SACRAMENTO – On Saturday, Governor Brown signed Assembly Bill 868 by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto), which will make it easier for nonprofit community-based organizations to provide critically needed job-training services to those most in need.
“Nonprofit community-based organizations, such as JobTrain in Menlo Park, provide essential job-skills training that grow the workforce and strengthen the economy,” said Berman. “AB 868 creates a more straightforward path for these organizations to continue serving their communities.”
AB 868 will exempt nonprofit community-based organizations from regulations by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education if they meet certain criteria. For example, an organization must be a registered nonprofit with programs on the Eligible Training Provider List, must not offer degrees or programs that lead to licensure, and must not otherwise be subject to oversight by the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education. This legislation is needed for organizations to be listed on the Eligible Training Provider List, a requirement to serve individuals who receive federal workforce funding. Importantly, AB 868 also includes oversight requirements, which exempt organizations must comply with in order to ensure accountability and to protect students.
“AB 868 will allow our skills-training programs to be visible on the Eligible Training Provider List for those seeking employment training,” said Steven Schmidbauer, Interim President and CEO of Menlo Park based JobTrain. “Making more training programs accessible to people who cannot otherwise hope to make a livable wage to support their families, helps not only these individuals but everyone, as these jobs can be in construction, healthcare, and other fields that positively serve our local communities.”
JobTrain is a 52 year-old nonprofit organization, founded to provide low-income individuals in the Bay Area with vocational training and career development.
AB 868 received unanimous, bipartisan support in the Legislature.
Assemblymember Marc Berman represents the 24th Assembly District, which includes southern San Mateo County and northern Santa Clara County in the heart of the Silicon Valley. Website of Assemblymember Marc Berman: www.assembly.ca.gov/Berman. His official headshot is available here.
Contact: Kaitlin Curry, (916) 319-2024