INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Gov. Mike Pence says an executive order placing a state office that promotes volunteerism under the authority of the agency that administers unemployment benefits is not a precursor to requiring out-of-work Indiana residents to volunteer to receive benefits.
Pence tells The Times of Munster the move was aimed at improving government operations.
The April 7 order renames the Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives to Serve Indiana and places it within the Department of Workforce Development.
But Pence says a 2013 federal study looking at 10 years of data on the volunteer habits of the unemployed provides “real evidence” that volunteering is an excellent way for those out of work to find jobs.
