October 2023

Adult Career Pathways (ACP)

Team Updates

The ACP Team was excited to release seven SFY2024-2025 Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to the DEED Competitive Grants and Contracts page over the past couple months. The team is in the process of reviewing all applications and anticipate award announcements within the next months.

Four additional RFPs will be released in October for the Drive for Five and Targeted Populations programs. We encourage Grantees and any interested organization to visit the site and review all outgoing grants. Included with each solicitation, is a brief description of the work and a link to its Request for Proposals (RFP). Sign up to receive emails when new opportunities are listed.

Please remember, when applying for ACP Competitive grants to not send your attachments in ZIP files. Review the directions carefully and send 2 separate PDF documents.

REMINDER: Final SFY22-23 reports are due by October 30^th, 2023 for competitive grants. Quarterly report templates are available on-line at the ACP home page under the individual program. All SFY22-23 Direct Appropriation grants’ final quarterly reports were due July 30^th, 2023. If you have not submitted yours to your Grant Coordinator, please do so by October 1^st, 2023. If needed, we have posted report instructions here. 

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.”

SFY24-25 Adult Direct Appropriation 

The ACP team is working closely with all Adult Direct Appropriation Grantees to finalize the SFY24-25 contracts. We appreciate your patience as these move through our contracting process.

Thank you all for attending the Adult Career Pathways Direct Appropriations onboarding event and Workforce One training in September. Both will be posted to the ACP web page by October 1^st.

Watch for communication from your Coordinator for information about how to register you and your teams for the upcoming monitoring and fiscal training.

MN Family Resiliency Partnership (Federally known as Displaced Homemaker Program)

The MN Family Resiliency Partnership (MFRP) has been a staple program at DEED for over 20 years. It is unique in services and the populations they serve. Six providers across the State of Minnesota aid individuals seeking to re-enter or enter the workforce after providing homemaking services for a period of time. We encourage a collaborative approach to serving participants to seamlessly meet the needs of participants and enhance a participant’s career goals. For more information about the Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership program check out DEED’s ACP webpage.

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(s) 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

As a reminder, all participants enrolled in any SFY22-23 ACP program MUST be appropriately exited from Workforce One (WF1) upon the completion of the grant. 

In order for your organization to capture outcomes for these participants, all participants must Exit from Workforce One (WF1) within 45 days from the expiration of the grant contract.

The Workforce One team has now posted 3 new virtual training videos; Case Notes, Activity, and Plan. Go to Resources – User How-to-Guides  within Workforce One to check them out!

Please reach out to your Grant Coordinator with any questions.

Adult Career Pathways Guides

The ACP Workforce One User Guide has been updated and posted to the ACP home page.

The ACP Operations Guide has been updated for June 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

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

• Possible Federal Government Shutdown
  • Our team has been getting some questions around possible federal government shutdown and what it will mean for local areas. We are monitoring the situation closely and we don’t anticipate a negative impact on our programs locally in the short term. We are still spending PY22/PY23 dollars so we should be fine for now. We will continue to monitor the situation and inform you of any changes.
• Quarterly Progress Report
  • Reports for quarter ending September 2023, is due on October 30. Please report on all active grants.

Re-entry Pilot Grant 

• The next monthly grantee meeting will be held on October 11, 2023
• 2^nd Quarter quarterly progress report is due October 30, 2023
• Check out the Re-Entry web page for information and resources. We’ll continue to update the page as needed.

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) 

• Check out the updated SCSEP web page for information and resources. We’ll continue to update the page as needed.

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

• MN RETAIN continues to scale its efforts across Minnesota.
• If you or someone you know have an injury or illness that affects work? Visit mnretain.com to see if RETAIN could help!

Question from the Field

• QUESTION: We have been using the ETPL to identify allowable trainings in our area, but the choices are mostly limited to 2-year degrees at our local community college. Short term trainings such as barber training are offered in other parts of the state, but as our clients are recently released from incarceration most of them are not allowed to travel and stay out of town for the time needed to complete the training.  How are others navigating this barrier of linking individuals with desired trainings out of their home area?
• ANSWER: Since this grant is from the State Dislocated Worker funds, the training institution does not need to be listed on the ETPL, however the training does need to meet the eligibility criteria.
  • The training institution DOES need to be registered, licensed, or exempt by OHE:
  • You can find lists of registered training institutions and licensed career schools on OHE’s website. And out-of-state institutions recognized by OHE on SARA.
  • There is not an online list of exemptions, as exemption letters issued by OHE expire two years after issuance.
  • Proof of registered (print out from OHE website or SARA), licensed (print out from OHE website), or exemption status is required in the case file.
  • In addition, you can pay for short-term training out of your Career Services.

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. Find information and resources to help administer DW programs and serve clients better here: Office of Dislocated Worker and Federal Adult Programs website

Please email all requests, reports, and technical assistance questions to the Dislocated Worker Federal Adult Programs general email at dwfaprograms.deed@state.mn.us.

Performance Updates for Dislocated Worker and WIOA Adult

Performance Update:

Program Year (PY) 2022 Quarter Four (Q4) Performance Outcomes compared to Negotiated Goals

Attached you will find the performance outcome spreadsheets for Total Dislocated Worker, State Dislocated Worker, WIOA Dislocated Worker, DWG, and WIOA Adult programs. These are best when printed landscape, in color, and on 11x17 size paper.

If needed in an alternative format contact amy.carlson@state.mn.us

If needed in an alternative format contact amy.carlson@state.mn.us

• Performance goals based on WlOA negotiated standards for PY2022.
• Color Key:
  • Blue are the negotiated performance standards
  • Green means the set goal was met or exceeded
  • Yellow means at least 50% of the goal was met
  • Red means less than 50% of the goal was met
• Served is all participants accessing the program during the actual program year July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023.
• Getting a Job results based on exiters July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022, except those exited with exclusion. This indicator measures each exiter's employment status during the 2nd quarter after exiting the program. Formula: Percent of employed exiters divided by all exiters during the reporting period.
• Keeping a Job results based on exiters January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021, except those exited with exclusion. This indicator measures each exiter's employment status during the 4th quarter after exiting the program. Formula: Percent of employed exiters divided by all exiters during the reporting period.
• 2nd Quarter Median Earnings results based on exiters July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022, except those exited with exclusionary reason and those showing zero earnings. This indicator measures the median earning during the 2nd quarter after exiting the program.
• Credential Attainment results based on exiters January 1, 2021 – December 31, 2021, except those exited with exclusionary reason and those who did not attend credential type training. This indicator measures the percent of participants who received a credential after attending training.                                        

Should you have any performance or data entry questions, please contact the State Program Administrator Coordinator for ETP Adult programs, Amy Carlson, at amy.carlson@state.mn.us.

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)

WorkforceGPS

If you’re not already a part of the WorkforceGPS site, TAA invites you to use this helpful resource. There are many communities, including a TAA Community https://taa.workforcegps.org/

Overall, per the site: https://www.workforcegps.org/, “Workforce GPS is your online technical assistance website created to help build the capacity of America's public workforce investment system. Sponsored by the Employment and Training Administration of the U.S. Department of Labor, WorkforceGPS was developed specifically for workforce professionals, educators, and business leaders. Here you will find curated communities of interest, useful webinars and other training resources, promising workforce development practices, and relevant evidence-based research – giving you the tools you need to help you create innovative approaches to improve the employment prospects of job seekers. We invite you to come and engage with your peers by joining WorkforceGPS today.” 

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 released TEGL 14-22 - Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Workers Program Phase-out Termination Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and it is available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/tegl-14-22

TAA is performing various outreach efforts 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

Filed after July 1, 2022

• Torax Medical, St Paul
• Turck, Inc., Plymouth
• Ball Corp, St Paul
• Nordson Medical, Eagan
• Optum, Hopkins
• United Language Group, Minneapolis
• Sleep Number, Minneapolis

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

Labor Market Information

DEED’s Labor Market Information office recently has completed annual updates to our comprehensive Regional Profiles, which cover demographic, social, labor force, and economic trends in each region of the state:

Central Minnesota – Regional Profile

Northeast Minnesota – Regional Profile

Northwest Minnesota – Regional Profile

Southeast Minnesota – Regional Profile

Southwest Minnesota – Regional Profile

Twin Cities Metro Area – Regional Profile

DEED's Regional Analysts have scheduled a set of Labor Market Information training sessions for the fall and winter of 2023. These hands-on training sessions - whether virtual or in-person - will help attendees learn where to find and how to use DEED’s labor market information data tools. Attendees will navigate data tools on our website (mn.gov/deed/data/) and learn how to use them to understand the local economy and provide guidance to jobseekers and others.

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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