State Senator Carole Migden (D-San Francisco) announced Tuesday, January 29 that's she secured a $300,000 grant from the state's Employment Development Department to assist transgender people in finding work.

Migden made the announcement during an afternoon news conference in front of City Hall that included LGBT community leaders.

Transgender people often face high rates of discrimination, unemployment and under-employment, and poverty. According to a statement from Migden's office, the money will be used to help transgender people hone their interviewing skills, write resumes, and network with others.

At the news conference, Migden indicated that it's time to change what is often a challenging employment readiness situation for transgender individuals.

"San Francisco has always been a city that prides itself on expanding our definition of inclusiveness," she said.

Jewish Vocational Services, which works with diverse groups of people and is already part of the city's Transgender Economic Empowerment Initiative, will help steer the efforts. TEEI is a collaboration between JVS, the LGBT Community Center, the Transgender Law Center, and the city.

It's not certain yet how the grant will be used, but Abby Snay, JVS executive director, said there are plenty of needs to address, including more computer training, intensive case management, and helping people who are learning English as a second language.

"Our role is working directly with people in the transgender community to help them identify the kind of work they want to do and be successful in achieving it," Snay said in a phone interview before the news conference.

Masen Davis, executive director of the Transgender Law Center, said he was "absolutely thrilled" with the grant. With the help of the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the center surveyed 194 transgender people in 2006. According to their report, only 25 percent of transgender people were working full-time, and almost 60 percent of respondents were earning less than $15,300 a year.

Migden told the Bay Area Reporter that she hopes the state will "anchor this program into permanent state funding as long as the need continues."

Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, said hopefully "this will be a model ... we can expand around the state."

Rebecca Rolfe, interim executive director of the LGBT Community Center, said it hasn't yet been determined whether the grant money will come in one chunk, or whether it will be spread out over intervals.

Members of the collaborative hope that the city will continue to help fund their effort as well. As previously reported, Supervisors Chris Daly and Bevan Dufty were instrumental in securing funds for TEEI, which officially launched last summer. After Tuesday's news conference Daly told the B.A.R. he is "personally committed to ensuring ongoing local support" for helping transgender people find employment opportunities.

Many at the event praised Migden for her efforts. Robert Haaland, co-chair of the San Francisco chapter of the LGBT labor group Pride at Work, said Migden "really persisted in showing leadership" in Sacramento on the issue. Migden said it was Haaland who first told her about the "great need" for funding. Haaland said he was prompted by cuts in funding for transgender programs at the University of California, San Francisco. Last year, UCSF ceded the final year of a $450,000-a-year federal contract that provided counseling and other services to the city's health department. That program has been redesigned and is now under the leadership of the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center.

Patrick Henning, director of the state's Employment Development Department, said Migden had shown dedication, tenacity, and leadership "when it counts and how it counts."