Narrative: c. 6. D.

Minnesota has the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity that SCSEP taps into that has a whole division devoted to LEP and regulations. One of the purposes of this division is to ensure that DEED and Minnesota as a whole communicates effectively with LEP individuals so that DEED customers have meaningful access to program information and services. The site is located at https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/assets/policies/PDF/lepplan.pdf

The 2013 Total Population was 5,074,000; the LEP populations was 211,500; the LEP share of population was 4.2%; and the State share of total LEP population was .8%.

Minnesota has one of the highest proportion of refugees (to total legal immigrants) compared to any other state. The English Language Learners (ELL) population in Minnesota has increased 130 percent in the past decade, more than twice the national average. The State has communicated the obligation of recipients (including local workforce development areas [WDAs], WorkForce Centers, and service providers) to make efforts, including outreach, to broaden the composition of the pool of those considered services to include members of both sexes of the various racial and ethnic groups, as well as individuals with disabilities. DEED is currently developing a Limited English Proficiency Plan which will cover all DEED programs. LWDBs identify in their integrated local plans for WIOA:

• Priority groups or special populations targeted locally

• How WIOA Adult and Dislocated Workers programs and the Senior Community Services Employment program (SCSEP) implement priority of service

• Criteria for being a member of a priority group (and services the priority groups receive preference for)

• How the LWDBs measures their progress in meeting the local goals of serving special targeted populations Staff training is provided to: • Designated equal opportunity officers (EOOs) at the local level. DEED staff are also available to consult with EOOs • Staff at the local WorkForce Centers • SCSEP providers State monitors evaluate whether a WSA is meeting the needs of the targeted special populations as designated under the integrated local plan for WIA. Many WSAs provide targeted information through local immigrant community resources. The Hmong are the fastest-growing minority population in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area. New immigrants face significant language and other cultural barriers. The Minneapolis/St. Paul Metropolitan Area offers bilingual staff to support the services targeted to this population. Minnesota’s WIOA Incentive Grant will achieve three goals: • Increase the number of ELL and incumbent workers who receive workplace training and increase the productivity and value of those workers to their employers • Promote and expand the use of contextual occupational English learning models • Strengthen relationships among local and State stakeholders to collectively serve businesses and workers more efficiently with other available public and private funds WIOA Incentive Grant funds will be used to deliver ELL and skill training services to incumbent workers through local service providers who have developed an integrated service plan for their region. The UI poster and the UI teleclaim phone system are available in Spanish, Somali, and Hmong. Youth with limited English skills are often referred to WIA Youth programs through community education programs. The community services staff maintains a contract with interpreter services (phone-based and in-person). Often, the parents of WIOA-eligible youth need interpreter services. Dislocated workers who are identified as limited English-speaking receive Dislocated Worker program (DWP) services from DWP service providers either by way of bilingual staff, hiring of interpreters, and contract services with agencies that can communicate in the individual’s native language. For example, Lao Family Services in St. Paul is currently under contract with Ramsey County Workforce Solutions to provide a full array of DWP services. Anthony will double check this statement. English as a second language (ESL) training is also provided through Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs in conjunction with DWP service providers when applicable.

This data element is not available at the level requested. The SCSEP distribution of this factor will be provided to the Regional FPO within 30 days. DEED will work toward enhancing the available data through our work with the sub-grantees and the local workforce development boards. Understanding this data at a regional level will impact career pathway strategies and the sector partnerships.

Share with limited English proficiency

County	Does not speak English	Yes, speaks only English	Yes, speaks very well	Yes, speaks well	Yes, but not well	Total	Share with limited English proficiency
000 – all other counties	648	245,918	7,112	1,228	1,363	256,269	0.78%
003 – Anoka	567	73,061	2,247	1,009	800	77,684	1.76%
037 – Dakota	619	88,914	3,067	832	976	94,408	1.69%
053 – Hennepin	3,498	259,256	11,353	4,483	6,145	284,735	3.39%
109 – Olmsted	215	34,523	1,503	354	433	37,028	1.75%
123 – Ramsey	2,882	114,265	5,205	2,296	3,584	128,232	5.04%
137 – St. Louis	0	23,315	895	121	0	24,331	0.00%
145 – Stearns	52	22,096	730	120	72	23,070	0.54%
163 – Washington	550	56,090	1,773	517	383	59,313	1.57%
171 - Wright	0	16,354	196	26	0	16,576	0.00%
TOTAL	9,031	933,792	34,081	10,986	13,756	1,001,646	2.27%