​Waterford, Michigan – Oakland County and Oakland County Michigan Works! today announced a partnership with the Oakland Livingston Human Service Agency (OLHSA) to provide free, confidential financial coaching to county residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Starting June 15, trained financial coaches will work with clients to assess their financial wellness, identify realistic budget goals and solutions, and create customized action plans for them to follow. Coaches will remain in close contact to monitor customer progress and keep them on track to enhanced financial security.

“Millions of people in our state impacted by COVID-19 have filed for unemployment over the past few months, including tens of thousands in our county,” said Oakland County Executive David Coulter. “We know this has led to financial concerns for many residents. The trained financial coaches are ready to help people establish budgets and make other choices to help stabilize their finances. I thank the Oakland County Board of Commissioners for approving the funding for this critical program.”

To meet social distancing requirements, financial coaches will initially be available via phone and virtual appointment only. Interested residents can schedule an appointment at 1-248-858-5520 or their nearest Oakland County Michigan Works! location. Oakland County Michigan Works! service centers will resume in-person appointments sometime later this year.

Program participants will receive budget guides and other resource materials to track their progress. Financial coaches also will make referrals to additional county and community resources as needed. Virtual and in-person financial wellness workshops are being planned as well.

“We’re very excited to be partnering with OLHSA to launch this important program during this time of uncertainty,” said Jennifer Llewellyn, director of Oakland County Michigan Works! “Their financial coaches will bring a wealth of knowledge to this program, as well as a portfolio of programming and partnerships that will help ensure client success.”

Five financial coaches will be available to meet with residents and are assigned to work with the teams at the Oakland County Michigan Works! service centers, as well as the Oakland County Community & Home Improvement Division.

“We’re pleased to be part of this financial recovery partnership with Oakland County and Oakland County Michigan Works!” said OLHSA Chief Executive Officer Susan Harding. “Securing financial health, along with providing access to asset development techniques and opportunities to be connected to vital services, is critical for community members impacted by the pandemic to fully recover. OLHSA’s financial coaches use a strengths-based approach that’s a supportive collaboration with residents to pave the way to achieve financial success.”

Financial coaching is one of many services Oakland County Michigan Works! offers to help residents impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic move forward from the crisis, Llewellyn said. It is expected many people will be looking for new career opportunities soon and the trained staff at Oakland County Michigan Works! offers counseling sessions on resume development and interviewing tips and techniques by phone and virtual appointment.

A virtual workshop program for job seekers is available, covering a variety of topics from resume building to using LinkedIn and gig job opportunities to career transitions. For more information, visit www.OaklandCountyMIWorks.com.

Oakland County Michigan Works! operates service centers in Novi, Oak Park, Pontiac, Southfield, Troy and Waterford. Combined, they assist more than 105,000 job seekers annually. Services include career coaching, interviewing and job search workshops, placement assistance, training courses and job trend information.

The service centers also assist more than 3,000 employers seeking assistance with talent recruitment, apprenticeship programs, job fairs, candidate pre-screening, hiring and training support, layoff support and labor market data.

Service center staffs remain available by virtual appointment to work one-on-one with job seekers to build their resumes, prepare for job interviews and help address other needs. To schedule a virtual meeting, call 1-248-858-5520. The service centers are hosting several virtual workshops for job seekers. A schedule can be found at www.OaklandCountyMIWorks.com.

​Pontiac, Michigan – The Oakland County Health Division and Oakland Schools are collaborating on a $2 million COVID-19 school nurse initiative which aims to give students, parents, school faculty and staff confidence that they will be safe when school resumes in the fall.

The Oakland Together School Nurse Initiative will assist schools with public health strategies and direction to prevent the spread of the highly contagious coronavirus. School nurses will provide communication, training, consultation and recommendations to school districts when students return for classes in the fall. The Health Division plans to hire 68 nurses to work with schools through December, Oakland County Executive David Coulter said today.

“We know the concern the virus has caused among students, parents, school faculty and staff,” Coulter said. “We are working closely with our partners at Oakland Schools to provide prevention strategies that will allow our schools to resume the important work of educating our young people. We want everyone to have confidence we are doing everything we can to provide a safe and healthy learning environment.”

Dr. Wanda Cook-Robinson, superintendent of Oakland Schools, said the partnership comes at an important time for education and families.

“After the child’s home, school represents the second most influential environment in a child’s life,“ Cook-Robinson said. “We are excited to be partnering with the Oakland County Health Division to bring the Oakland Together School Nurse Initiative to our students, parents, teachers and staff. Nurses working in the schools will have a crucial role in supporting health services to children and youth during this pandemic as they will be instrumental in implementing practices that will help prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

The county Board of Commissioners is expected to consider the request when it meets in two weeks. Funding would come from the federal CARES Act. The program is believed to be the first of its kind in the state.

The program has three components, which include communication, training, consultation and
recommendations. Nurses would meet with individual districts to update them on COVID-19 activity in the community, provide prevention strategies for high-risk children and connect parents to additional resourced as

Students would be instructed on social distancing strategies, hand washing, health screening and
planning for what may come next in the pandemic. Other focus areas include:

• Assist school districts in creating and implementing health screening protocols
• Assist schools to identify and create sick/isolation rooms
• Create educational messages on the importance of prevention and staying home when sick
• Provide access to COVID-19 resources for students, parents, teachers and staff

The school nurse initiative is the latest in a series of moves Coulter, with support from the board, has undertaken to support business, non-profits and local communities during the pandemic.

Coulter moved aggressively to help struggling small businesses through the allocation of nearly $14 million to 3,500 small businesses seriously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Grants averaged nearly $4,000 from the small business stabilization fund. The “Saving Businesses,
Saving Lives” grant is included in the nearly $14 million fund.

The county recently began distributing 10,000 “Oakland Together” COVID-19 safety kits which include facemasks, no-touch thermometers, gloves and sanitizer to give small businesses essential materials for reopening and customers confidence they will have a safe experience. The toolkits were available to small businesses, faith-based and nonprofit organizations. The popularity of the kits has prompted the county to prepare another 5,000 kits for distribution.

Oakland County set aside $30 million from their allocation of CARES Act funds for cities, townships, and villages impacted by COVID-19.