Unless action is taken by the federal government, your current Unemployment Insurance benefits program, State Extended Benefits (EB), will conclude on December 31, 2011.

Beginning January 1, 2012, all claimants on both the Extended Benefit and High Extended Benefit tiers of the program will no longer receive weekly benefit payments. This is the case even if a claimant has not yet received the full amount of his or her last monetary determination.

We at the RI Department of Labor and Training understand that it takes longer to reconnect to employment opportunities in the current economic landscape. If you have not already done so, we strongly urge that you take advantage of the many employment services available through the netWORKri One-Stop Career Centers, including job search and placements services, labor market information, and résumé writing:

The following centers are open Monday-Thursday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.:

• Pawtucket netWORKri, 175 Main St.
• *Providence netWORKri, One Reservoir Ave.
• West Warwick netWORKri, 1330 Main St.
• Woonsocket netWORKri, 219 Pond St.

The Wakefield netWORKri, 4808 Tower Hill Rd., is open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

*In addition to regular operating hours, we have extended the Providence netWORKri hours to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays, January 3 and 10, in anticipation of increased demand.
Directions to these centers, as well as calendars of upcoming workshops and recruitments, are available at www.networkri.org. Job listings and online job search services are also available through our online career center, www.employri.org.

Those who have questions concerning the exhaustion of their Unemployment Insurance benefits may call the department at (401) 462-8980 during special customer service hours: Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, December 12 through 29, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. At this time, call center representatives will be available to answer questions you may have regarding your claim. These call center customer service hours are intended for benefit exhaustees only; representatives will not be conducting claims filing during this time.

We are enclosing a list of resources that you may find helpful, including information on United Way 2-1-1, the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Department of Human Services.

Please know that the RI Department of Labor and Training is actively advocating for resumed benefit extensions. Should federal legislation pass that extends Unemployment Insurance benefits, the department will mail notifications to those eligible for additional benefits.