January 2023
 Adult Career Pathways
Team Updates
Over the past two months the ACP Coordinators have updated and posted information to the ACP Webpage to better assist ACP Grantees as they manage programs:
- An instruction guide to complete the quarterly reports.
- Program Operations Guide
- ACP EDS Document Types
- Information on Getting or Changing WF1 access.
- Guidance on Cost Category Definitions; update coming in January 2023.
While COVID waivers are still in place, Grantees MUST continue to collect eligibility documentation for participants at enrollment. This includes social security number, residency, name, proof of age/date of birth, and, if applicable, veteran status. The COVID waivers do offer alternative ways in which a participant will get that information to providers but does not waive the requirement all together. The ACP team has made available the ACP Documentation Needed to Support Participant Eligibility. We continue to encourage grantees to begin preparing for the end of COVID waivers. Please be sure to review the current waivers and reach out to your Coordinator if you have any questions.
Reminder: Now that many grantees have their SFY 23 contract running concurrently with the SFY 22 contracts, you need to be submitting the SFY 23 RPRs even if you’re still spending down the SFY 22 funds. DEED requires grantees to submit an RPR for every contract, every month, regardless of if you’re requesting $0 reimbursement.
FREE MARKETING!! The ACP team has partnered with CareerForce MN to give our Grantees the opportunity to post their free trainings on the CareerForce website; https://www.careerforcemn.com/training-programs . This is an excellent opportunity to market your courses to the thousands of users that visit the site every month. Feel free to reach out to the CareerForce help desk at careerforce@state.mn.us to request access or any additional assistance.
Mn Family Resiliency Partnership
(Federally known as Displaced Homemaker Program)
The MN Family Resiliency Partnership (MFRP) - federally known as Displaced Homemaker Program (DHP), assists individuals who have spent a substantial number of years in the home providing homemaking services and have been dependent upon the financial support of another. Due to divorce, separation, death, or disability of that person or no longer receive public assistance they no longer have that support and must find a job that can support themselves and the family. Services will help develop the marketable skills participants need to find and maintain a job.
For more information about the Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership program check out DEED’s ACP webpage.
SNAP E&T 50/50
This program has reimbursed its Grantees over $87,000 in SFY22! Together with your ACP program, a SNAP E&T project can provide additional funds to your organization. If you are interested in more information or adding SNAP E&T 50% Reimbursement program to your organization, please contact Ann Meyers at ann.meyers@state.mn.us.
Workforce One- ACP Programs
Prior to entering a credentialed training activity for your participant(s), Workforce One will require you to enter an assessment. Some providers are still utilizing the Covid waivers and do not have the ability to administer an assessment at this time. If your organization is unable to provide an assessment in-person, you may enter an "Other" assessment, and enter the participants highest completed grade level in the Assessment page to be able to open the Credentialed training activity. Please ensure that you are case noting that you did not administer an assessment and are following the rest of the assessment waiver processes:
Procedures that must be followed in lieu of a standardized academic assessment are as follows.
- Providers must inquire about a participant's level of educational attainment.
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If a participant indicates that they have a GED, high school diploma, or higher, the provider must request and collect documentation to verify the highest level claimed.
- Documentation may be provided by a cell-phone snapshot of the last transcript received. The participant's name must clearly visible.
- If a participant claims high school enrollment, but is unable to produce documentation, collect the name of the school and location of the school, and the year and month of graduation.
- For GED, collect the date, the provider, and the location.
- College work must be verified with a transcript.
The case manager will consider this information in determining whether to enroll the participant.
The process and/or findings of the assessment must be case noted in Work Force One.
Adult Career Pathways Guides
The ACP Operations Guide has been updated for October and posted to the ACP home page. If you have any suggestions for the guide, please submit those to your Grant Coordinator.
Please contact your Adult Career Pathways Grant Coordinator directly with any questions regarding Adult Career Pathways Programs.
 Dislocated Worker and Federal Adult Programs
Happy New Year 2023!
Thanks for your partnership with us in 2022. We look forward to continuing our work to empower the growth of Minnesota workforce and economy for everyone in the New Year.
WIOA DW and Adult
- Unspent WIOA DW and Adult funds for reallocated communication coming soon.
- Progress Report is due January 31st (Oct-Dec 2022). Remember, a QPR is required if the grant is active.
- Submit completed Reimbursement Payment Request (RPR) or Financial Status Report (FSR) via email to DEED.FSR@state.mn.us on or before the 20th of the month.
- Reminder: formula grants (funding streams) last for 2 years. Do not mark “Final” on the RPR (at the end of a quarter or when funds are expended) if you anticipate submitting future revision(s).
Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
Re-entry Pilot Grant
Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN)
- Do you or someone you know have an injury or illness that affects their work? Visit mnretain.com to see if RETAIN could help!
Use Dislocated Worker General Email to Reach All Team Members
- Please continue to email requests, reports, technical assistance questions, etc. to the Dislocated Worker Federal Adult Programs general email at DWFAPrograms.DEED@state.mn.us.
Please email all requests, reports, and technical assistance questions to the Dislocated Worker Federal Adult Programs general email at dwfaprograms.deed@state.mn.us
 Trade Adjustment Assistance
Staffing Update
Our Administrative Support Specialist, Dawn Andrada, is moving on to a new position at DEED. Dawn’s last day with TAA was December 27th.
Training Progress Reports
It’s the Dislocated Worker Counselor’s role to review and follow-up with a customer on anything that’s not compliant (dropped courses, different training end date, instructor signatures, etc.) on a Training Progress Report. TAA will return incomplete or inaccurate Training Progress Reports for completion and/or clarification.
IRS Mileage Rate Change
As of the time of this writing, the IRS has not announced the 2023 federal mileage rate. Once announced, TAA customers who are receiving Supplemental Assistance will see the calculation change for travel on and after 1/1/2023.
TEGL 24-20 Change 1 - Employment and Case Management Costs
Note: This does not impact current Minnesota procedures and is for the Dislocated Worker providers’ information only; no action is needed. This TEGL provides new guidance on the allowability of costs for employment and case management services – including outreach – under Reversion 2021 and pre-2009 versions of the TAA Program.
On 11/25/2022, Employment and Training Administration (ETA) published Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 24-20, Change 1, Change 1 to Operating Instructions for Implementing the Reversion Provisions of the Amendments to the Trade Act of 1974 Enacted by the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015. The TEGL is available here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-24-20-change-1
Sunset Provisions/ Reauthorization
Congress could extend or reauthorize the program at any time. Previous Partner Express newsletters include articles related to the phased termination that the TAA Program entered on 7/1/22. States are required to continue outreach efforts to people who are eligible to apply for TAA benefits. Please contact the Minnesota TAA office with outreach ideas for layoffs you’re seeing in your area.
Petitions
Petitions can still be filed, but DOL’s investigation is paused until reauthorization occurs. 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
Filed after July 1:
- Torax Medical, St Paul
- Turck, Inc., Plymouth
- Ball Corp, St Paul
Please email all questions and customer applications to the Trade Adjustment Assistance general email at deed.taa@state.mn.us
 Monitoring
Introducing the Monitoring Unit
“To provide consistent oversight and customized guidance to grantee partners in order to ensure compliance and achieve successful outcomes for all.”
The Employment and Training Programs (ETP) Monitoring Unit was created in 2021 to centralize grant monitoring functions, provide consistency, and to simplify monitoring standards. Our goal at DEED is to help our partners ensure compliance, be stronger, and continue to make a positive impact on the employment needs of Minnesotans. The Partner Express will include monitoring updates, reminders of state and federal requirements, grantee monitoring tips, and references to tools and resources. We ask for your patience as we work through the development and implementation of the new ETP monitoring unit and look forward to continuing to work with you.
Adult Career Pathways (ACP)
Dislocated Worker and Federal Adult Programs
Youth
Shannon Rolf, Monitoring Supervisor, shannon.rolf@state.mn.us
If you have questions about Monitoring content, please email shannon.rolf@state.mn.us
 CareerForce
New CareerForce customer comment and partner feedback online form
In the footer of every page on CareerForceMN.com, customers can access an online form to Comment on CareerForce and rate their experience. This new online comment form offers an option to select a specific CareerForce location or select CareerForceMN.com when submitting a comment. Customers may remain anonymous when submitting their comments.
DEED and partner staff are also invited to share their own feedback via that same online form – just follow the prompts! You can share your comments on CareerForceMN.com content or functionality, CareerForce resources and more. This is a great way to share what's working and what's not. You can also remain anonymous if you choose.
Please note that this new online form is different than the Submit a Success Story form, which is also linked in the footer of every page on CareerForceMN.com. Why are there two different forms? Here’s why: not every customer will want to share a personal success story – some may just want to submit a quick comment about their CareerForce experience.
Contact the CareerForce Information and Assistance line at 651-259-7500 or careerforce@state.mn.us if you have questions.
 Labor Market Information
Though there are economic challenges, in Understanding Recession Indicators our LMI office looked at national and Minnesota data which do NOT currently meet standard criteria to be defined as recessionary. After expanding at the fastest annual rate in 37 years in 2021, the U.S. economy slowed noticeably during the first half of 2022 before picking up during the third quarter. The slowdown prompted some to declare that the U.S. economy had slipped into a recession. Slight GDP declines during the first two quarters of 2022 were behind the alarms, as the decline met the commonly held definition of at least two consecutive quarters of falling goods and services output. But before declaring that a recession has occurred, the National Bureau of Economic Research examines a range of economic indicators besides GDP including factory output, household income, inflation-adjusted retail sales, and job growth. Several of the other indicators, especially job growth, have been pointing towards an economy that has tapered off but hasn't, at least through the first three quarters of the year, lapsed into recession territory.
And in A Job Can Change a Life, we explore how Minnesota’s extremely tight labor market makes it more important than ever to help connect formerly incarcerated individuals with employment. Recent research shows how a program that prepares people for employment helps those released from correctional facilities, employers and Minnesota as a whole.
If you have questions about Labor Market Information, please email deed.lmi@state.mn.us
This newsletter is meant for DEED Grantees, Providers, and Employment Counselors. We want this e-Newsletter to meet your needs! We encourage you to send your comments and suggestions to deed.taa@state.mn.us.
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