Kentucky to establish mobile unemployment insurance office

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky will use federal funding to establish a mobile unemployment insurance office to make the program more accessible, officials said.

The agency will have the ability to send the mobile office to underserved communities where it can help residents with several actions including filing for benefits, requesting payments and participating in eligibility reviews, a statement from the Kentucky Labor Cabinet said.

Unemployment insurance specialists in the mobile office will be able to work one-on-one with people who may face obstacles like language barriers, literacy problems or disabilities to see if they are eligible for benefits, the statement said.

Funding for the office comes from a $4.5 million grant awarded this month by the U.S. Labor Department. State officials said $2.3 million will be used to launch the mobile office and the rest of the funding will go toward improving communication with unemployment insurance claimants.