August 2026
 New FSR/RPR Templates Available
Effective July 1, 2026, the second year of grant funding became available for eligible grants. ACP Coordinators are in the process of emailing updated FSR/RPR templates to grantees. These templates include the second-year purchase order number associated with each grant.
Please begin using the updated FSR/RPR template for your July 2026 reimbursement request, due August 20, 2026.
Documentation Spotlight - Allocating Staff Time Across Multiple Funding Sources
When should you consider using a time study?
- Staff work on more than one grant or funding source.
- Staff perform both grant-funded and non-grant-funded activities.
- Staff support multiple cost categories or programs.
- Fixed percentages do not reflect actual work performed.
Why should you use a time study?
- Provides documentation for allocating salary and fringe benefit costs.
- Reflects actual work performed rather than estimated percentages.
- Helps ensure each funding source pays only its fair share of staff costs.
- Strengthens supporting documentation for reimbursement requests.
A time study provides a reasonable, supportable method for allocating staff costs and helps ensure salary and fringe benefit expenses are charged appropriately to each funding source. It also strengthens the documentation supporting reimbursement requests.
Support Services
When requesting reimbursement for Support Services, be sure your documentation clearly shows:
- The participant received the tangible good or service.
- The service was allowable under the grant and included in your organization’s Support Services & Incentives Policy.
- The cost is supported by invoices, receipts, and other required documentation.
- The service aligns with the participant’s Employment Plan.
ACP Webpage
Visit the ACP home page for resources and tools to assist in the administration of your ACP grant.
ACP Successes
We'd love to learn about the amazing work you're doing and how it is positively impacting the lives of individuals throughout the State of Minnesota! To submit a success story, please fill out this brief ACP Success Stories Form.
A participant enrolled with Jewish Family and Children's Service of Minnesota received training and career support through DEED's Pathways to Prosperity grant program to strengthen her qualifications and re-enter the information technology field after being laid off in 2024.
The participant brought an impressive background in information technology, with extensive experience as a Senior Test Analyst and Software Engineer across multiple industries, including banking, healthcare, and business management consulting. Although she held a master's degree in Physics/Electronics earned outside of the United States, she was concerned that the lack of a U.S.-recognized IT credential might limit her competitiveness in today's job market.
To demonstrate her current technical knowledge and strengthen her resume, she pursued the CompTIA Data+ certification. The credential enhanced her ability to analyze, interpret, and communicate business data while complementing her extensive experience in quality assurance and software testing.
After successfully completing the training, she passed the certification exam and earned her CompTIA Data+ credential. Shortly thereafter, she accepted a Quality Assurance position with the State. The new role represented a significant career milestone, providing a 19.6% increase in salary over her previous IT position.
Her success demonstrates how combining years of professional experience with an industry-recognized credential can strengthen a candidate's competitiveness and lead to meaningful employment opportunities.
Please contact your Adult Career Pathways Grant Coordinator directly with any questions regarding Adult Career Pathways Programs.
 New Mass Layoff Project Awarded
Dakota-Scott Workforce Services has been awarded a non-compete mass layoff project to assist the affected workers of Hearthside Food Solutions LLC, d/b/a Maker’s Pride. This event is regarding the closure of the facility and layoff of approximately 85 employees at the Shakopee location. If any dislocated workers from Maker’s Pride apply for services at your location, please refer them to the following locations: Shakopee CareerForce, Burnsville CareerForce, and West Saint Paul CareerForce.
Winona Workforce Services has been awarded a non-compete project to assist the affected workers from Acuity Brands Lighting, Inc., regarding the closure of its facility and the layoff of approximately 86 employees. Employee layoffs are expected to occur starting in August 2026 with full closure on or about 11/30/26.
New National Dislocated Worker Grant (DWG) Funding Opportunity
The State of MN (DEED) is partnering with local workforce areas (WDA) to apply for the Rapid Reskill Employment Recovery National Dislocated Worker Grants (Reskill DWGs). An optional informational webinar was held on July 15. Applications from interested WDAs were due to DEED by July 22. The deadline to submit applications to the Department of Labor (DOL) is August 3, 2026.
WorkForce One (WF1) Quarterly Build Changes
- The following DW related changes were shared at the 7.20 Sprint 3 Review meeting on July 15, 2026. This meeting reviewed work completed from 6/3/26 – 7/15/26.
- Consent View/Print – MFIP/DWP – Remove DWP and revise sanction language from the DHS–3172 Responsibilities, Rights, and Consent
- Post–Exit Add/Edit – Adult/DW/Youth – Make "Employed" and "Occupational Code (O*NET)" fields required
- eSignature Summary – Add upload link for Support Service Receipt to Support Service Add/Edit
- Payment Approval Queue – Allow Payments to be assigned to Other Staff
- Summary pages – Standardize message when there is no data
- Help Desk Ticket Form Add – Conditionally require fields according to specification
- Help Maintenance – Edit Page Help – A blank item is auto added/moved to the field selection and is causing the page to crash
- Security Access Form – Prevent page crash when agency is set to "Unlisted"
- More information can be found in WF1 7.20 Sprint 2 Review PowerPoint, saved in WF1 under Resources > WF1 News. A link to the recording of the meeting is posted on the WF1 login page. Submit a WF1 help desk ticket for questions or login issues.
WIOA Adult, WIOA and State Dislocated Worker Programs – Formula Funds
- PY26/FY27 Workplans
- Grantees should receive approved workplans for authorized signatures soon, if they haven’t already.
- Funding Streams will be available as soon as grant agreements are fully executed.
Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) Board
The next MJSP Board meeting is scheduled for October 26, 2026. Grantees that plan to apply for supplemental funding should submit a request on September 25th, (30 days before the meeting).
Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)
- TEGL 13-25, Program Year 2026 Planning Instructions and Allotments for the Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) State and Territorial Grantees, were published on the ETA Advisory website. Link: TEGL 13-25 | U.S. Department of Labor
- Minnesota SCSEP PY2026 State and Territorial grantees Authorized Positions (AP) by county were received from the SCSEP National office on June 30, 2026.
- The PY2026 Workplan and Budget Planning Forms were distributed to all SCSEP providers, who returned the completed forms to DEED by the July 8, 2026, deadline. Approved contracts are scheduled to be issued to providers by the first week of August 2026.
- Grantee Performance Management System (GPMS) vLive Office Hours: These sessions occur bi-weekly, and all providers are encouraged to attend. If you stop receiving calendar invitations, please contact your DEED program coordinator. Recorded materials from the GPMS Office Hours series can be found here: GPMS Office Hours vLive.
Policy
- On 7/8/26 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published Training and Employment Notice (TEN) 01-26: Clarifying English language proficiency requirements for Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training participants.
- TEN 01-26 for its guidance and ensure that participants seeking a CDL meet the requirements and expectations to successfully enroll in and complete their CDL training and certification. Additional technical assistance on this topic is available upon request.
- The DWFAP team has received some questions about the purpose and layout of its advisories.
- On 5/19/26 DOL published Training and Employment Guidance Letter (TEGL) 11-25: Clarifying Allowable Outreach Activities for Federal Formula and Competitive Grants. TEGL 11-25 rescinds and replaces TEGL 03-23 (9/6/23) and clarifies outreach activities under WIOA, the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, and the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act.
- Examples of populations to focus outreach on come from the America’s Talent Strategy: Building the Workforce for the Golden Age report issued in August 2025.
- TEGL 11-25 also encourages coordination with other public programs, including those where participants must meet new work requirements.
- It encourages outreach to the long-term unemployed, underemployed, and to former workers who have left the labor force (discouraged workers).
- Stakeholders are encouraged to review TEGL 11-25 and update their outreach strategies as appropriate. References to TEGL 03-23 should be removed/updated.
- See for more information.
Reminders
- Quarterly Progress Report:
- Reports for quarter ending June 2026 were due on July 30, 2026. Please report on all active grants. If you have outstanding reports, please ensure that you submit as soon as possible, those are a requirement for processing payment reimbursements.
- Monthly Financial Status Report (FSR)/Monthly Reimbursement Payment Request (RPR):
- Due the 20th day of the month following the preceding month-end. For example: the July RPR/FSR is due August 20, 2026.
- Report accrued monthly expenditures (including obligated funds).
- A monthly RPR/FSR is required even if no funds are expended.
Please email all requests, reports, and technical assistance questions to the Dislocated Worker Federal Adult Programs general email at dwfaprograms.deed@state.mn.us.
 July 2026 Job Search Experience Survey Results
Thank you to everyone who completed the latest round of the Job Search Experience Survey, which goes out twice a year to workforce development professionals who work with job seekers in Minnesota.
The survey, which closed July 3, had 316 responses by DEED staff, local area staff and other workforce development professionals throughout the state.
Topline results from the survey:
Workforce development professionals say artificial intelligence (AI) is having a growing impact on Minnesota job seekers’ career planning and job search, as well as on the hiring process they experience now. In addition, while most respondents continue to say that it’s harder to get hired now than a year ago, the trend toward more difficulty finding employment appears to be leveling off in Minnesota. Read a summary of the survey results and access an interactive visualization of responses broken out by area.
Contact the CareerForce Information and Assistance line at 651-259-7500 or careerforce@state.mn.us if you have questions.
 The June 2026 edition of Minnesota Economic Trends offers a comprehensive look at how Minnesota’s labor market and economy have evolved over the past year. This annual "state-of-the-state" issue from DEED's Labor Market Information (LMI) Office highlights statewide job growth and employment shifts, and provides more in-depth regional snapshots for each of the six planning areas.
Signs of Stress: Minnesota’s Labor Market 2026
Labor Pains: Central Minnesota’s Economy Pushes Through 2025
New Realities in the Metro Area’s Labor Market
Northeast Minnesota’s Workforce: Cooling Momentum
The State of Northwest Minnesota's Labor Market: Loosening but Not Unraveling
Labor Market Shifts in Southeast Minnesota: Job Growth, Wages, and the Next Generation of Workers
Population Shift and Workforce Drift in Southwest Minnesota
If you have questions about Labor Market Information, please email deed.lmi@state.mn.us. If you'd like to learn more about how your regional economy is doing, or how to use our Data Tools, please check our Fall 2026 LMI Training Schedule.
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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