Wondering where those block grants to help the unemployed go?

With unemployment in practically every Florida county averaging over 10%, you’d think there would be no need for workforce agencies to conduct a public relations campaign to promote their services – in fact, you’d expect them to have jobless residents queued up outside for blocks. Apparently that’s not the case for Workforce Central Florida, which is dropping over $73,000 on a PR stunt called the “Cape-A-Bility Challenge”. If you “like” them on Facebook (I hear that’s all the rage with the kids these days, ergo it’s a PR must-have) or get your picture taken with “Dr. Evil Unemployment”, you can get a cape. Which will, most definitely, help you get a job. More from the Orlando Sentinel:

State labor officials asked their inspector general Monday to investigate why a Central Florida agency wants to spend public money to furnish the unemployed with capes.

Dubbed the “Cape-A-Bility Challenge,” a $73,000 public-relations campaign by Workforce Central Florida features a cartoon character named “Dr. Evil Unemployment” and includes handing out about 6,000 red superhero capes to jobless Central Floridians.

The campaign, revealed Saturday in a report in the Orlando Sentinel, was met with derision by many unemployed who questioned spending more than $14,200 on capes and $2,300 on foam cutouts of “Dr. Evil Unemployment.” They said the campaign’s tone risked minimizing the severity of the region’s labor problems.

We can only hope that if some of these recipients graduate from “unemployed” to “homeless,” that the cape makes a decent blanket. Anyway, the exec director of Florida’s Agency for Workforce Innovation was a bit miffed, and started an investigation. Not like anyone at Workforce Central Florida will even bat an eye, as they’re already under investigation for dropping $258K on vehicles (they now have 36 on their fleet, when most workforce agencies in the state have 0 or maybe 1. Your tax dollars at work – or not at work, your call).

Personally, I liked the Workforce Central Florida agency a lot better when they were pulling low-budget stunts, like posting YouTube videos of Wing House chicks doing karaoke versions of Sir Mix A Lot’s “Baby Got Back”:

UPDATE: Workforce Central Florida has canceled this particular campaign, admitting it was “a little too out-of-the-box and missed the mark with such a broad audience.” We’re guessing they can’t get a refund on the capes, so any suggestions on how they can re-use them are welcomed in the comments…