Kane County plans financial workshops, jobs for some

Area residents struggling with finances and finding it difficult to keep their homes may benefit from a series of workshops from Kane County's Department of Employment and Education. Younger residents seeking employment have an extended opportunity through federal stimulus funds to snag a local job.

The Money Smart workshop will be hosted by Juliana Hackel, a personal finance expert with Harris Bank of North America. Hackel will lead several sessions focusing on budgeting, managing credit card debt and making car and home equity loans work when times are tight.

"These sessions are to enhance people's money skills and help them create positive financial situations in these tough times," said KCDEE Marketing Coordinator Dee Reinhardt. "With so many people not having jobs, they need to understand how to use credit cards effectively without getting into a financial hole."

Unemployment insurance and a making-homes-affordable session will concentrate on people who have either lost their jobs or a significant portion of their family income and are struggling to keep a roof over their heads. There are two workshop dates residents may participate in. The first begins at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Illinois workNet Center in Elgin, 30 DuPage Court. The second series begins at 9 a.m. Nov. 17 at the Illinois workNet Center in North Aurora, 2 Smoke Tree Plaza. More information about attending the sessions is at kcdee.org.

The department also still has opportunities available for people 18 to 24 to take advantage of a federal youth program that uses stimulus money to create jobs. KCDEE is seeking people interested in the program and area businesses who have a position available, but not the money to pay the salary. Under the federal program, stimulus money pays the entire salary of the youth while employed by the business through March 31, 2010.

The program is only open to people who are not currently in school.

"This gives a business owner an opportunity to hire someone and train them on our dime," Reinhardt said. "And then it also gives a young person job experience they can add to their resume. When they are done, we're very much interested in them finishing their high school diploma and going to college or a trade school."

During the summer, when the program was open to even younger workers, KCDEE found jobs for more than 400 area youth at more than 125 work sites in Kane, Kendall and DeKalb counties.

Youth or businesses interested in learning more about the opportunity can go to the KCDEE Web site or call (630) 859-9923, Ext. 2.