Skip to main content
Barrier Removal and Employment Success (BRES)

Barrier Removal and Employment Success (BRES)

BRES Request for Proposals (RFP) update: Grant recipients announced

Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) announced 27 recipients of the $14.4 million in Barrier Removal and Employment Success Expansion Grant funding to remove barriers to employment for more Michiganders.

 

Learn more

Through the Barrier Removal and Employment Success (BRES) program, the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity, Workforce Development (LEO-WD) provides additional funding to support the employment and reemployment of at-risk individuals and the removal of barriers to employment for low-income, poor, and working poor citizens of Michigan.

Who BRES Supports

  • teen worker coffee shop generic

    The BRES program supports at-risk individuals to help them secure and retain long-term, meaningful employment. Often this population, especially those currently working but in low wages jobs, are not eligible for other assistance or job support programs. They are often referred to as the Asset Limited Income Constrained Employed (ALICE) population. The ALICE population are households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level, yet still struggling to make ends meet or are one crisis away from poverty. Despite struggling to make ends meet, ALICE households often do not qualify for public assistance.

    BRES provides additional supportive services to job seekers currently participating in LEO-WD workforce education or training programs where supportive service funding is limited or unavailable. These funds are intended to address and remove barriers preventing them from taking a job or staying in a job if they are currently employed.

    Supporting employment and removing barriers to employment for these populations has a profound impact on their economic well-being.

Close up of crayons in a glass container with a child's hand coloring next to them.

Wrap-around Supports

Eligible Michiganders receive wrap-around services which include:

  • Transportation (public, auto purchase, insurance, repairs, etc.)
  • Housing (mortgage payments, rent, utility payments, etc.)
  • Child Care
  • Clothing
  • Work Tools and Equipment
  • Training Materials, Textbooks, Tools and Supplies
  • Fees (union dues, test fees, licensing, bonding, and background checks)
  • Legal Services (expungement of criminal record)
  • And many others

Supporting LEO’s Strategic Goals

BRES helps close equity gaps by improving the economic security of at-risk, low-income workers through greater opportunities for stable, long-term employment and better wages. It helps grow the middle class by removing barriers to employment. BRES also creates better jobs and support small businesses by assisting workers who may otherwise not be able to find or hold a job on their own to become employed, stay employed, and be part of Michigan’s labor force.

BRES Award Grantees