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May 15,
2006
In this issue:
§
State Supplemental
Budget Update
§
Federal Updates- WIA,
TANF
STATE SUPPLEMENTAL
BUDGET UPDATE
Tuesday,
the Senate Finance Committee marked up the Senate Supplemental Budget
bill. The Senate is moving forward with one comprehensive
proposal; Senator Cohen said in introductory remarks that having one
supplemental spending bill reduces the "anarchy" of passing and
negotiating a separate bill for each budget area. He said Senate leadership
agreed to split the projected surpluses in the general fund and the tax
relief account equally between the Finance and Tax Committees.
Several amendments were offered, but none of them affected portions
of the Economic Development (lead- Senator Sams) or Human Services (lead-
Senator Berglin) budgets which pertain to issues of particular interest to
the Workforce System. The finance bill will now go to the Senate
floor.
The
House, unlike the Senate, is moving each of the committee budget bills
separately. Tusday night, the House Ways and Means Committee marked
up the Jobs and Economic Opportunity Policy and Finance bill (Representative
Gunther). Several amendments were offered. Of particular
interest, Representative Karen Clark offered an amendment which directs
excess funds from the Food Assistance Program to Learn to Earn, Minnesota
Youth Program, and YouthBuild.
The amendment passed by voice vote.
Once
the House and Senate have passed the bills through their respective
chambers, conferees will be named.
A couple of the obstacles that must be addressed before much
progress can occur beyond that point is some agreement on spending targets
and whether there will be one large bill as the Senate is constructing, or
several budget bills as the House is preparing.
Initiatives Included
in Supplemental Spending Bills
House Jobs and Economic Opportunity
Finance Committee:
$750,000 was available to fund activities in this committee's
jurisdiction, including TANF funds.
- uses $27 million in TANF to fund MFIP
child care grants and DWP grants, but moves $20
million in general
funds out of human services
- provides small increases for MFIP child
care grants ($.3 million for FY08-09)
- increases basic sliding fee child care
($.5 million in FY06-07)
-
allows MFIP expenditures made on behalf of any minor
child who is part of a two-parent
eligible household as allowable
expenditures under the separately funded state program;
these expenditures would not count toward the Federal requirements.
-allocates $450,000 from the Workforce Development Fund
for a pilot project to encourage the
licensure in Minnesota
of foreign-trained health care professionals (HF3578, added by amendment in
markup by Representative Clark)
-directs excess general fund dollars from the Food
Assistance Program to the Minnesota Youth
Program. Funding levels
are $401,000 for FY07 and $200,500 for FY08
Senate HHS Budget Division:
- includes Senator Berglin’s MFIP
WorkPREP initiative (a new program funded with state dollars for
MFIP households
with barriers to employment)
-
eliminates the 5% reduction so Counties receive their full
consolidated fund allocation. If the
Department chooses, they can
finance performance-based incentives from the
Commissioner’s Innovation Fund
- repeals MFIP $50 subsidized housing
penalty
- includes both health care and child care
provider rate increases
Senate
Agriculture, Environment, and Economic Development Budget Division:
A total
of $4.150 million general fund appropriations are included in the measure
and the total from all funds is $9.680 million.
- allocates $1.92 million dollars per year from
the Workforce Development Fund to Minneapolis
summer employment programs, of which $250,000 each year must go to Learn-to-Earn
-allocates $250,000 (one time) from the Workforce
Development Fund to the West Central
Initiative in Fergus
Falls to implement
and operate Northern Connections. The appropriation
must be matched by an equal amount of non-state money
Both
House and Senate include modifications to the Partnership Program and the
Pathways Program. Current law
states that “up to 25% of a job skills partnership board grant may be
used for pre-employment training.” The new language allows more
flexibility by striking “25%” and replacing it with “a
portion.”
FEDERAL SUPPORT FOR
INCREASED WIA FUNDING CONTINUES
The Senate Dear
Colleague letter to the Labor-HHS Appropriations Committee requesting the
restoration of funding for WIA and Employment Services programs to FY 05
levels has been submitted. As
you will recall, both Senator Dayton and Senator Coleman supported the
letter.
The House letter to the
Appropriators supporting WIA was submitted on Friday. Minnesota Congress members McCollum,
Oberstar and Peterson signed on to the letter.
TANF RULE WRITING
UNDERWAY
As outlined in previous
MWCA Updates, the passage of the Federal Deficit Reduction Act included
reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
program. Since then, the Federal
Department of Health and Human Services has begun writing new rules,
including work activity definitions and state performance reporting that
will govern TANF programs.
MWCA has actively
encouraged the Minnesota Delegation to send a letter to HHS Secretary
Leavitt asking the Department to adopt TANF rules that will: allow state
flexibility; define work activities broadly enough to allow Minnesota to
continue to receive credit for employment and pre-employment activities;
discourage diversion of resources to new administrative functions; and
delay the implementation deadline to 2008. Representatives McCollum and Ramstad
have been asked to lead the effort to gather support of the entire
Minnesota Delegation for this letter.
CLASP ISSUES REPORT ON
GOVERNMENT PARTERNERSHIPS WITH BUSINESSES
TO HELP LOW-WAGE WORKERS
(from the National
Governor’s Association)
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) has released a
report entitled, “Wising Up: How Government Can Partner with Business
to Increase Skills and Advance Low-Wage Workers” by Amy-Ellen Duke, Karin Martinson, and Julie Strawn.
The report examines five training partnerships underway in four states that
demonstrate how states and local governments have partnered with business
and industry to train low-wage workers and encourage the creation and
retention of “good” jobs—those that pay enough to support
a family and offer health care, sick leave, and other important benefits.
The report offers innovative practices, challenges, and lessons learned
for states and localities.
The
authors identified three models that appear to be the most common at the
state and local level: Incumbent Worker and Customized Training
Programs; Career Ladders or Pathways; and State Skills Certificates and
Panels. Five initiatives in Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana,
and Massachusetts
were examined. The report makes several recommendations for states
and localities interested in establishing partnerships with businesses to
advance low-wage workers:
- When using public funds for training partnerships, find
creative ways to ensure that the training benefits low-wage
workers—for example, by targeting training grants according to
workers’ skills, job level, occupational cluster or sector,
and/or geographic region.
- Link the training provided to wage increases or job
promotions.
- Incorporate basic education and English language instruction
into training so that it is accessible to lower-skilled workers.
- Wherever possible, require business partners to provide paid
release time for training.
- Offer on-site training, preferable during work hours, or
flexible scheduling at off-site locations.
- Help workers earn college certificates and degrees over time
by offering transferable college credit for partnership training.
- Support workers’ participation in training with career
and academic counseling, tutoring, soft-skills training, opportunities
for peer networking, and other supportive services, such as child
care.
-
The
report includes in-depth profiles of each training partnership, and
includes contact information for readers interested in learning more.
To access the report, go to:
http://www.clasp.org/publications/wise_up_2006.pdf
JOYCE FOUNDATION INVESTIGATES
ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES
FOR LOW SKILL AND ADULT
LEARNERS
The Joyce Foundation
recently approved a $10 million, three-year initiative to foster policy
innovation and coordination among workforce, welfare, economic development
and education systems in up to four states. The three-year goal is to begin to
institutionalize state policy change that will build on what is working and
offer new strategies to improve access and success for low-skilled adult
learners. The initiative will
focus on ensuring that low-skilled working adults can gain the credentials
and experience they need to compete for high-demand, better-wage jobs.
On behalf of the Joyce
Foundation, Workforce Strategy Center
is visiting six Midwestern states, including Minnesota, to hold conversations with
stakeholders to learn how to structure the initiative. Participants in the Minnesota sessions
included representatives from DEED, GWDC, DHS, Department of Education, the
Governor’s Office, Non-Profit providers, MnSCU, and MWCA. Following the state visits, the
Joyce Foundation will make decisions regarding how to structure the initiative.
MINNESOTA DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS
The Minnesota Development Conference, of which MWCA is a
co-sponsor, will be held on October 4th and 5th. This year’s theme is
“Accelerating Innovation and Entrepreneurship.” The Call for Presentations was
posted this week on the DEED website - the deadline for
proposals is Monday, May 15. www.deed.state.mn.us
SAVE THE DATE!
MWCA’s Annual Summer Meeting
will be held in Duluth
again this year. Details to
come, but please save the dates of August 8 (evening welcome reception),
August 9, and August 10 (morning only).
________________________________________________________________________________________________
If you wish to be added or removed from this
distribution list, you may request to
do so by
e-mailing aolson@mncounties.org.
Minnesota Workforce Council
Association
Anne
Olson, Director
125 Charles Avenue, St.
Paul, MN 55103-2108
Phone: (651)
224-3344
Fax: (651) 224-6540 www.mncounties.org3/mwca
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