Sponsor: Workforce Solutions
Title
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2024 Unified Local Youth Plan for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and Minnesota Youth Program
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Recommendation
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1. Approve the 2024 Unified Local Youth Plan for the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Youth and Minnesota Youth Program for the period of April 1, 2024, through March 31, 2025.
2. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the Youth Plan.
3. Authorize the County Manager to enter into agreements and execute amendments to agreements in accordance with the county's procurement policies and procedures, provided the amounts are within the limits of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and Minnesota Youth Program grant funding.
4. Authorize the County Manager to enter into expenditure grant agreements and execute amendments to agreements in a form approved by Finance and the County Attorney’s Office provided the amounts of funding are within the limits of the approved program budgets.
5. Authorize the County Manager to apply for and accept additional grant funds as they become available under the Grant Agreement.
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Background and Rationale
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Ramsey County Workforce Solutions operates youth employment services programs for low-income and at-risk youth, ages 14-24, which are funded by state and federal grant allocations. Each year, Workforce Solutions is required to submit an updated Unified Local Youth Plan (Plan) to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners and the Workforce Innovation Board (WIB) must approve the Plan.
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and Minnesota Youth Program (MYP) continue to build momentum in career pathways partnerships, employer engagement activities and strategies for improved service delivery and participant outcomes. The service delivery model employed by Workforce Solutions is a federated model that focuses on sharing and partnering with community organizations, education providers, and employers with the goal of community alignment to eliminate economic, educational, and income disparities.
Workforce Solutions delivers Youth and Young Adult Employment Services through agreements with 10 organizations - of which the following eight currently receive WIOA and MYP funding: Hired, Face to Face, Goodwill Easter-Seals of MN, Change Inc., Hmong American Partnership, Restoration for All, Inc., Tree Trust, and Urban Boat Builders. Although these agreements will remain in place through June 30, 2027, Workforce Solutions will amend contracts on an annual basis to allocate new DEED-distributed funds.
The Plan for the Program Year 2024 (April 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025) and the State Fiscal Year 2025 (July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025) is due to DEED on April 14, 2024. The Plan reflects recommendations, updates adopted and approval by the WIB Youth Committee on January 18, 2024, and the full WIB on February 1, 2024.
WIOA Youth funds for the 2024 program year have not yet been determined due to delays of information from the U.S. Department of Labor to DEED. Because of this delay, DEED has not included budget forms for this program in the annual plan. Once allocation amounts are provided, DEED will provide budget templates and Workforce Solutions will submit a budget to DEED for approval. However, allocations for the 2025 MYP State Fiscal Year have already been finalized. Therefore, the annual budget will be attached alongside the Plan. Lastly, although DEED has granted all Workforce Development Areas the ability to submit their own revised performance goals for the WIOA Youth program, Ramsey County has kept pace with or exceeded the performance levels of peer Workforce Development Areas in the Twin Cities under previously negotiated benchmarks and is not proposing changes to those established in 2023.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☒ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
The vision, strategies, funding, and execution of the plan help to positively impact racial equity through increased opportunities for education and employment of Ramsey County young people, including those who are racially and ethnically diverse, ages 14-24, improving their outlook for greater short- and long-term economic well-being. During the previous program year, 88% of young people served identified as a race other than white and all faced at least one barrier to obtaining employment.
Additionally, labor market information continues to show ongoing economic challenges that were exasperated by COVID-19 and continue for young people in Ramsey County including educational disruption and other systemic challenges for opportunity youth to engage in education activities and to obtain employment. This data informed the development of the Request for Proposals released in November 2021 and the selection of the 10 contractors that have provided Workforce Solutions’ Youth and Young Adult services since April 2022, as well as newer and complementary service models using braided funds from other grants. As part of the plan, strategies are identified to deepen supports to practitioners and youth themselves in order to ensure a ”no wrong door” approach to accessing employment and training with an emphasis to connect our opportunity youth to services leveraging American Rescue Plan Act funding. In coordination with these efforts, the service provided by WIOA outlined in the plan provide services to reduce barriers to work and provide pathways to careers through occupational education/training to reduce racial economic disparities in Ramsey County communities.
Ramsey County continues to invest the local workforce and business community by creating a more inclusive economy for diverse jobseekers, employer partners, and other stakeholders. As stated in the county’s Economic Competitiveness and Inclusion Plan, Ramsey County is a place as rich in cultural vitality as it is rich in economic opportunity. Wage disparities across racial lines have stymied economic growth and created affordability and livability challenges for individuals and families. A renewed and targeted focus on job access, skills training, and high-wage industry growth, coupled with intentional efforts to dismantle institutional racism, will create numerous, efficacious pathways for Ramsey County’s most disadvantaged residents. Moreover, this focus has the potential to close stagnant racial income and wealth gaps while simultaneously accelerating economic growth in Ramsey County.
Community Participation Level and Impact
The Plan was developed with input from Workforce Solutions staff, WIB Youth Committee members and meeting attendees, WIB members, including representatives from community-based organizations, private sector employers, public agencies, and a young person hired from Ramsey County’s Youth Advisory Council. The plan is reviewed by the WIB Youth Committee and approved by the full WIB before being brought to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners for final comments and approval.
Additionally, Workforce Solutions has incorporated input from community engagement activities and events. Initially gathering formation both from community members and community-based organizations through evaluation of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security investments, Workforce Solutions built upon that work each year since. In 2021, and in partnership with the youth-led organization Bridgemakers, Workforce Solutions held a series of focus groups with young people. Out of that process, feedback included increased coordination across multiple systems (county, city, schools, etc.). Workforce Solutions continues to work with a variety of working groups to continue to respond to the needs expressed by young people around issues such as youth homelessness, employer needs, schools and more. The information provided by these groups is that young people need additional, adaptive, and culturally specific training opportunities to develop both their professional and occupational skills, more points to connection to access resources and need holistic support services.
Most recently, Workforce Solutions completed several direct engagements with young people over the last few months, including a program satisfaction survey distributed to youth participants and focused conversations with the Youth Advisory Council. These engagements were designed by youth and conversations were led by youth. The feedback provided in these engagements directly informed the development of new youth-focused initiatives to begin this year, as they have been outlined in the Plan.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☒ Collaborate ☒ Empower
Fiscal Impact
DEED allocations covered in the Plan are both federal and state funded employment and training grants. WIOA Youth funds for the 2024 program year have not yet been determined based on the timeline of funds from the U.S. Department of Labor to DEED. But, based on ongoing discussions at the federal and state levels, Workforce Solutions’ annual WIOA allocation is not anticipated to change significantly in Program Year 2024 (April 31, 2024, through March 31, 2025), from the Program Year 2023 allocation of $682,194, although both years will mark a significant funding decrease from the Program Year 2022 allocation of $1,111,096. Alternatively, MYP received a major funding increase, from $472,082 to $962,974 in annual allocations, for State Fiscal Year 2024 (July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024) and will remain at the increased level for State Fiscal Year 2025.
Due to the delay in determining WIOA Youth allocations, DEED has asked local Workforce Development Boards to submit the Plan with only the MYP budget information attached. Once WIOA Youth allocations are received, Workforce Solutions will complete a new budget modification and submit to DEED for approval. Programs are maintained within the allocated grants and have no net fiscal change impact to Workforce Solutions as estimations of grant awards are included in the biennial budget process.
Last Previous Action
On March 14, 2023, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners approved the Program Year 2023 Unified Local Youth Plan (Resolution B2023-042).
Attachments
1. Unified Local Youth Plan PY2024 WIOA Youth Formula Funds SFY2025 Minnesota Youth Programs