Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Director Shares Success in D.C.

Last week, I was honored to testify in front of the U.S. House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources in Washington D.C.

I spoke about the successes of Florida’s reemployment assistance program in getting jobseekers back to work and the challenges we face fighting identity theft and fraud.

Florida’s reemployment assistance program helps jobseekers while they are finding work, but more importantly, it connects jobseekers with the 250,000 current job openings across the state, along with training, educational opportunities and other workforce development.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity works hand-in-hand with businesses across the state, including the thousands of small businesses that make up the majority of Florida’s economy. At the hearing in Washington, D.C., Walter Carpenter, owner of the small business Pinel & Carpenter, Inc., also testified about the importance of ensuring the integrity of Florida’s reemployment system and trust fund.

To keep business taxes low and make sure that only those who deserve reemployment benefits are getting them, Florida developed an in-house fraud detection system that allows us to fight identity theft fraud and the criminals that are trying to break into our system to steal benefits every day. This fraud detection is critical in our mission to help Florida’s jobseekers and businesses alike.

Our integrated reemployment assistance program is bridging the gap between unemployed workers and career opportunities. We know barriers to employment still exist, and we are working with our partners across the state on innovative ways to eliminate those barriers so that all Floridians have the opportunity to live the American Dream.

The hearing regarding Florida’s reemployment assistance success is available here.

– Cissy Proctor, DEO Executive Director