On Wednesday, February 26, at 7:30 pm, the New Rochelle Corporation for Local Development (CLD) will meet to discuss, and possibly vote on, a resolution to renew the annual $250,000 contract with Westhab’s First Source Referral Center (FSRC) for job referral services.

The City contracts with Westhab’s FSRC “to coordinate referrals from multiple sources in and around the City of New Rochelle and refer qualified workers to certain employers in the City of New Rochelle,” according to the CLD agenda packet.

FSRC’s origins lie in the Economic Opportunity and Nondiscrimination Policy unanimously adopted by City Council in 2016 after the 2015 rezoning of the downtown and the signing of the Master Development Agreement with RXR.

The Policy recognizes “the significant job opportunities that will likely be generated by the redevelopment of Downtown New Rochelle and increasing development around the City,” and “calls for specific and workable commitments based on best practices from around the country.”

Data is misleading

FSRC reporting includes the number of residents placed in jobs, employers who hire them, whether they are union or non-union, if they are full or part-time jobs, hourly wages, and job titles. It is not contractually required to collect and report job retention data.  This is a critical flaw in the City’s contract with Westhab and is not best practice. 

Without job retention information, a person FSRC places in a job that lasts a week, for example, could be placed in another job lasting a week and be counted as two successful job placements. This misleads policymakers and the public into thinking that the workforce program is more successful than it actually is.

Including retention metrics is essential in helping the City Council evaluate whether the services provided by Westhab are leading to sustainable employment for New Rochelle residents. A focus on retention  will directly contribute to better outcomes for the New Rochelle community and overall long-term economic stability.

Like many other municipalities, New York City follows best practices and its Workforce Data Portal emphasizes the significance of such metrics, stating:

“These common metrics provide detailed criteria for workforce program outcomes in Employment (Full- and Part-Time Job Placements, Job Retention, Job Continuity)…”

New Rochelle first hired Westhab to provide employment services through the FSRC on March 30, 2017.  With their contract now up for renewal, the CLD has the opportunity to modify the agreement to include metrics that provide detailed criteria for workforce program outcomes and have that information publicly available each quarter.