needs to be done as the state continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.

The meeting, hosted by AMOS Institute of Public Life, the education and training arm of AMOS [A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy], drew members of the region’s faith-based community, business leaders, and state and local government officials.

The meeting focused on Project IOWA, a nonprofit organization that offers support and training to Iowans looking to improve their careers.

Paul Osterman, a professor of human resources at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the keynote speaker of the meeting, said job training programs, such as Project IOWA, have had great success in helping low-wage workers climb the ladder to better-paying jobs.

He said nothing has changed since the pandemic began to spread, “it’s just intensified it,” in reference to the need for services.

Osterman said one challenge that needs to be addressed is helping people move from one job to another, something Project IOWA focuses on.

There isn’t a strong public system to help with that, so the work Project IOWA does is essential to not only train workers, but also provide access to good jobs and creating good jobs.

“And these programs do both of these,” Osterman said. “You provide training, skills and connection to employers, but programs like these also create worker jobs, because there is research that shows that in communities that have effective human capital, skill development systems, employers do better. More jobs are created. It’s better for entrepreneurs. It’s better for employers. It helps new businesses coming to the community when they can see that the community is invested in the skills of its people, and sharing the cost of developing the skills of its people.

“Over time, it actually improves the economic health of the community,” he said.

Change Needed in Job Training, Development in New Pandemic Workforce, Business Record [pdf]

 

Six months after a fall assembly in which hundreds of AMOS leaders pressured state legislators to restore mental health funding, leaders persisted in their quest -- writing an OpEd and testifying before the legislature.

"This isn't just a tax issue. This is an issue of life or death," testified Travis Stanley, pastor of Norwalk Christian Church and leader with AMOS. AMOS criticizes a state law capping the amount counties can collect for such services to the amount they collected in 1996, regardless of whether the county grew since then. "Keeping the cap at 1996 levels — when I was 16 — has killed people. People have lost their lives because of this," he said.

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Initially, the land parcel was zoned for single family detached homes, with some of the loudest voices calling for exclusively owner-occupied units. Thanks to the intervention of AMOS leaders, Ames City Council voted for more affordable housing to be developed on-site, including 60% to be made available at affordable rates, and to include rental housing in its Request for Proposals.

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Black Iowans Fell Profiled by Police, Des Moines Register

The Rev. Dr. Brigitte Black and Rev. Denny Coon pointed out that over a year ago they, as clergy leaders of AMOS, 'lamented the alarming increases in the filings of delinquency and detention holds on Polk County juvenile .... the disproportionate impact that was having on youth of color.' Their words triggered a firestorm of news stories, government studies and efforts to address root causes of the situation. AMOS clergy point out that amidst that firestorm, signs of hope emerged...

Polk County Makes Progress on Juvenile Justice, Des Moines Register

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Shari Reilly appealed to the Catholic faith shared with King when she asked him to take a more "humanitarian approach" to the unaccompanied children arriving from Mexico and Central America. On behalf of AMOS she invited the Congressman to a public assembly to be held in September at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church.

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"In the disagreement between Polk County officials and the citizen group AMOS, logic seems to favor AMOS. Especially in the long run.

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AMOS advocates a return "to the best practice model the County Attorney's office pioneered from 2006-2009" which made good use of "informal adjustments and alternatives to detentions for non-violent, non-repeat juvenile offenders."

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"A rose to AMOS, a central Iowa church group, for another approach to getting people on the right track to meaningful careers... Project Iowa helps direct unemployed or underemployed participants into careers that happen to be in demand, such as welding or health care. The project was initiated last year by AMOS (A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy), a non-profit group formed by religious leaders and church groups. The program helps participants get training and certification for jobs with local employers looking for workers with specific skills. Project Iowa has assisted 57 participants, and more than 80 percent of those who have completed job training are employed."

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