 Welcome Mee Yang!
Rapid
Response has a new Senior Specialist! Last week we welcomed Mee Yang to our
team. She joined the Rapid Response Team after 15 years as an
Unemployment Insurance Operations Analyst.
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TAA Updates:
TAA has had some changes in staffing over the last month.
Linda Skogen is doing an out of class position as a Workforce Innovation Fund (WIF)
Project Coordinator. The WIF grant is focused on implementing innovative approaches to the
design and delivery of employment and training services. Estela
Hernandez has taken a position as the Minnesota State Monitor Advocate for the
Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers Program (MSFW). Estela’s job is to
ensure that MSFWs are receiving qualitatively equivalent and quantitatively
proportionate services at all One-Stop Career Centers. Estela and Linda’s files
were redistributed to the remaining team and notifications sent by Estela and
Linda to DW Counselors alerting them to the newly assigned TAA Specialists.
TAA Training Plan Hiccups
TAA has had several plans submitted and approved where the
training timeline was incorrect. TAA approved what was presented on the plan
only to find out that the plan had been incorrectly calculated. Please review
plans carefully before submitting to TAA in order to avoid this problem. If you
discern a timeline error, remember that modifications must be submitted prior
to the completion of the original plan date.
RTAA Review (TAA Wage Subsidy Benefit)
Key Points:
- Worker must be 50 years or
older
- The new job cannot earn more
than $50,000 per year and must be less than the trade affected job
- Worker must be full time—at
least 32 hours per week
- Worker can receive the wage
subsidy for up to 2 years or $10,000 whichever occurs first
Grant Updates:
2018 Legislative Session Begins February 21
The upcoming legislative session will begin February 21 and
run until May 21. From DEED’s Government Affairs Director:
Minnesota’s 2018 Legislative Session will gavel-in at noon
on February 21st and is constitutionally mandated to adjourn May 21,
2018. This is the second year of
legislative biennium, which typically focuses on passing a statewide bonding
bill, policy changes and sometimes some supplementary budgetary items. If you want to follow legislation this
session, you can search for both House and Senate bills on their website. https://www.leg.state.mn.us/
While the second year of the biennium is typically focused
on bonding, last year the legislature passed a $988 million bonding bill,
something they typically don’t do during the first year of the biennium. This could lead to a smaller bonding bill
being passed during the 2018 legislative session. In mid-January, Governor Dayton released his
$1.5 billion 2018 bonding proposal in mid-January, focused on “urgently needed”
investments. The Governor’s bonding
proposal starts the process of the Legislature wrestling with whether to pass a
bonding bill this session, and how large that bill will be.
The Legislature also passed Minnesota’s
2018-2019 budget bills during the 2017 legislative session. After Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB)
releases their February forecast, which is used by the Legislature and the
Governor to ensure that enacted budgets remain in track and balance, the
Governor will work on his supplemental budget proposals. Any budget items the legislature takes up this
year will need to be changes to budget bills that the legislature has already
passed or proposals for how to spend additional resources.
Updated ERAG Request
Form
If you are interested in requesting an Early Readjustment
Assistance Grant (ERAG), please use the new ERAG Request Form, located at the
bottom of the ERAG policy.
As a reminder, ERAGs can only be requested after a mass layoff project has been
awarded, and should not exceed 90 days. DEED will evaluate requests on a
case-by-case basis and will award up to $10,000 based on need. For questions on
ERAGs or the updated request form, please contact Monica Weber
(monica.weber@state.mn.us).
Requests for
Supplemental Funding for the March MJSP Board Meeting Due February 12
If you are planning to request supplemental funding at the
March 12 MJSP Board meeting, please submit the following information to Chelsea
Georgesen (Chelsea.s.georgesen@state.mn.us)
no later than February 12, 2018:
- Supplemental Funding Request Workbook
(available at: https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/ddp/PolicyDetail.aspx?pol=475)
- A written narrative that includes the total
amount of funding requested, the total number of participants to be served with
the additional funding, and (if available)
-The number of substantial layoffs to date,
-Notices of substantial layoffs for the remainder of the fiscal year,
-Evidence of declining industries,
-The number of permanently separated individuals applying for unemployment benefits by workforce development area (if available), and
-The number of individuals exhausting unemployment benefits by workforce development area (if available)
Narratives may be concise (1-2 pages) but should include
sufficient information for the MJSP Board members to properly evaluate the
request. Please see the Requests for
Supplemental Funding to Serve Small Layoffs Policy for more information.
Performance Updates:
Performance Training
Phase 1
Part 1: Survey Results
First and foremost, I am grateful to everyone who took the time out of
their busy schedules to complete the survey and for the fantastic feedback they
provided in their detailed responses. A total of 50 Surveys were emailed to
local area staff. 64% of those surveys were completed. The questions you asked and
feedback you provided allowed me to include four additional topics in the
training webinar, which will be useful to many others across the state.
Topics included to the Webinar presentation
- Possible reasons
numerators and denominators are different than you expected
- Demonstration on
the cohort tool created by MN Performs
- Eligible Training
Provider List requirements
- Measurable Skill
Gains data entry
Part 1: Training Webinar
The webinar was presented live on 3 separate dates with repetitive
information and was split into 2 sections geared towards different local area
staff duties.
First Section’s Objective and targeted audience
- Refresher on WIOA Performance and the current
Statistical Model Mechanics
- Targeted audience: Managers/Directors/Performance Staff (Numbers People)
Second Section’s Objective and
targeted audience
- Review of important data entry elements
impacting performance negotiations and other important information
- Targeted audience: Case Managers/Data Entry
Clerks/Performance Staff
The PowerPoint presentation was created as a desk guide. If you were
unable to attend the webinar and/or you did attend but did not receive a copy
of the PowerPoint, I have attached it to this newsletter.
Please contact me at any time should you have questions, concerns, or
need further guidance on any of this information.
Reminder
The Department of Labor has informed us that a new TEGL will be released in
late February 2018 which will replace TEGL 26-15.
Known differences between the new TEGL and TEGL 26-15
- New TEGL is to provide guidance on Program
Years 2018 and 2019 performance negotiations instead of Program Years 2016 and
2017.
- New TEGL has updated data applied to the
Statistical model using Program Year 2016 participant demographics, LMI, and
unemployment rate data instead of Program Year 2014 data.
 Corner On The Market
With Cameron Macht
Regional Analysis & Outreach Manager
Minnesota Dept. of Employment & Economic Development
cameron.macht@state.mn.us
320-441-6596
In our diverse economy, there are many ways to achieve
workforce success, and they don’t all follow the same straight or orderly path.
Minnesota now supports about 3 million jobs, so it can be hard to know which
one might be right for each individual. To help explain the career planning
process for jobseekers, DEED’s Labor Market Information office put together a
series of handouts with region-specific information: https://mn.gov/deed/data/lmi-reports/workforce-path-success/.
The document describes how there are many different pathways
into the labor market. Some may be short-term solutions, while others are
long-term decisions. There are costs and benefits to every approach, and there
are practical steps that students and jobseekers can take to make the most out
of their career planning and educational investment.
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For example, students
and jobseekers might be surprised to learn that well over half of all jobs in
Minnesota can be started with a high school diploma or less, and just over
one-third require college. But college is still an excellent way to move up
career ladders and open windows of opportunity to fields that would otherwise
be closed, such as nursing or engineering. Many of these occupations offer high
wages and are in high demand in the marketplace. Certain careers – such as
dentists, lawyers, and school teachers – require a college education, while
other jobs – including cost estimators, sales representatives, and correctional
officers – do not. |
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 The regional
handouts also detail the costs of college, the cost of living for a single
person in each region, wage ranges for jobs requiring different levels of
education, and a list of occupations in demand sorted by educational
requirements. For more information, you can view the handouts on DEED’s LMI
website:
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Success Story
John, Southwest MN Private Industry Council (Montevideo)
John began working with the Southwest MN Private Industry Council in March 2017, referred by SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). When they began working with John through the WIOA Adult program, his counselor discovered that he had served 4 years in the Army as a Medical Specialist, and had lived in Chicago where he worked in a bakery and hospital services. He moved to Minnesota to care for his elderly mother, which created an employment history gap. After career exploration and discussing options, John and his counselor collaboratively decided that a work experience would be beneficial. When a housekeeping position opened up at Chippewa County Montevideo Hospital (CCMH), John’s counselor recommended that he submit an application. His counselor contacted CCMH, and presented the option of an On-the-Job Training experience. John landed the job and the OJT ran smoothly with progress reports that showed improvement every step of the way. John is thriving and enjoys his work as a fulltime housekeeper with CCMH.
UNIT DIRECTORY
May Thao Schuck
Interim Director
651-259-7563
may.thao.schuck@state.mn.us
DW LINE
651-259-7537
RAPID RESPONSE
MARLA BEATY
(TAA LIAISON)
218-259-1380
MO MALIN
651-259-7535
LIZ MCLOONE
(LABOR LIAISON)
651-259-7145
JASON WADELL
651-259-7552
Mee Yang
651-259-7548
GRANTS
CHELSEA GEORGESEN
(GRANTS & POLICY COORDINATOR)
651-259-7508
MONICA WEBER
651-259-7560
PERFORMANCE
AMY CARLSON
651-259-7542
General TAA Contact
651-259-7543
1-888-234-1330
deed.taa@state.mn.us
TAA TEAM
JENNIFER ANDERSON
651-259-7690
CINDY BOYLE
(CO-COORDINATOR)
651-259-7551
MARY GARCIA
651-259-7553
LAURIE LARSON
651-259-7681
SARAH SAITO
(CO-COORDINATOR)
651-259-7546
THOMAS SOMMER
651-259-7585
JACKIE UMLAUF
218-739-7560
OLAJIDE WILLIAMS
651-259-7431
Trade Readjustment Allowance
651-296-3644 ask for a TRA Specialist
877-898-9090 ask for a TRA Specialist
deed.tra@state.mn.us
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