ACAP, state partnership gets cutbacks
Staff Writer
HOULTON — The Houlton Career Center faced a number of changes due to restructuring from the Maine Department of Labor. Last Wednesday, services provided by the MDOL were no longer available at the Career Center site in Houlton.
Submitted photo
MOBILE SERVICES — This map shows the locations of all the Career Centers in Maine. It shows Presque Isle as being the closest location for Career Center services provided by the Maine Department of Labor.
Beginning Tuesday, July 1, job seekers will notice a change in services at local centers. The MDOL will no longer have staff on site for their department, however, those in partnerships with the labor department will be available at the 91 Military Street facility. ACAP and the Bureau of Rehabilitation Services will continue to provide services , however, the MDOL asks job seekers and employers to contact their Presque Isle office for more information or to schedule an appointment. The services in Presque Isle and Madawaska will remain unchanged.
Torry Eaton, senior manager for the Aroostook County Action Program (ACAP) wants people to know that ACAP will continue to be at that site, regardless of where the MDOL chooses to relocate their services.
“The ACAP is not leaving and that’s what we want to get out to the community,” said Eaton. “They are there, they will be there and will probably be there forever. ACAP has several different services that are still going to be there; the employment and training division will still be there; health services, energy and housing; all of the ACAP services that have been there will continue to be there.”
ACAP’s partnership with the state begin more than eight years ago with the establishment of Career Centers throughout the state. At that time, there were 23 facilities running. Those numbers have been reduced due to budget cuts and Houlton area residents will need to get those services either online or through the Presque Isle office.
“It’s no longer going to be called the Houlton Career Center, it’s going to be the Aroostook County Action Program — the name is going away, but we are not,” said Eaton.
Ned McCann is the director of the Bureau of Employment Services for the Maine Department of Labor. McCann said he wants the public to know that the Bureau of Employment Services is not going away, it’s just taking on a different form.
“It’s a cutback of our physical location,” he explained. “We’ve been talking about a Career Center without walls … we’re going to be offering our job service on the Web. Currently, if you want to actually look for a job at the Career Center you have to get in your car and drive to Presque Isle. Now, you’re going to be able to access that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anyplace where there is Internet access.”
McCann agreed that the change would be difficult for those without access of the Internet, but under the current budgeting conditions, it is the best the department can offer.
“We’re going to be able to do a good service, very inexpensively,” he said. “We’d like to have fully-staffed Career Centers in every town in the state, we just can’t afford to do that anymore. We are dealing with some severe budget limitation cuts from the federal and state and it has come to the point to shrink our physical locations while continuing to serve the same number of people if not more.”
The Career Center in Houlton “restructuring” has been a discussed plan for some time. Eaton said it’s going to be hard for people who have come to rely on the physical services, which are no longer there.
“In the end, we’re helping people to find a job,” she explained. “ACAP has an adult program for economically disadvantaged people, we have a program for people who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and we also have programs for young people ages 14-21 who are economically disadvantaged and we help them with everything from career selection to job training and job search.
To find out more about services being provided by ACAP call 532-5311. To find out more about services provided by the Maine Department of Labor visit their Web site at www.maine.gov/labor. For more information on regional plans or to schedule a visit to one of the new Career Center service points, call 1-800-635-0357 or 1-888-697-2877.
