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May 2023 Partner Express

Partner Express - Information for Employment and Training Program Providers

May 2023

Adult Career Pathways

Team Updates

The COVID waivers put in to place in 2020 will end beginning July 1, 2023. The ACP team would like to request current providers take part in a short survey regarding the reintegration of academic assessments prior to a participant enrolling in certification and/or credentialed training. The results of the survey will assist the team as we prepare for SFY24-25 programs and to provide better onboarding technical assistance to Grantees. The link to the survey is: https://forms.office.com/g/JgH7y7Q7dS and will be open until May 12^th. Please reach out to your Coordinator if you have any questions.

We encourage Grantees and interested organizations to check out the DEED Competitive Grants and Contracts page for SFY24-25 programs. The site posts all outgoing grants, and each solicitation includes a brief description of work and a link to its Request for Proposals (RFP). Sign up to receive emails when new opportunities are listed. Another suggestion is to watch the legislative sessions as you can see what is being proposed and if/when it gets funded.

The ACP Provider Training List for SFY22-23 is now posted! Categorized by industry sector, this is a list of projects funded through DEED’s Employment and Training Division, Adult Career Pathways during SFY22-23. Each provider listed is linked to their website for easy referral. Please reach out to Jenilee Drilling (Jenilee.drilling@state.mn.us ) if updates or changes need to be made to the list.

Marketing ACP programs? A reminder to review the ACP Cost Category Guidance for allowable marketing and outreach costs and the disclaimer that must be included on ALL marketing material.

“The State of Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) funded (or funded in part) this training through a grant. The grant recipient created this training. DEED does not endorse this publicity or training or make guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, regarding the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability or ownership of the information herein or elsewhere.”

MN Family Resiliency Partnership

(Federally known as Displaced Homemaker Program)

The MN Family Resiliency Partnership (MFRP) 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. For more information about the Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership program check out DEED’s ACP webpage.

The ACP team encourages a collaborative approach to serving participants, when appropriate, to seamlessly meet the needs of participants and enhance a participant’s career goals. Co-enrollments are allowed within organizations and between organizations including participants receiving pre-employment services through one of the six MFRP providers across the state. Participants who are eligible for the MN Family Resiliency Partnership program are auto eligible to receive Dislocated Worker services to further their training and employment goals.

SNAP E&T 50/50

The SNAP E&T project can provide additional, unrestricted funds to your organization when partnered with your ACP Grant. If you serve SNAP recipients within your ACP program and are interested in more information about adding the SNAP E&T 50% Reimbursement program to your organization, please contact Ann Meyers at ann.meyers@state.mn.us.

Workforce One- ACP Programs

The ACP Team encourages all our Grantees to utilize the new Workforce One Connect app. This app is a great way to maintain communication with participants, sign documents on-line, and send resources conveniently. Interested providers should connect directly with Becca Johnson at becca.johnson@state.mn.us to coordinate a training session.

REMINDER: Providers are required to enter all Workforce One data within 15 days of the occurrence. When determining past performance, it is important that each Grantee enter data in Workforce One in a timely manner. If you need further assistance with your data entry or are seeing discrepancies in your data, please reach out to your Program Coordinator.

Adult Career Pathways Guides

The ACP Operations Guide has been updated for May 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 & Federal Adult Programs

Dislocated Worker and Federal Adult Programs

Formula Funds – WIOA Adult, WIOA DW and State DW:

PY21 funds must be used by June 30, 2023.
- We are no longer accepting modifications or transfer requests for PY21.
- Cost category adjustment is allowed on the final Reimbursement Payment Request (RPR) if the total expended does not exceed the total approved budget. However, the Admin cost category must not exceed 10% of total reimbursed.
- Any remaining unused funds will be reallocated to Local Areas that have spent out their PY21 funds.
PY22 Carry Forward Request - Providers may request a waiver to carry forward more than 20% of their allocated PY22 funds into the second year of the grant using the provided template (attached). Providers who expend or obligate at least 80% of their PY22 formula funds by the end of the 4th quarter do not need a waiver.
- Carry Forward Requests pertain to all formula grants: WIOA Adult, WIOA Dislocated Worker, and State Dislocated Worker
- Submit waivers between now and June 2, 2023
PY23 WIOA DW & Adult TEGL is pending; allocations will be sent out once released.
- To help us move contract paperwork forward quickly, please begin having conversations with your partners to complete sections that are not affected by the budget (e.g.: Narrative). The budget table can be finalized once the allocation information is released.
PY23 State DW Formula: Preliminary allocations will be available mid to late May

National Dislocated Worker Grants (DWGs)/ Disaster Relief Grants (COVID-19 and OMNI/Opioids):

Both DWGs grants are winding down as we near the June 30, 2023, end date.
COVID-19 DWG has accomplished 91% of its enrollment goal
OMNI DWG has enrolled a total of 103 participants
Kudos to our sub grantees for staying the course, even in the face of the challenges during the height of the pandemic, to ensure Minnesotans benefit for these funds and additional programming.

Re-entry Pilot Grant

Onboarding for the 13 organizations awarded Re-entry Pilot grants are ongoing

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

Grants Performance Management System (GPMS)

All GPMS Training webinars, and Virtual Live Events are recorded and archived at WorkforceGPS. You can also access GPMS e-newsletters, other GPMS resources and related materials at the same site. The FAQ is a great resource for questions and answers already covered, so remember to always check it out when you have a question just in case it is already answered.
Upcoming GPMS Training Events:

Related Actions: April 26,2023 at 1:00 pm Central Time. Registration is open at WorkforceGPS .
Exits and Follow-up: May 10, 2023, at 1:00pm Central Time.
Reports: May 25, 2023, at 1:00pm Central Time.

The PY 2021 participant and host agency grantee reports are ready and accessible on the Older Workers Community of Practice (CoP).

Retaining Employment and Talent after Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN)

MN RETAIN continues to scale its efforts across Minnesota. 1,100 people have enrolled!
Do you or someone you know have an injury or illness that affects their work? Visit MNRetain.com to see if RETAIN could help!
Check out MN RETAIN new promotional video about the enrollment process if you haven’t already.

Question from the Field

QUESTION: It has been sometime since I assisted a CLIMB interested person and I am very rusty. It would be helpful to know what information should be conveyed to individuals. Also, I have no idea where to find relevant information or other things that are needed.

ANSWER: Not too much has changed with the CLIMB activity over the years. Remember that CLIMB is an activity of State DW. Ensure to enroll qualified State DW participants in the activity, after they have completed the required steps (see policy link below for details). Next steps will include DW staff sending the participant enrollment status to UI (weekly report of new enrollments) and UI will contact them to complete additional paperwork. Employment counselor can continue managing participant case as with any DW participant (IEP updates as needed, 30-day check-ins, case noting, training, support services, referrals, resources, etc.)

Additional information and helpful links:

UI is now going back to its pre-pandemic process, as announced in Feb 2023 edition of Partner Express Newsletter:

All newly enrolled applicants will be supplied with the required forms and directed to use them. UI will switch over applicants who could still potentially collect multiple weeks of benefits. However, applicants with only a few potential weeks of benefits remaining will probably not be required to complete the paper forms. The goal is to have all applicants using paper forms within the next couple of months.

CLIMB Policy

CLIMB for Dislocated Workers | CareerForce (careerforcemn.com)

Starting a Business / Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (mn.gov)

Find an SBDC / Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (mn.gov)

Small Business Partnerships Program / Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (mn.gov)

Find a Mentor | SCORE

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

Should you have any performance or data entry questions, please contact the Federal Adult Programs Performance Coordinator, Amy Carlson, at amy.carlson@state.mn.us.

Trade Adjustment Assistance

Staffing Update

Carol Bisbee recently joined the Adult Programs team as the Administrative Support Specialist. She started working for the State of Minnesota in January 2022 at Legislative Coordinating Commission and had worked in the manufacturing industry for the prior 13 years. Her schooling and work background is in Business Office Administration. Carol is married and has one son who lives in Atlanta. She has three dogs, all German Shorthair Pointers, and cannot imagine life without them. She loves the outdoors and tries to spend as much time as possible outside and at the lake. Carol also enjoys cooking and reading a good book.

OJT FAQs for Employers

TAA is finalizing an On-the-Job Training (OJT) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) flyer geared toward employers to create broader awareness of the OJT opportunity and process. Watch for more information in next month’s newsletter and on careerforcemn.com/TAA.

Benefits after Training

Please remind customers, especially Spring graduates, about the Job Search Allowance and Relocation Allowance benefits available for interviews and relocations that are 15 miles or more from the customer’s home. All applications are available on the Counselor Portal: https://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/dislocated-worker/counselors/forms/

Program Status and Outreach Efforts

The TAA program has funding and continues to serve customers. TAA must be the primary source of funding for customers who are eligible. Previous Partner Express newsletters include articles related to the phased termination that the TAA Program entered on 7/1/22. The U.S. Department of Labor recently released TEGL 14-22 - Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers Program Phase-out Termination Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and it has been added to the ETA Advisory database and is available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-14-22

TAA will perform various outreach efforts this spring and summer to ensure those who are eligible for TAA are aware of the benefits available. Contact TAA with outreach suggestions or to ask about an individual’s eligibility.

Petitions

Petitions can still be filed, but DOL’s investigation is paused until program restoration or reauthorization. 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
Nordson Medical, Eagan
Banner Engineering, Huron, SD (HQ in Minnesota)

Please email all questions and customer applications to the Trade Adjustment Assistance general email at deed.taa@state.mn.us

Follow Your Heart to a Caring Career

The Follow Your Heart to a Caring Career campaign has one primary goal: to help Minnesota employers attract, hire and retain people to provide care and support services in people’s homes, in the community and in facilities for people with disabilities and elders.

This campaign, which is called the Caring Career campaign for short, was developed by DEED in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Minnesota State HealthForce Center of Excellence, Local Workforce Development Area leaders and staff, industry associations and many others.

There are paid digital and ethnic media, earned media, organic social, mass email and other outreach components to this campaign, which kicks off June 1 - but you can start using the resources and engage in the campaign now!

This campaign is about reaching, hiring and retaining people to work in home-, community- and facility-based care. The focus is on entry level positions with a potential for career growth.

Partners: How YOU can engage with this campaign!

List your health care-related training opportunities on the Training Program Finder on CareerForceMN.com. Here’s how to get your training program posted. Need help? Call 651-259-7500.
Encourage job seekers with whom you are working to consider a Caring Career. Most positions can be started with a high school diploma or equivalent and employer-provided training. You can find occupational handouts for Personal Care Aide, Direct Support Professional, Nursing Assistant and other materials in multiple languages on CareerForceMN.com/CaringCareer.
Work with a CareerForce location near you to host a career exploration or hiring event featuring home-, community- or facility-based care provider employers. Reach out to staff at a CareerForce location near you for assistance.
Share Caring Career posts on your social channels. We’re using #CaringCareerMN for this campaign so you can find posts easily! We’ll be posting regularly on CareerForceMN and DEED social channels. Please use #CaringCareerMN on your related social posts.

Have questions or comments about the Follow Your Heart to a Caring Career campaign? Send them to CareerForce@state.mn.us or call 651-259-7500.

Labor Market Information

Many Minnesotans who identify as Hispanic or Latino face persistent systemic barriers to prosperity, so as policymakers, community leaders, businesses, and workforce leaders develop approaches to address disparities, it is helpful to have disaggregated data by race and ethnicity. To help craft effective solutions, DEED issued a report that analyzes the demographic, economic and educational trends and disparities of Hispanic and Latino Minnesotans.

"As Minnesota's Latino population continues to grow and make important contributions to our state's economy and culture, it is essential that we address the persistent disparities in educational attainment, poverty rates, household income, and unemployment rates that affect many members of our community," said Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs Legislative and Policy Director Nicauris Heredia Rosario. "We welcome this report from DEED, which provides important insights into the challenges facing our community."

Access the full report, Hispanic and Latino Minnesotans: An analysis of employment, educational and other economic trends and disparities related to the labor force, in the current edition of Minnesota Economic Trends. Similarly, a report focused on Black or African American Minnesotans was published in the September 2022 issue of Minnesota Economic Trends.

If you have questions about Labor Market Information, please email deed.lmi@state.mn.us

This newsletter is intended 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.