WORC works with the U.S. Department of Labor to expand the impact of existing workforce development initiatives and to support workforce training and education in rural communities.
From 2019 to 2022, DRA communities received 44 WORC grants, totaling over $57 million in grant funding, serving 12,426 participants.
The DRA was established in 2000 as a formal framework for joint Federal-State collaboration to promote and encourage the economic development of the lower Mississippi River and Alabama Black Belt regions. To fulfill this purpose, DRA invests in projects supporting transportation infrastructure, basic public infrastructure, workforce training, and business development. DRA works to create jobs, build communities, and improve the lives of those that reside in the region. DRA’s region encompasses 252 counties and parishes in parts of Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee.
DRA’s enabling legislation dictates that at least 75% of DRA’s funds must be invested in economically distressed counties and parishes and isolated areas within non-distressed counties and parishes. In addition, half of DRA’s funds must support transportation infrastructure and basic public infrastructure.
Delta Regional Authority
236 Sharkey Avenue, Suite 400
Clarksdale, MS 38614
