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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 29, 2018)
SIUSLAW NEWS | WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018 | 7A ACCOUNT from page 1A “Goodwill supports IDAs that help you get a job, get a better job or keep the job you have,” Duquette said. “That’s our mis- sion — assist individuals to overcome barriers to employ- ment. We work with individuals who have something going on in their life that keeps them from being able to gain or maintain employment.” One of the first IDAs shep- herded through Goodwill is dental work, which can present a large barrier to finding gainful employment, particularly in the interview process, Duquette ex- plained. “The dental program is called ‘First Impressions’ because we know an employer makes a deci- sion within the first 90 seconds if they’re going to hire you,” Duquette said. “The rest of the interview is confirming or de- bunking their initial impression. We’re a very appearance-ori- ented society. You need a good smile to help people be set up for success.” For those already employed, Duquette found that many workers put off dental work until it negatively affects their TAHKENITCH LAKE FLOAT HOMES Water Access Only Getaway on the lake… contact Jerilyn McCullough or Randy Paredes CB#11698/MLS#18304061 CB#11700/MLS#18209847 541-997-7777 100 Highway 101, Florence, OR 97439 cbcoast.com COAST REAL ESTATE See Jim for your auto sales needs! 2150 Hwy. 101 • Florence (541) 997-3475 • 1-800-348-3475 work, with the pain becoming so extreme that it hinders their employment. The savings time frame for the dental IDA is shorter, with a much broader matching grant, 5:1. If a person saves $600 in no less than 6 months, they will be awarded $3,000. If they save $1,000 in 12 to 18 months, they will receive a $5,000 match. “Before you get accepted into the program, we have to have a written estimate by the dentist and a treatment plan,” Duquette said. “Most of the time, it’s quite extreme. I actually had an indi- vidual who is applying for her second dental IDA. The total bill was $15,000 for all the work because she needed multiple im- plants, and that’s with insurance paying.” IDAs can also be used to pur- chase a vehicle to get to and from work. “Transportation is a huge bar- rier to employment, especially if you’re out in somewhere like Florence,” Duquette said. “If there’s only so many employ- ment opportunities in your im- mediate area, sometimes you have to travel or commute. We recognize that.” The vehicle IDA is a 3:1 basis. If a person saves $2,000 over the span of one year and one day, they will receive $6,000 in addi- tional funds. If they save $3,000 in two years and one day, they will receive $9,000 additional funds. The two-year investment would end up giving someone $12,000 to buy a new car. “It could also be very good for a down payment,” Duquette said. “I see a lot of people who have good credit, but they just don’t have the disposable in- come to be able to buy a new car. By using $12,000 as a down pay- ment, that puts a $23,000 vehicle down into the range where they can afford the payments.” If a person purchases a car that costs less than what they have saved in their IDA, they can use the remainder toward car insurance for up to six months. IDAs can also be used for education, including four-year colleges, community colleges, certification programs and con- tinuing education. “These are for accredited pro- grams, but they don’t have to be for college,” Duquette said. “If someone wants to go after their commercial driving license or become a certified nursing as- sistant, programs are available. If someone wants to go to beau- ty school and it is an accredit- ed program, people can use an IDA for it, even if the program does not offer traditional finan- cial aid.” Duquette pointed out that careers often require additional study, such as advanced train- ing that would further career goals. “For example, with massage therapy, if they want to study other modalities, like acupres- sure, the cost of that training can be used with their IDA,” Duquette said. Massage therapy is popular among people seeking IDAs. “It’s a non-credit pro- gram, but it is a growth field,” Duquette said. “If they’re go- ing just for a certificate or li- cense-based program that does not accept financial aid, then it can only be used for tuition, fees and educational expenses such as supplies. No cost of liv- ing, no personal expenses.” However, IDAs can be used for cost of living expenses for colleges and universities. “If the education that they are pursuing qualifies for finan- cial aid, it’s a credit program,” Duquette said. “If they’re going after nursing, and it qualifies for financial aid, they can use it for the cost of attendance. Cost of attendance is tuition, fees, living expenses, transportation, books. That all goes into cost of attendance.” For certification IDAs, $360 will be matched with $1,080 af- ter 6 to 18 months. For education, $1,000 saved in at least six months will net $3,000 in matched grants; $2,000 in 12 to 24 months will be $6,000; and $3,000 in 24 to 36 months will be $9,000. When a person applies for an IDA, they will be asked exactly why they need one. For example, if someone is looking for education assistance, they would be asked what par- ticular field they are pursuing, and why. “How is this going to make you more employable?” asked Duquette. “Why is this going to help you get a job, get a better job or keep the job you have?” They will then be asked why they need the IDA and what their particular financial cir- cumstances are that would re- quire assistance. To qualify for the program, a number of prerequisites must be met, the first being income. For residents of Lane County, the maximum household in- come is $38,000 for a one-per- son family, $44,250 for a two-person family and $49,800 for the three-person family. In- come thresholds go up from there, depending on the size of the household. Second, applicants will go through an asset assessment. “We ask you to list your cur- rent assets, the things that you own, and then take a look at the things that you owe,” Duquette said. “If you still have students loans you’re still paying on, we want the big scary number. We want the principal you bor- rowed, and the interest. That’s what you owe.” They subtract the liabilities from the assets, and if the num- ber is $20,000 or less, the person qualifies. In addition, the IDAs are not solely geared toward younger in- dividuals looking to get a leg up in the world. If a retiree is work- ing 15 hours a week, for exam- ple, they too would be eligible for the program. “This works for people who want to supplement their in- come,” Duquette said. “They work because they don’t want to stay at home, or they want to be more sociable. Even though whatever income they have is enough to sustain them, it’s not enough to do any kind of build- ing of wealth and assets. If they need a car to supplement their income to work, which happens a lot, and the car that they have is not going to survive, they could qualify.” Having a job is also not a pre- requisite to receive an IDA, as long as an individual has earned or unearned income, like unem- ployment. “If you are not employed but are looking for a job and just ha- ven’t found one, we’ll work with you,” Duquette said. She pointed out that the new Goodwill retail store in Flor- ence, 1310 Highway 101, has a job connection office to help with resumes and interviewing. Another requirement for an IDA is that an individual main- tains Oregon residency. If the person moves out of state per- manently, the IDA is cashed out. However, this is not to say that someone living outside the state could lose the IDA. “If you are going to California to go to school, and you main- tain your Oregon residence, you can continue with your IDA,” Duquette said. “That’s good for a lot of young adults whose par- ents are still in state and main- taining that Oregon residence.” There are other requirements, including the ability to pay a minimum of $25 a month into the IDA, retirement funds for the household cannot exceed $60,000 and participants cannot have any judgements, garnish- ments or lawsuits. Once the application is ap- proved, eight hours of financial training is required. “This is stuff to help you im- prove your finances,” Duquette said. “We want you to do it be- fore your IDA, so you can see your improvement along the way. By the time you graduate, we want you to have this knowl- edge and develop a savings hab- it, so that hopefully you won’t have a need to use the program again.” There are multiple ways to take the training, from fee-based online services to free one-on- one sessions with Goodwill staff. While the program works out a savings plan with individuals to set aside monthly payments, it’s possible for people to pay the full amount before the IDA ma- tures. In that instance, individ- uals will be required to make a minimum monthly payment of $25 to keep the IDA active. “That’s to keep the savings habit going,” Duquette said. But what if someone de- cides they don’t need to follow through with their IDA? “If at nine months, someone gives you a car or you get in a relationship with someone with a car, whatever you have depos- ited is yours,” Duquette said. “Any interest accrued is yours, though that would be very lit- tle. You can walk away from the program and get everything you invested back. The match funds go back into the pool.” Overall, Duquette said that she hopes that people in rural communities discover the op- portunities that IDAs can pro- vide. For more information on Goodwill’s IDAs, and to begin the process to sign up for one, Duquette will be holding an in- formation meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 25, at 9:30 a.m. at Siu- slaw Public Library’s Bromley Room, located at 1460 Ninth St. in Florence. For those who can’t at- tend, Duquette is available at trystad@goodwill-oregon.org or 541-431-3307. Visit us on the web T HE S IUSLAW N EWS . COM CONCEALED CARRY PERMIT CLASS MULTI-STATE WA MT ME ND VT MN OR ID WI SD NY MI WY IA PA NE NV IL UT CO CA AZ OH IN OK NM MO VA KY NC TN AR SC MS AL NJ MD WV KS GA TX LA NH MA CT RI DE September 5th March 2 1pm & 6pm 1 pm Event & 6 pm Florence Center Vancouver Trap St. Club 715 Quince 11100 NE 76th Street Walk-in’s welcome. FL AK HONORED RESIDENT NON PERMIT NOT HONORED Multi-State: Multi-State: $80.00 $80.00 Valid in Included Washington Oregon No Fee Oregon Included No Fee Oregon Only: $45.00 Oregon Only: $45.00 Shaun Curtain 360-921-2071 or email: FirearmTrainingNW@gmail.com | www.FirearmTrainingNW.com