WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $1.5 million in grant funding to Florida’s Department of Commerce to assist people affected by the health and economic effects of widespread opioid use, addiction and overdose.The opioid epidemic has significantly affected Florida’s workforce, with opioids involved in over 6,000 fatal overdoses in 2022, as well as contributing to absenteeism, increased healthcare costs, turnover, loss of productivity and shortages of treatment providers and facilities.Overseen by the department’s Employment and Training Administration, the National Health Emergency Dislocated Worker Grant will serve people in 21 counties across Florida by creating disaster-relief positions to address the shortage of health and counseling services available to individuals impacted by the opioid crisis.“The Employment and Training Administration is committed to ensuring Florida workers affected by the opioid crisis have access to assistance that will help their communities address the unique impacts of this complex public health crisis,” said Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training José Javier Rodríguez. “This Dislocated Worker Grant provides critical support to Florida by providing jobs to affected workers and training in the areas of addiction treatment, mental health and pain management.”Funds will also support employment and training services for workers experiencing unemployment and other workforce barriers resulting from the opioid crisis. Six workforce development boards will operate the project, serving eligible participants in Baker, Bay, Brevard, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Franklin, Gulf, Hillsborough, Lake, Manatee, Nassau, Orange, Osceola, Pinellas, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, Sumter and Volusia counties.In October 2017, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declared the opioid crisis a national public health emergency, enabling Florida to request this funding.Supported by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014, Dislocated Worker Grants temporarily expand the service capacity of dislocated worker programs at the state and local levels by providing funding assistance in response to large, unexpected economic events that cause significant job losses.