Unemployment Insurance Navigator program
In early 2024, the Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) distributed $2.1 million in U.S. Department of Labor funds to community organizations to help potential unemployment claimants in underserved communities better understand available benefits.
Nine community-based organizations in Washington received grant money from ESD’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) Navigator program.
Staff from these organizations, called UI Navigators, aim to help ESD lower or remove barriers to unemployment benefits in local communities. They also work closely with ESD to ensure benefits are available and accessible to all qualified workers.
After a federal grant for the UI Navigator program ended in May 2025, the state legislature announced it would fund the program for one year effective July 1, 2025.
The funding extended contracts with UI Navigators to continue services and provide outreach to their communities.
Grant recipients
- Chinese Information and Service Center provides comprehensive services to support immigrants and their families by creating opportunities for them to succeed, while honoring their heritage.
- Drivers Union is a multiracial and multilingual organization of drivers who work for app-based personal transportation platforms. Its purpose is to promote economic security, fairness, justice and transparency for workers in Washington’s personal transportation industry and beyond.
- Korean Community Service Center, established in 1983, enhances the well-being of the Korean American immigrant community in the Puget Sound region. It provides social services and community programs that meet the needs of Korean Americans in Washington.
- La Oficina LLC is dedicated to transforming lives by providing information, education, resources and advocacy for the minority community, fostering meaningful engagement with government organizations.
- Native Action Network works to enhance the beauty, strength and integrity of the American Indian and Alaska Native community through leadership development, civic engagement, community building and economic restoration.
- Neighborhood House, established in 1906, focuses on providing services to entire families, including low-income community members, public housing residents, immigrants and refugees.
- People for People, founded in 1965, provides services including transportation, employment and training, senior nutrition and more throughout Washington with offices in Yakima, Moses Lake, Ellensburg, Sunnyside, Toppenish, Goldendale, White Salmon, Union Gap and Stevenson.
- TRAC Associates, founded in 1983, is an employment, training and social service organization that provides vocational help to all disadvantaged job seekers. It has offices in Tacoma, Everett, Seattle, Tukwila and Kent.
- Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, represents and provides services for hundreds of local unions throughout Washington. More than 600 local unions are affiliated with the organization, which represents more than 550,000 union members.
Learn more about Navigators
Navigators help ensure benefits are available and accessible to all qualified Washington workers. They collaborate with many local WorkSource offices to help potential claimants from underserved communities:
- Better understand the unemployment insurance program and process.
- Prepare to file their applications.
- Provide one-on-one assistance to reduce common errors and delays.
- Apply for unemployment benefits and file weekly claims.
- Overcome barriers to receiving unemployment benefits.
- Provide presentations and information sessions at events.
Equal opportunity and reasonable accommodations
Are you supporting someone who is having trouble accessing our services? They may be eligible for a reasonable accommodation. The person who needs the accommodation should contact the service they are seeking directly, if possible. For more information, visit the following pages:
We are an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to people with disabilities. We provide free help in many languages. People who need hearing or speech help can dial 711 for the Washington Relay.
In-language resources
Our website and eServices are available in English and Spanish. For all other languages, see our options for language help.