OTTUMWA — One of the basic requirements for self-sufficiency is having a job — but it can be tough to find the people who need services most.

A possible answer is cooperation between Iowa Workforce Development and local, community-based organizations already helping those in need. The new program is called ICAP — Iowa Career Access Point — and one of these points is now operating in Ottumwa.

“It’s a partnership between the crisis center and Iowa Workforce Development,” said Cheryl Brown, executive director of the Crisis Center and Women’s Shelter.

A computer has been installed by IWD at the crisis center’s public office on Church Street, an office Brown said was opened through funding from the United Way. There is also a computer at the shelter’s confidential location.

During an open house at the crisis center Wednesday, Randy Clark, the IWD regional manager, said his team has trained volunteers to use those computers to help clients access employment services.

That includes being able to view the “job bank,” which lists more than 19,000 jobs, said IWD Deputy Director Joe Walsh.

“With ICAP, we can go where people go for help,” he said. “We can [work with] community- and faith-based organizations where the people are.”

Walsh said many people see IWD as “the unemployment office,” and that’s just not the case. Those without job skills can get connected to training, or learn how to interview for a job, or even get help with a resume.

“This link here,” he said, pointing at the crisis center computer, “is the connection to those services.”

Clark said basic services will be available at the access points — the next one is scheduled to go in at the Ottumwa Community Outreach Center in mid-September — but will not replace the 55 regional offices located throughout the state.

Walsh said these small outposts will be able to target those who really need employment services, including people who may not feel comfortable walking into a formal “government office.”

Brown said all of these factors make an Iowa Career Access Point a perfect fit for her organization, which is why she said she was so pleased when the state approached her.

“In order to take care of yourself, you have to have employment,” she said. “To me, it’s a safety issue, of being self sufficient and safe.”

Mark Newman can be reached at 683-5358 or by e-mail at mgnewman@mchsi.com.