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New York State Insurance Fund Executive Director James J. Wrynn congratulated NYSIF policyholders who received youth education and training grants from the U.S. Department of Labor this summer and announced that NYSIF has extended an offer to assist these organizations with on-site youth worker safety training services.
“As with any policyholder, NYSIF offers free workplace safety training to help workers avoid work-related injuries,” NYSIF Executive Director Wrynn said. “As the state’s largest workers’ compensation insurance carrier, we have one of the most qualified teams of safety and loss control specialists anywhere. We congratulate these organizations and invite them to take advantage of the expertise we offer, while putting their grant money to use in other important areas.”
Approximately $114 million in grants announced by U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis went to 183 community organizations nationwide in the department’s YouthBuild program. The program helps out-of-school youth to obtain their diplomas or GEDs while providing occupational training in the construction industry.
NYSIF reached out with a written invitation to grantees in New York State who hold NYSIF workers’ compensation insurance policies, inviting them to have a NYSIF safety specialist conduct on-site training geared toward construction safety for young people and teen worker safety in general.
The YouthBuild program helps at-risk youth acquire leadership skills and participate in community service while building and renovating affordable housing in their communities.
“This seemed like a ‘natural’ for us,” Executive Director Wrynn said. “We’ve been in business since 1914, so we certainly know our way around a construction site and how to keep workers, young and old, from getting hurt. Helping our policyholders control their workers’ compensation costs with effective risk management and safety programs is all we do.”
With about 37% of the workers’ compensation market in New York, NYSIF has a large base of construction company policies and the expertise within the industry to help young people work safely on construction sites. At 56, NYSIF has among the largest number of New York State Department of Labor Certified Safety Consultants on staff, and has partnered with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in providing certified outreach training across a broad spectrum of general industry.
“We may have one of New York’s best kept secrets, but not among our policyholders,” Wrynn said. “Our safety consultants are world-class. We are eager for these YouthBuild awardees to take advantage of our safety services.”
YouthBuild program participants include individuals who have been in the juvenile justice system, foster care, high school drop-outs and others. According to DOL, many are learning “green building techniques, assisting with retrofitting existing homes, and discovering how to make their communities sustainable and environmentally friendly.
YouthBuild grantees include workforce investment boards, faith-based and community groups, and local and nonprofit housing development agencies.
NYSIF is a non-profit organization of the State of New York that was created as part of the Workers' Compensation Law of 1914. By law, NYSIF is a competitive insurance carrier that sells workers' compensation and disability benefits insurance to any employer doing business in New York State. Approximately 185,000 employers hold NYSIF workers' compensation insurance policies, constituting about 37 percent of the market.
NYSIF policyholders receiving YouthBuild grants with regular and American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding include: Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation, Brooklyn Chautauqua Home Rehabilitation and Improvement Corporation, Mayville Youth Action programs and Homes Inc., New York City Abyssinian Development Corporation, New York City Nubian Directions II Inc, Poughkeepsie Urban League of Rochester Jubilee Homes of Syracuse Inc Western New York AmeriCorps Fund, West Seneca United Way of Long Island Inc, Deer Park