Help for Koreans

The Employment Development Department has been very active in the Los Angeles community since the civil unrest of nearly a year ago. In addition to our regular programs, the community has benefited from a $35 million Los Angeles recovery program created by Gov. Pete Wilson last May that includes a public service employment (PSE) component.

By the end of February, nearly 1,100 people affected by the civil unrest and other long-term unemployed from the area had been placed in PSE jobs; 148 had gone on to unsubsidized employment, and 21 others had been placed in training.

You recently reported that a study by the Korean American Inter-Agency Council suggests the EDD has not been responsive to the needs of the Korean-American community since the civil unrest occurred. In fact, 95 Asians have been hired through the PSE program, many of them monolingual-speaking Koreans and other Asians. Bilingual Koreans were hired to assist in translation of information and forms, to conduct surveys of available community resources for the affected area and to perform other tasks.

In addition to the PSE program, Los Angeles residents affected by the civil unrest have benefited from nearly $5 million paid in regular unemployment insurance benefits and another $6 million in federally funded disaster unemployment assistance benefits.

THOMAS P. NAGLE, Director

Employment Development Department

Sacramento