The Department of Community & Workforce Development (CWD) connects people to a network of supports and services essential for learning, working, living and thriving in Pima County. The core values of the newly formed department are customer service, continuous improvement, empathy, and pragmatism.
CWD develops community partnerships with local, state and federal agencies, non-profits, faith-based organizations and the private sector to increase wide-ranging resources and people’s access to them.
CWD was launched July 1, 2020, with the consolidation of two departments – Community Services, Employment and Training, and Community Development and Neighborhood Conservation. Those departments traditionally provided community resources through grant and general fund budgets, addressing areas such as housing, emergency services, homelessness, youth programs, employment and job training, and business services. (Read County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry's memorandum on the consolidation.)
CWD will continue to do all that, now with a single point of contact for those attempting to navigate resources and services.
The Community & Workforce Development department will have seven divisions:
- Outside Agency
- Community Development
- Community Services
- Homeless Services
- Workforce Development
- Youth Development
- Administration (policies/plans/reports/boards)
With CWD’s divisions having wrap-around and crossover resources, CWD’s organization of public service is distilled into four areas. (More information on each area is available at the tabs at the bottom of this page.)
Here is how we are here to help:
LIVE
The Pima County Housing Center is the starting point to obtain resources and information on sustainable and affordable housing. The Center provides guidance and support to find trusted help during hard financial times, as well as information on purchasing a home, finding affordable rentals, and many other housing-related services. Home repair assistance is available to qualified low-income families with a child under 6 in the household. And for those experiencing homelessness, Homeless Services administers multiple local, state and federally funded grant programs to address homelessness and pathways toward self-sufficiency. Resources are braided and customized to serve families, youth, and veterans providing hope by seeing the person, not the situation, to best manage and understand the crisis.
During COVID-19
The Pima County
Community Action Agency has a new hotline at 520-724-2505 to serve those seeking aid via the COVID-19 Rental Eviction Assistance Program that is funded through the Arizona Department of Housing.
THRIVE
Pima County invests in our youth in a variety of ways, including through Pima Vocational High School and Las Artes, Arts and Education Center. The Youth Development program assists in many more methods: employability classes, shelter, job training and job search assistance, as well as targeting at-risk youths to prevent their involvement in gang violence. The County also invests in our community through the Neighborhood Reinvestment Program, which promotes stability and revitalizes stressed neighborhoods though small community-based capital improvement projects such as sidewalks, park improvements, and street lighting improvements. Launched in 2015 through the Pima County Economic Development Plan, Ending Poverty Now (EPN) is a framework in which County departments, community-based organizations, grassroots groups, and for-profit businesses collaborate to apply strategies proven to build greater economic prosperity.
WORK
The ARIZONA@WORK Pima County One-Stop system focuses on the customer, bringing together workforce development, education, and other human resource services. Start here if you need job training, job leads or help navigating the state’s online application for Unemployment Insurance benefits. The One-Stop also collaborates through Business Services to help businesses recruit and retain qualified employees at all skill levels. The 45-member Workforce Investment Board of Pima County oversees the ARIZONA@WORK Pima County One-Stop system and seeks to identify and open career pathways in order to connect employment seekers to training and then to employers.
During COVID-19
Call the One-Stop's Dislocated Worker Hotline at 520-724-5735 to discover back-to-work and community resources available to those who experienced or face job loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In cooperation with the statewide
ARIZONA@WORK network, Pima County offers planning tools, training, and job leads that can help you return to the workforce with new skills.
Download and share the Hotline flyer.
Visit
PimaWorks.com as a one-stop resource in response to the economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
SAFETY NETwork
Multiple agencies within the County and through the Outside Agency Program provide a wide array of assistance, including with rent, utilities, food security and other basic needs for low-income individuals and families. For the public, the Community Action Agency is an initial point of contact to access a network of alliances to prevent homelessness, unhealthy living conditions, and to promote self-sufficiency.