May 2025
 Adult Career Pathways (ACP) Team Updates
Happy Spring! The Team would like to express our appreciation for your patience as Coordinators are processing the many contract extensions and reimbursement payments. In order to continue moving the documents forward, please be sure you are working closely and communicating with your organization’s DEED Coordinator with timely responses.
File Management Update Reminder: Electronic Document Storage
Effective July 1, 2025, all local state and federal Employment and Training Program Partners must transition from paper (hard) copy participant files to maintaining electronic participant records using Workforce One (WF1), which includes the upload of all required participant source documentation (including all participant eligibility documents, employment plans, and support services documentation) into Electronic Document Storage (EDS) also known as Document Summary within WF1.
Request for Proposals
The ACP team have received questions from grantees around the next cycle of Request for Proposals (RFPs) for SFY 26-27. We would like to remind everyone of a few items:
Exit Reason: Soft Termination
If a participant in Workforce One has no open activities for 90 days or more, Workforce One will automatically exit the participant with the exit reason, “Soft Termination.” This is the case even if staff is interacting with a participant and case noting. You should always keep at least one activity open for active participants to ensure that they are not exited prematurely.
Adult Career Pathways Webpage
Quarterly Provider Meeting notes (Competitive and Drive for 5) are now posted on our webpage. Check out the ACP home page for resources and tools to assist in the management of ACP Grants.
Grantee Spotlight
In 2024, the International Institute of Minnesota (IIMN) proudly celebrated 105 years of service, supporting New Americans in achieving economic independence and long-term success. That same year, IIMN served 5,600 individuals through a range of services, including Job Training, Citizenship and Immigration, Career Advancement, Refugee Services, and Anti-Trafficking. Historically, IIMN’s Healthcare pathway has been supporting clients for 35 years to fill Minnesota's fill critical workforce shortage. The organization currently offers three career pathways—Healthcare, Hospitality, and Business—designed to assist clients in developing and enhancing the skills needed to build stable futures for themselves, their families, and the broader Minnesota community.
International Institute of Minnesota maintains a dedicated focus on serving immigrants, a commitment that informs every aspect of its work. This intentional approach enables the organization to design programs, classes, and services specifically tailored to the immigrant experience, ensuring that IIMN is delivering targeted support and practical resources.
Two key service elements contribute to IIMN’s success. First, IIMN employs an integrated education model in which every client undergoes an English language assessment to determine placement in the most appropriate English language–focused career pathway. Each career pathway curriculum is intentionally designed to meet learners at their current skill level, ensuring that instruction is relevant and accessible. All instructors are specifically trained to teach English language learners, and four levels of English are offered on site. This structure allows IIMN to provide tailored career pathways that emphasize language development and support each participant’s progression toward greater opportunity and success.
Second, IIMN cultivates strong, reciprocal partnerships with employers that address both industry workforce needs and support the employment of IIMN’s clients. These partners engage with IIMN in multiple meaningful ways, including providing feedback on career pathway curricula, leading mock interviews, offering site tours, and participating in employer roundtable discussions. IIMN ensures continuity in these relationships through retention of employment counselors and program managers who actively build and sustain employer engagement. Recently, IIMN added a dedicated Job Developer to further strengthen these employer connections by coordinating regular touchpoints between students and employer partners throughout students’ training pathways. These collaborative relationships reflect a shared investment in workforce development and individual advancement.
As the International Institute of Minnesota marks more than a century of service, its commitment to immigrant communities remains at the heart of its mission. Through innovative education models, tailored career pathways, and strong employer partnerships, IIMN continues to equip New Americans with the tools, skills, and opportunities needed to thrive. By aligning its programs with the goals of its clients and the evolving needs of Minnesota’s workforce, IIMN not only empowers individuals and families but also strengthens Minnesota’s communities and economy.
Please contact your Adult Career Pathways Grant Coordinator directly with any questions regarding Adult Career Pathways Programs.
 Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
SCSEP Funding
- Program Year (PY) 2025 Funding Approved: Funding levels for PY2025 were finalized under the recently passed Federal Government Spending Continuing Resolution, effective through 9/30/25. The funding covers the period from 7/1/25 to 6/30/26.
- PY2025 Funding TEGL: Allotment is in the approval process with expected release in May 2025. Grantees will be required to submit updated policies on grievance procedures, termination practices and Individual Duration Limits for PY2025.
Grant Management Updates
- Grantee Performance Evaluation for PY 2023: Currently underway, delayed due to the Customer Satisfaction Survey.
- Performance Thresholds: Evaluation ratings will be classified as follows:
- Meet Expectations: Performance at 80%.
- Exceeds Expectations: Performance above 100%.
- Below Expectations/Fail: Performance below 80%.
- Update: A newly updated webinar on performance evaluations will be uploaded to the Community of Practice.
- Nationwide Participant and Host Agency survey reports will be available in May 2025.
- Individual Duration Limit: The participant duration limit requirement was introduced in 2007, individuals who participated in SCSEP before 2007 are eligible to reapply and may participant for up to an additional four years.
- Action Items and Post-Exit Follow-Ups: Providers must ensure that all past due Action Items are updated, and that all pending and overdue follow-ups are completed and recorded in GPMS. Timely and accurate updates are required to receive credit for performance outcomes achieved.
Grantee Performance Management System (GPMS):
- GPMS e-News February 2025 Issue Vol 3 is now available.
- vLive Office Hours: Access the latest materials and recordings from the GPMS Office Hours Series.
- GPMS training sessions will be held weekly in May with three modules: overview/navigation, grantee/sub-grantee administration and case management.
Retaining Employment and Talent After Injury/Illness Network (RETAIN)
Enrollment is ongoing for MN RETAIN, individuals with an illness/injury that need support to stay-at-work or return-to-work can contact MN RETAIN at worker@mnretain.com or through the contact for on www.mnretain.com. Please type your paragraph information here using these margins. It is important to follow the layout for the most consistent version of Partner Express for all areas.
DEED Policies
- The following final Policies have now been posted to the DEED Policies site:
WIOA Adult, WIOA DW and State DW
- PY23FY24 funds must be expended by June 30, 2025:
- 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 PY23 funds.
- PY22 Reallocations must be expended by June 30, 2025, there will be no extension for reallocations.
- PY24FY25 Carry Forward Request: Providers may request a waiver to carry forward more than 20% of their allocated PY23 funds into the second year of the grant using the provided template. Providers who expend or obligate at least 80% of their PY23 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 DW, and State DW.
- Submit waivers as soon as possible and no later than May 30, 2025, to allow enough time for leadership approval and processing.
- PY25FY26 WIOA DW & Adult TEGL is pending; allocations will be sent out once released.
- For fast processing of contract paperwork, 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.
- PY25SFY26 State DW Formula: Preliminary allocation will be available mid to late May 2025.
Reminders
- Quarterly Progress Reports (QPRs) for the period ending March 31, 2025, are due on April 30th.
- Monthly Financial Status Report (FSR)/Monthly Reimbursement Payment Request (RPR) are due the 20th day of the month following the preceding month-end.
- 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.
- Action Items and Post-Exit Follow-Ups: Providers must ensure that all past due Action Items are updated, and that all pending and overdue follow-ups are completed and recorded in GPMS. Timely and accurate updates are required to receive credit for performance outcomes achieved.
A Field Trip for Dislocated Worker Grants Team Members
The Dislocated Worker Grants Team, for the most part, started post-pandemic. Up until now, our work with program operators have largely been done virtually. It has been great getting to know staff and learning about the work they do that’s specific to their areas/locations. Starting the Grants Status Meetings in 2024, has allowed the team to meet one-on-one with each local area staff and get a better understanding of operations and efforts around service delivery. This year, the team is adding site visits to continue this process of learning and improving partnerships with service operators.
Anoka County Job Training Center was our first site visit! Our sincere thanks and appreciation to Nicole Swanson, Director, and her wonderful team including Maureen McCarthy (Manager, Employment Services), Troy Scheffel (Supervisor, Employment Services), Yemi Kersten (Manager, Business Operations) and a host of others, who welcome our team to their offices located in the Blaine Human Service Center. We got a chance to meet staff, tour the center, learn about service delivery strategies, observe meetings with program participants, and attend an on-site hiring event with several employers offering job openings with family-sustaining wages. Individuals attending were able to use Anoka’s computer lab to apply for jobs immediately. The site visit was all around a huge success and great experience for the team! It’s one thing to provide support to the field from afar and a whole different experience witnessing how policies, procedures, regulations, etc. translate into service delivery that impact people’s lives. All this could not have happened without the graciousness the Anoka County team. We are grateful for your partnership – thank you!
Please email all requests, reports, and technical assistance questions to the Dislocated Worker Federal Adult Programs general email at dwfaprograms.deed@state.mn.us.
 PY2023 Allocation and PY2022 Reallocation Closeout for the Dislocated Worker (DW) and WIOA Adult (AD) Programs.
Reminder: PY2023 allocations and PY2022 reallocations will be expiring on June 30, 2025.
All Workforce One (WF1) cases showing these funding streams within an open activity will need your attention.
 If needed in an alternative format, please contact performanceap.deed@state.mn.us
 If needed in an alternative format, please contact performanceap.deed@state.mn.us
If the participant will continue receiving a service currently supported by PY2023 allocations or PY2022 reallocations after June 30, 2025, a new activity will need to be opened for each continuing service the participant will move forward receiving.
Reminder: All Dislocated Worker and WIOA Adult program year formula allocations (small layoff grants/WIOA Adult allotments) remain active for two years.
- PY2023 = July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2025
- PY2024 = July 1, 2024 – June 30, 2026
- PY2025 = July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027
This means, their new activity will need a PY2024 or PY2025 formula grant selected within them depending on your agencies budget. PY2025 allocation funding streams will be activated as soon as those contracts are executed through DEED’s Fiscal team.
IMPORTANT PY23 ALLOCATION & PY22 REALLOCATION WF1 CLOSEOUT INFORMATION
- All activities with a PY2023 allocation or PY22 reallocation selected within them cannot have a start date after June 30, 2025. They must also have an end date no later than June 30, 2025.
- If any participant will continue receiving a service captured in an activity that is currently showing a PY2023 allocation or PY22 reallocation supporting that service financially, that activity needs to be copied within the participant’s WF1 activity detail screen.
- The new activity will need a start date of July 1, 2025.
- An active funding source (PY2024 or PY2025) will need to be selected within them as the grant financially supporting the continued service.
- To help in this funding source transition
- Mohamed Farah will mass close all currently open PY2023 funded activities with an end date of June 30, 2025, which means you will only need to open/copy the old activities.
- If you want to close the old activities yourself with a date no later than 06/30/2025, that is perfectly fine.
- If you choose not to close them yourself, it will be taken care of for you.
- This mass activity closure will begin August 1, 2025.
- If there are cases without open activities on record showing an active grant as the funding source, the mass closure will not work for those cases.
- Any cases that show they cannot be included in the PY2023 activity closure will be emailed to the management team for the COFFR funding the case.
- This communication will include directions on how the case manager will need to correct their data.
- Shortly after July 1, 2025, new funding streams will be added to your dropdown lists for PY2025 allocations.
- The date these new funding streams will be available is dependent on when PY2025 contracts are in place.
- Your management teams will be alerted as soon as your agency’s PY2025 funding streams are available in WF1.
Technical Assistance Corner
Requests for Technical Assistance
Please email the performance team’s general email address with your technical assistance needs: performanceap.deed@state.mn.us
Should you have any performance or data entry questions, please contact the performance team’s general email address: performanceap.deed@state.mn.us
 Gratitude
Thank you for your work and collaboration with the TAA team! We value your partnership and appreciate your continued work to help TAA eligible individuals to access services and obtain their educational/employment goals.
Should you need assistance from the TAA Supervisor, please contact Amy Carlson at amy.carlson@state.mn.us.
TAA Informational Meetings
- The TAA team is collaborating with the Rapid Response team on the new mine layoffs in Minnesota’s northeast region. Many of these workers will be eligible for TAA services based on their previous layoffs that were certified as trade impacted.
- We are in the scheduling phase for the Great 2025 TAA Outreach Events. These events will begin in Hutchinson, MN on April 29 and run through mid-August. If you have any questions about these events, please contact the TAA team at deed.taa@state.mn.us.
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.
Please email all questions and customer applications to the Trade Adjustment Assistance general email at deed.taa@state.mn.us.
 Key Tips for Grant Compliance
Each month, the Compliance Unit will feature common monitoring questions from the field.
Question: What are the essentials that should be included in an enrollment case note?
Answer: Enrollment case notes serve as a snapshot of the participant’s story—providing a clear overview of their current situation and their goals on the path to employment. The case note should be concise but informative, capturing the key details needed for participant support and program monitoring.
A strong enrollment case note should include:
- A summary of the participant’s current situation (including any referrals to your agency)
- Relevant barriers (e.g., transportation, childcare needs, lack of credentials)
- Justification for enrollment and eligibility factors (e.g., basic skills deficiency, justice involvement, low income, disability, recent layoff)
- Current employment status and work history (including wages)
- Educational background
- Individual Employment Plan (IEP)/Individual Service Strategy (ISS) goals and action steps
- Support services provided
- Referrals your program will offer to help the participant meet their goals
Best Practice
Consider creating a standardized enrollment case note template and saving it to your team’s shared drive. This ensures consistency across staff and helps meet documentation requirements. Remember, individual programs may have additional requirements—always refer to the applicable DEED policy when developing or updating your template.
If you have questions about Monitoring content, please email shannon.rolf@state.mn.us.
  Change is coming: Soon CareerForceMN.com will be CareerForce.MN.gov
CareerForceMN.com will be changing to CareerForce.MN.gov on June 3. A redirect will be in place for all pages on the old site to the new site for some time, but if you have links on your site to CareerForceMN.com make plans to update them as soon as possible after the change on June 3. The change to CareerForce.MN.gov is being made to make the site more secure and is in line with best practices for websites maintained by government agencies.
Flyer and poster for you to post and share:
More information will be shared in multiple ways leading up to and following the change to CareerForce.MN.gov.
Contact the CareerForce Information and Assistance line at 651-259-7500 or careerforce@state.mn.us if you have questions.
 Every quarter, the Labor Market Information (LMI) Office of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) publishes research articles that offer insights into important labor market trends. The March issue of Minnesota Economic Trends includes articles that explore the contributions of foreign born workers and estimates of undocumented immigrants in Minnesota's workforce, look at the surge in self-employed workers since the pandemic, describe our work helping high school students think about post-graduation plans, and introduce two new data tools to help with this, one that helps students choose a major based on a career of interest and the other that helps students be realistic about the cost of college compared to earnings post-graduation.
The Growth and Impact of Minnesota's Foreign-Born Workforce
Minnesota's foreign-born population has grown rapidly over the last decade, leading to increasing contributions to the state's workforce. Foreign-born workers account for almost 11% of Minnesota's labor force and play even larger roles in specific sectors and occupations.
The Role of Undocumented Immigrants in Minnesota's Workforce
Despite challenges in data accuracy and varying estimates of total numbers, immigrants who are undocumented make up a small but vital part of Minnesota's population and workforce, contributing significantly to key industries and helping to expand a tight labor market.
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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