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MontgomeryWorks is the county's one-stop employment center, with locations in Wheaton and Germantown.  (The Lakeforest Mall location in Gaithersburg closed 9/17/2009, and the Germantown location in the Upcounty Regional Services Center opens 10/5/2009.)  See the MontgomeryWorks calendar of workshops and training events.

Services include

The Montgomery County Commission for Women Counseling and Career Center offers individual career counseling, group workshops on career-related topics, the Strong Interest Inventory, which assesses your vocational interests, and the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which assesses your personality and how it can affect work and personal relationships.  The Center's offerings are open to women and men.

JSSA's Employment and Career Services assist people who are unemployed or underemployed, including professionals changing careers, individuals with disabilities, youth in need of career guidance and newly arrived émigrés and refugees in our community.  Sliding-scale fees are based on an individuals' circumstances.

InfoMontgomery is the county's portal to social services in Montgomery County.  It connects you to local resources that can help you meet your needs or those of your family.

Professional Outplacement Assistance Center provides assistance to individuals who are in professional, executive, technical, managerial and scientific occupations. In its facility in Columbia, POAC offers individualized career guidance, Internet access, free faxing and copying, and a library of resource materials. Join POAC's mailing list to receive job postings, event notices, and other information.  A free service of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation's Division of Workforce Development.  

Learn about unemployment insurance from the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulations's  Division of Unemployment Insurance.

The Division of Unemployment Insurance conducts almost all business by telephone.  Claims may be filed by telephone or you may choose to file your claim online. The Claim Center serving Montgomery County is located in College Park and can be reached at 301-313-8000 or 877-293-4125, which is toll-free within Maryland.

Understand your health insurance options and protect your retirement benefits when you lose your job.  See fact sheets from the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration.

Use our computers to create a resume, search for jobs, and develop skills.

All of our branches have public computers with Internet access and Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Access.  See the policies for computer use.

If you've lost your job and, with it, your employer-provided health plan, you do have some options:

• Special Enrollment in Another Group Plan: An individual and possibly the family may be able to enroll in a spouse's plan regardless of enrollment periods. Be sure you request the special enrollment within 30 days of losing eligibility for other coverage.
• COBRA Continuation Coverage:  If your employer continues to operate and offer a group plan, COBRA continuation coverage may be available. It may be more expensive than what you were paying while employed, but it's likely to be cheaper than private, individual coverage. COBRA coverage usually lasts 18 months but may last longer. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) gives certain individuals eligibility for COBRA coverage at a discounted rate.
• Health Coverage through a Government Program:  Medicaid, Maryland's Children's Health Insurance Program (MCHIP), and Medicare are available through Maryland's Department of Human Resources.  Or call them at 800-332-6347.
• Private, Individual Health Insurance is an option if you had health coverage for at least 18 months without a significant break in coverage and were part of a group plan; your coverage was not terminated because of fraud or failure to pay premiums; and are not eligible for COBRA or other health coverage.