Deadline: 27-Sep-21
The Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) is offering Adult Support Services Competitive Grant to enhance or improve an existing workforce development program within your organization for individuals such as job training, employment preparation, internships, job assistance to parents, financial literacy, and academic and behavioral for low-performing adults
Themes
Within DEED’s Employment & Training Division, Adult Career Pathways programs will be focused on awarding proposals that place an emphasis on the following three themes:
- Equity: Adult Career Pathways programs seek to build an inclusive, skilled workforce and reduce disparities based on race, disability, and gender:
- Training participants with the most significant barriers to employment and ensuring participants have equal access to training and employment opportunities.
- Ensuring that organizations serving the most hard to serve populations reflect the community accessing the services and incorporate human-centered design into their programs.
- Reducing and eliminating disparities by empowering all members of the workforce will result in a more equitable and prosperous Minnesota for individuals, families, businesses, and communities.
- Innovation: Adult Career Pathways programs recognize that new solutions must be developed to respond to new and ongoing challenges in the workforce and communities:
- Programs that are mission-driven, utilizing best practices while having an innovation mindset to creatively imagine and apply new approaches to success.
- Clearly show the development of innovative approaches to outreach and recruitment, reaching those who have been disconnected and disenfranchised from the workforce.
- Designing and implementing new efficient and effective systems for workforce development programs that address skills shortages, remove barriers to lifelong learning, and help workers improve their employability.
- DEED will facilitate the growth of innovative programs by providing resources to ensure the program’s ability to grow and expand.
- Performance: Adult Career Pathways programs are built on a foundation of partnerships, most significantly between program providers and employers:
- Job Placement Employer partners that will offer livable wage jobs and job advancement to program participants.
- Wage Rate Programs that pursue training and/or development that target industries and jobs with livable wages.
- Job RetentionPrograms that provide intentional support for participants to retain employment and advance in their chosen field.
- Credential AttainmentPrograms that yield measurable results demonstrated by attainment of foundational skills and industry specific qualifications.
Funding Information
- As authorized in Laws of Minnesota 2021, up to $1,000,000 per year for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022-2023 is available for grants under the Minnesota Support Services Competitive Grant. These funds have been divided between youth and adult programs. Therefore, $500,0001 per year for State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2022-2023 is available for grants under the Adult Support Services Competitive Grant.
- Organizations may apply for up to $100,000each year, for a maximum of $200,000.
- Note that this grant does not allow the purchase of equipment over $5,000.
Target Populations
Proposals must serve individuals who require additional assistance to secure and maintain employment and are:
- 18 years of age or older at the time of enrollment and
- Not enrolled in high school and
- Eligible for Adult Basic Education (ABE) services at the time of enrollment and
- At or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Guidelines adjusted for respective family size and/or
- An individual of color
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible organizations are state or local government units, nonprofit organizations, community action agencies, business organizations or associations, non-profit alternative secondary institutions, non-profit post-secondary institutions, and/or labor organizations.
- Eligible services must support existing programming, leveraging private, state, or federal funds. Leveraged resources may be for any amount, cash or in-kind.
- An organization may only submit one (1) proposal as primary grantee but may be listed as a partner on other proposals.
For more information, visit https://mn.gov/deed/about/contracts/open-rfp.jsp