$10 Million in DOT Training Grants for Minority and Women-Owned Firms

The U.S. Department of Transportation, through the Office of Civil Rights, has recently announced $9.9 million in grants to provide training and other services to minority-owned and women-owned businesses to help them compete for highway contracts.

The "Disadvantaged Business Enterprise/Supportive Service (DBE/SS)" grants are part of an ongoing federal effort to help state departments of transportation train certified DBE firms on subjects ranging from contract and business management, to procurement assistance and how to secure bonding. The goal of the program is to help them successfully compete for federal highway projects.

A DBE is a for-profit, small business owned by minorities, women or economically disadvantaged individuals or, in the case of a corporation, in which 51 percent of the stock is owned by one or more such individuals. The daily business operations must be controlled by at least one of the socially and economically disadvantaged owners.

The funding for this program will be allocated to 33 states. The states receiving the most funding are California, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.

For more details, visit:
www.fhwa.dot.gov/civilrights/dbe_program_i.htm