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Town of New Gloucester
385 Intervale Road, New Gloucester, ME 04260
(207) 926-4126 (phone) / (207) 926-4136 (fax)
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Town of Poland
1231 Maine Street, Poland, ME 04274
(207) 998-4601 (phone) / (207) 998-2002 (fax)
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This newsletter is for information purposes only. It does not imply my endorsement of any of these policies.
“Back to Work” Program
The “Back to Work” program, administered by the Maine Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Economic and Community Development, will provide employers a one-time $1,500 payment for eligible workers who start jobs between June 15 and June 30 or a $1,000 payment for eligible workers who start jobs in July in order to encourage unemployed Maine people to return to the workforce. The first-come, first-served program will utilize $10 million in federal funding and could reach up to 7,500 Maine people.
The program comes as Maine’s economy continues to recover from the pandemic, with the State having added 11,200 jobs during the first quarter of 2021 and overall unemployment claims steadily declining. As employers across Maine seek workers, the program aims to accelerate the transition of unemployed Maine people back into the workforce and help businesses recover from pandemic-related business disruption.
To be eligible, people must:
- have received unemployment compensation for the week ending May 29, 2021;
- accept a full-time job that pays less than $25 per hour and remain in the job for a period of at least eight consecutive weeks; and
- not receive unemployment compensation during the eight week period of employment.
The program began June 15, 2021, and applications will be accepted through July 25, 2021. The Maine Department of Labor launched an online portal on its Web site where businesses can confirm employees qualify and register their start dates. Once the employee has worked for eight weeks, the employer will provide documentation of the completion of the requirement and grant funds will be issued to the employer to be passed through to the employee.
People receiving unemployment are required to actively look for work and to accept positions for which they are reasonably qualified. A refusal to accept an offer of suitable work is grounds for disqualifying a person for benefits.
The DOL’s regional CareerCenters stand ready to assist people to connect with jobs by hosting job fairs, offering job workshops, and reemployment services.
Maine’s Don’t Miss Your Shot -- Vaccinationland Sweepstakes
Mainers 12 years old and older who have received at least one dose of a Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, or the one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, in Maine may enter to win one drawing, totaling $1 for every Mainer vaccinated by July 4, 2021.
Entry requires providing your name, date of birth, email address, phone number, home address, and the name and location of the place that provided your COVID-19 vaccine. Entry also requires agreement with all official rules of the drawing and agreement to allow the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to verify your vaccination information.
Entry for children between the ages of 12 and 17 further requires a parent or guardian’s name, email address, and phone number.
If you do not have access to the Internet, you can call Maine’s Community Vaccination Line at 1-888-445-4111 to provide information to enter the drawing.
Register Age 12-17 Register Age 18+
Summer Food Service Program
Any child age 18 years or younger can receive meals at no cost to families from any meal service and distribution sites in the participating Maine towns/cities found here.
To find a summer meals site near you, click here and follow the directions.
The Summer Food Service Program was established to ensure low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals during the summer months when school is not in session. Free meals that meet the federal nutritional guidelines are provided to all children 18 years old and younger at approved SFSP sites in areas with significant concentrations of low-income children.
Schools may review the Seamless Summer Option to reduce paperwork and streamline program management.
If you have questions regarding the Summer Food Service Program, please contact a member of the Maine Department of Education’s Child Nutrition staff.
Maine DHHS Distributes $17 Million in Federal Pandemic Food Assistance to Maine Families
The Maine Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) recently announced that it has distributed approximately $17 million in federal food assistance benefits to the families of roughly 70,000 Maine children under the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program.
The federally-funded P-EBT benefit, passed as part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, provides additional nutrition support for families of children who are eligible for free or reduced school lunch, but did not have access to school-based food programs because they were learning remotely on some or all school days due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Infants and children up to age five are eligible to receive P-EBT benefits if they are currently receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits or are otherwise eligible for free or reduced school lunch, and the school they attended for the 2020-2021 school year used either a fully remote or predominantly hybrid model. Students are eligible for those months when a majority of students in a school received more than 50% of their learning remotely.
Beginning June 15, eligible families began receiving monthly benefits retroactively for the 2020-2021 school year for each eligible child in the household. A special survey was conducted to determine the learning model used in each school. Families currently enrolled in SNAP receive the benefits on their EBT cards, and other eligible families receive a separate P-EBT card.
The average benefit per month ranges from $60 to $120 per child, per month, depending on whether the school was partially or fully remote. This first issuance covers the school months of September 2020 through December 2020. Two additional benefit issuances will take place during the summer to cover the remaining months of the school year.
More information about the P-EBT program is available on the DHHS Web site or by calling 2-1-1.
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