Funding comes from a grant awarded to AMIkids in June, 2014 from U.S. Department of Labor

CLINTON, SC – AMIkids Piedmont announces that it has been awarded funding to develop vocational training and job placement programs provided by the grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor to AMIkids earlier this year. The training will provide AMIkids Piedmont students the certifications and tools they need to be job-ready when they complete the program, qualifying them for immediate employment.

The awardees were determined by a proposal process that 25 of AMIkids' programs responded to.

In addition to AMIkids Piedmont, the South Carolina recipients of the grant include:

• AMIkids Bennettsville (Bennettsville, SC)
• AMIkids White Pines (Jonesville, SC)

The Vocational Training and Job Placement initiative will initially focus on four key industries, healthcare, information technology, construction and skilled crafts, and food service, with 100% of the government funding going towards this initiative. Students at these AMIkids programs will have the opportunity to select their desired path that best fits their skills and interests.

"These programs will help our kids earn industry-recognized certifications that will provide the tools they need to complete our programs job-ready to benefit local businesses and strengthen our communities by adding qualified talent to the local workforce," said O.B. Stander, President & CEO of AMIkids. "We look forward to the opportunity to eventually implement this training in all of our programs to positively impact as many kids as possible and strengthen our communities with youth ready to contribute in a meaningful way."

AMIkids is looking for additional funding to implement the vocational training and job placement to all of its programs in South Carolina, and hopes that with the successful implementation of career-focused training and the outcome of kids ready to join the talented workforce, funding will be made available to benefit the kids at the remaining South Carolina programs in Seabrook, Georgetown, and Patrick.

"At AMIkids Piedmont, our goal is to provide our students with the tools they need to become productive citizens," said Steven Crisp, Executive Director of AMIkids Piedmont. "Being awarded this grant allows us to provide our kids with the tools to become work-ready before leaving our program."

"We are extremely excited about this opportunity and the impact this workforce preparation program will have on our kids,"Crisp added.

This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Association, providing community service organizations to provide employment, training, and support services to successfully re-integrate formerly incarcerated adults and youth involved in the juvenile justice system into their communities. Twenty-one grants totaling more than $44 million were awarded as part of the second round of the Face Forward initiative in June, 2014.

In their work to help kids transform their lives, AMIkids relies on support from the local community through donations, volunteers and board service. To learn more about available opportunities or to make a donation, visit www.AMIkids.org.