Partner Express -February 2020

Partnership Express Header 2018

Adult Career Pathways Updates

WorkForce One Case Management Training for Adult Career Pathways Programs

WorkForce One provides data for reports on the progress of ACP programs, grantees, and participants. In order that your work is completely and accurately represented to legislators and the public, it is important that data be entered into WorkForce One timely, accurately, and completely.

During December and January, ACP offered training on entering information about case management services to WorkForce One. ACP staff provided classes in Bemidji, Minneapolis, Rochester, Duluth, Mankato, and West St. Paul. A total of 95 individuals attended training.

If you were unable to attend and have questions about how to enter case management information in WorkForce One, contact your grant coordinator soon.


Support Services

Support Services are payments made to or on behalf of enrolled participants for one-time or temporary assistance considered necessary for the participant to reach his/her/their program goal. Support Services are provided to Adult Career Pathways (ACP) program participants on a case-by-case basis, and are based on individual need. In order to make your best case for the Support Services you must propose to provide, consider the following guidance:

  • The laws, rules and regulations applicable to the program must allow Support Services.
  • You must have a written policy on Support Services.
  • The Support Services provided must be in compliance with your policy.
  • Support Services must be included in your work plan.
  • Costs must be incurred after enrollment and development of the Individualized Education Program (IEP).
  • The specific Support Service must support activities/goals in the IEP.
  • Costs must be reasonable.
  • Costs must be necessary.
  • Costs must be one-time or temporary, not ongoing.
  • Participants should complete a financial needs analysis (budget) for most support services.
  • Each Support Service provided to a participant and its dollar amount must be documented in WorkForce One, both in case notes and on the Support Services tab.
  • Participants must sign and date receipt of vendor cards (e.g., fuel cards, bus cards, etc.).

Examples of Support Services include:

  • Books, fees, tools, supplies needed but not required for training or school
  • Child and dependent care
  • Clothing: Interview, work
  • Driver’s License fees (Automobile, not Commercial Driver’s License)
  • Educational testing, including prep
  • Emergency financial assistance
  • Emergency health insurance
  • Employment and training-related fees
  • Health and medical assistance
  • Housing or rental assistance
  • Internet bill, for participant
  • Linkages to community services
  • Personal, drug, financial, and legal counseling
  • Phone bill, for participant
  • Professional memberships
  • Reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities
  • Relocation assistance
  • Incentives (must be specifically outlined your work plan)
  • Tools required for work
  • Transportation assistance

Note: Supplies, books, fees, tools, and clothing required by schools for a specific class may be billed to Direct Customer Training funds rather than Support Services.

Certain costs, such as bad debt, fines or penalties, or entertainment, are never allowed as Support Services.

If you have questions about Support Services generally, or whether a particular Support Service may be provided to a participant, contact your grant coordinator. Note that many problems can be avoided by anticipating participants’ needs and writing your work plan to include supports to address these needs.

Energy Assistance Program - A Resource

Consider referring low-income participants with heating bills to the Energy Assistance Program.

The Energy Assistance Program (EAP) can help low-income families pay their heating bills by:

  • Providing a grant to pay part of their energy bills (average grant is about $500)
  • Providing extra help (beyond the original grant) to get reconnected or to prevent being disconnected from their energy service (up to $600 in additional assistance)
  • Helping homeowners repair or replace their broken furnace
  • Offering referrals to other helpful programs

EAP services are delivered by 29 local EAP services providers, serving all areas of the state. Households can find their local services provider listed, by County or Tribal Government, on this website: www.mn.gov/commerce/eap.jsp or by calling 1-800-657-3710.

Eligibility is based on income. Assets, like your home, are not counted in deciding EAP eligibility. Examples of maximum annual household incomes to qualify for EAP this year are:

  • Household with 1 person: $27,047
  • Household with 2 people: $35,370
  • Household with 3 people: $43,692
  • Household with 4 people: $52,014

Flyers providing information about EAP are available in English, Hmong, Spanish, and Somali.

Academic Assessment – Update

In the January issue of Partner Express, ACP announced that it was aligning its requirements for academic assessment with DEED’s policy under “Individual Employment Plan” in the Multi-Program Administration Requirements: https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/ddp/PolicyDetail.aspx?pol=411.

Our notice included a statement that we would only accept scores from previous academic/grade level assessments if they were dated within three months of the enrollment. Based on feedback from several readers, we revisited the look-back period and have extended it. We will accept scores from assessments dated up to one year prior to enrollment.

As proof of their scores, participants may provide a copy of their scores or an official communication with Adult Basic Education(ABE) or a college that has assessed the participant’s math and reading skills within the last year as proof of their assessment. The official communication may be an email or a letter that is clearly from ABE or the school, and include the date the assessment was administered, the participant’s name, and grade equivalents.

Please contact your coordinator if you have questions or need assistance around your specific grant.

Topics to Address?

If you have questions or particular topics you would like ACP to address in the Partner Express, please send your suggestions to your grant coordinator.

TAA Updates

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Petitions

Here’s the link to check the status of petitions with U.S. Department of Labor https://www.doleta.gov/tradeact/petitioners/taa_search_form.cfm

  • Pending DOL’s investigation
    • 95627 – Toppan Merrill, St. Paul
    • 95096 – Infor.com, St. Paul
    • 95210 – Quad Graphics, Shakopee
    • 95285 – DEE Inc., Crookston
    • 95306 – CenturyLink, Minneapolis
    • 95331 – Tenneco (Federal Mogul), Lake City
    • 95375 – Henkel Corp., Chanhassen
    • 95377 – Modern Tool Inc., Coon Rapids
    • 95412 – Bluestem Brands Inc., St. Cloud
    • 95423 – MNStar Technologies Inc., Grand Rapids
    • 95440 – Gerdau, Duluth
    • 95466 – Accenture, Minneapolis
    • 95467 – Canadian National, Proctor
    • 95536 – Johnson Controls, Plymouth
    • 95559 – Allianz, Minneapolis
    • 95561 – Pace Industries, Arden Hills (amendment to include temp agency)
    • 95570 – Hutchinson Technology, Hutchinson
    • 95581 – Blue Cross Blue Shield, Virginia and Eagan (Additional worker groups)
    • 95615 – Restwell Mattress Company, Eden Prairie
    • 95616 – Sleep Number Corporation, Minneapolis
    • 95539 – U.S. Bank, Portland Columbia Center, Portland, OR (may include remote workers in MN
    • 95533 – Semling-Menke Company, Merrill, WI (MN union filed petition)
  • Certified by DOL

    • 95298 – Smith & Nephew, Plymouth
    • 94440i – Wells Fargo, Minneapolis
  • Denied by DOL
    • 95275 – Nestle Dreyer’s, Brooklyn Park
  • Upcoming or recent information sessions
    • 95313 – Del Monte Foods Inc. (January 31 and February 1)
    • 94941A – Delta Air Lines (January 31)
    • 95338 – Refinitiv US LLC (February 14)
    • 95233 – Wells Fargo, Shoreview (February 5)

DOL Monitoring Implementation

As we mentioned in previous Partner Express Newsletters (August and November), TAA was monitored by the US Department of Labor (DOL) this past summer. We are working on making the appropriate policy and procedural changing to implement our responses to DOL’s findings. More to come in March.

Training Progress Reports

Training Progress Reports (TPR) are required at least every 60 calendar days starting from the date TAA begins funding training. Examples and times are available on the Counselor Portal: https://mn.gov/deed/assets/training-progress-report_tcm1045-410131.pdf. For students who just started TAA-funded training on 1/13/2020, their first TPR is due by 3/13/2020. DW Counselors should review it for completeness and accuracy, then sign/date it, and email it to the respective TAA Specialist. The 60 days reset from the school official’s signature date.

Training Progress Reports are also required every 60 days for customers in an On-the-Job Training (OJT) funded by TAA. The assigned TAA Specialist will email the TPR to DW and the customer when approving an OJT. This one does not require DW’s signature only a company official and the customer sign it.

Labor Marking Information Reminders

  • TAA needs four pages of LMI data that is regionally based (two pages for the previous job and two pages for the new job/employment goal)
  • All LMI should be regional and from this link: https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/cpt/Search
  • TAA does not need the LMI Overview page(s)
  • Do not use “Typical Wage Offer for Job Openings” for median wage data
  • Please review the 2019 TAA Fall Roundtable ppt, pages 61-66 for examples and more detail

Topics you’d like addressed?

The Partner Express is a resource designed with you in mind. If you have suggestions on topics you’d like TAA to address, please let us know! We are here to help: deed.taa@state.mn.us or call 651-259-7543. Applications, news, resources, and forms are available on the Counselor Portal: https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/dislocated-worker/counselors/