By Joan Crigger
April 28, 2003

On April 16, Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley visited the Eastside Career Center along with Representative Benjamain Cardin (MD), Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Human Resources, House Ways and Means Committee, Ronald Peterson, President of the Johns Hopkins Health System and chairman of the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board (BWIB), members of the Baltimore business community, BWIB members, congressional staff and other local officials. The visit's purpose was to tour the facility and be briefed on the Center's operations.

The Eastside Career Center is one of four one'stop centers in Baltimore operated by the Mayors' Office of Employment Development (MOED), in conjunction with the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board. MOED is headed by Karen Sitnik, member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council Board of Trustees. Each center provides comprehensive services for job seekers and businesses. In addition, the Centers also provide Rapid Response services to assist displaced workers in quickly becoming re-employed and have on'site Digital Learning Labs, which provide training in computer literacy and popular software packages.

The visitors spent much of their time on the tour exploring the Digital Learning Lab and using the quick assessment test to see where they ranked in computer knowledge. The test is the identical test that is used by everyone who participates in the training at the Lab.

Following the tour, Mayor O'Malley addressed the BWIB and other guests. "Our biggest challenge is to raise the bar for everyone, to ensure that every city resident maximizes his/her career potential and all employers have the human resources to grow and prosper." With over a million dollars less in State TANF funds this year because of the State budget deficit, the mayor is extremely concerned about insufficient resources to meet the need. O'Malley said, "We need to raise significant money this year. Last year we raised $350 million. We need to increase that this year."

O'Malley stressed the importance of ensuring that all Baltimore citizens have a stake in society and to help them understand that they are a valuable part of the city's society, and especially for those who need assistance on their return from the prison system. Currently, the state releases 15,000 former inmates each year and, of these, 7,000 to 9,000 return to Baltimore.

"Local business drives the workforce system in Baltimore to make certain that Baltimore's workforce system is a locally determined system designed to meet the local labor market demand," O'Malley said in addressing the BWIB. Ron Peterson chaired a brief board meeting where two local businesses, CVS and Home Depot reported on their latest hiring initiatives.