This afternoon, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would release—after a weeks-long delay—multiple funding streams approved by Congress and signed into law earlier this year. This includes WIOA Title II Adult Education funds, which many workforce boards rely on to serve adults with basic skills deficits.

The federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had withheld the money as it said it was reviewing Title I-C, Title II-A, Title III-A, and Title IV-A ESEA funds and Title II WIOA funds. Today, the Department of Education announced that “OMB has directed the Department to release all formula funds,” said Madi Biedermann, deputy assistant secretary for communications for the Department. “The agency will begin dispersing funds to states next week.”

Several Republican Senators, including Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia who chairs the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, had recently written a letter to the OMB director urging the funds be released.

NAWB members can help ensure that all WIOA funding will be maintained by inviting their members of Congress for a Site Visit—using our step-by-step guide—to ensure they understand that workforce development programs are a valuable investment in their communities.