Supervisors Vote to Run Jobs Council

Ventura County supervisors voted Tuesday to take control of the operations of a local job training agency this fall as part of the county’s efforts to restructure its welfare system.

The supervisors voted to assume all administrative responsibilities of the Job Training Policy Council by Oct. 31.

Officials said the move will put the county in a better position to deal with proposed state and federal legislation that calls for consolidating welfare and job training programs in order to trim costs. A new law also makes the county liable for misspent federal grants.

The 19-member jobs council spends about $11 million in federal grants each year to train low-income people throughout the county. At monthly meetings, the council awards federally funded contracts to schools, cities and private agencies that promise to put people to work.