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Plan: Minnesota PYs 2016-2017
Combined Plan C

Section: Senior Community Service Employment Program

Narrative: c. 1.

Published
Located in:

c. 1. Describe the Localities and Populations for Which Projects of the Type Authorized by Title V Are Most Needed. (20 Cfr 641.325 (d))

Current Narrative:

The location of services and populations to be served are determined by a number of factors. The USDOL determines the slot allocations for each state at the county level based on census data and poverty rates. Once this is determined, local service providers, using labor market information, prepare strategies and approaches for delivering the SCSEP program. Minnesota will focus efforts in the areas of greatest need based on the unemployment rate. Using the following Labor Market data based on the current unemployment rates for Minnesota, identifies those counties for which projects of the type authorized by SCSEP are most needed where the unemployment rate is above the state average.

In reviewing the below Unemployment Statistics for Minnesota Aitkin 8.2%, Cass 9.3%, Clearwater 13.1%, Hubbard 8.6%, Itasca 9.2%, Kanabec 10%, Lake 9.7%, Marshall 9.8%, Red Lake 8.9% will be counties that will have more focus on during the upcoming years and will recommend minor changes to the distribution of authorized positons to the counties with the highest unemployment in the State.

The location of services tend to be in the towns that are county seats or major cities serving as regional hubs for the rural areas. The metro area focuses more on location connections to other service providers. Sub-grantees are often collocated with other service providers, such as Workforce Centers, Colleges, or human service agencies. Location can be critical to address the challenges of inadequate resources to enable program requirements to be met (e.g., few host agencies or employers, lack of employers, lack of transportation, etc.). Nevertheless, all sub-grantees will work to follow and meet the equitable distribution formula released by Department of Labor. Minnesota’s equitable distribution formula ensures rural and urban counties are served equitably. Strategies will include specific host agency recruitment in rural areas that are undeserved.

Experience Works, Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, National Indian Council on Aging and others have a long history of successfully partnering with other service providers to serve as host agencies. Participants are provided community service assignments at many libraries, senior centers, schools and nutrition sites. SCSEP sub-grantees assists with outreach and recruitment efforts and hire participants when possible. They also provide supportive services, such as transportation, medical services, free meals, wellness classes, legal aid, elder-abuse prevention, tax preparation, and socialization, to address barriers to employment.

Minnesota will be working with SCSEP sub-grantees in these areas to develop steps to correct inequities to achieve employment opportunities and equitable distribution. A few strategies are as follows:

• Utilize equitable distribution report provided on www.SCSEPed.org to monitor and track the equitable distribution.

• Develop strategies to address over and underserved areas. Strategies will include the following:

o Recruit host agencies in underserved counties;

o Outreach to participants who have the greatest barriers to employment in underserved areas;

o Enroll more in underserved areas and close enrollments in over served areas and ; and

o Increase specialized training and job development activities in underserved areas.

• Discuss the potential to move state program participants located in over served areas to the national program.

• Advertising within local community papers, utilizing TV PSA’s, providing flyers, pamphlets, and other marketing tools that will aid in educating city/county government agencies;

• Holding face-to-face presentations and discussions with non-profit and for-profit agencies/employers and city/county officials as well as community clubs and organizations whose focus are community improvement and employment for the older population; and

• Continuing to open host agencies within those communities which serve those that are most-in-need and have the greatest barriers to employment and continue to make referrals to other additional resources if available.

As part of the overall State strategy to create career pathways through sector partnerships, the six regions in Minnesota will be required to include SCSEP sub-grantees in their career pathway development models. With Minnesota’s rapidly aging population and many seniors needing to postpone retirement and seeking new work opportunities, it is critical to include all possible workforce participants and the opportunities that may benefit them and businesses. This process will begin to take shape during the first two years of the WIOA plan and will be assessed with the following two years of the WIOA plan.

Area - Labor Force Employment Unemployment Unemployment Rate
Aitkin County6,8496,2905598.2%
Anoka County194,170186,2707,9004.1%
Becker County18,74617,6161,1306%
Beltrami County24,22422,7761,4486%
Benton County22,53121,2541,2775.7%
Big Stone County2,6772,4921856.9%
Blue Earth County40,10538,6791,4263.6%
Brown County14,61313,8467675.2%
Carlton County17,61016,4681,1426.5%
Carver County55,94653,8882,0583.7%
Cass County13,65012,3831,2679.3%
Chippewa County6,9686,5284406.3%
Chisago County29,64028,0581,5825.3%
Clay County36,81935,2641,5554.2%
Clearwater County4,8544,21763713.1%
Cook County3,0502,8751755.7%
Cottonwood County5,9035,5643395.7%
Crow Wing County31,28429,1152,1696.9%
Dakota County237,712228,9738,7393.7%
Dodge County11,69411,1135815%
Douglas County20,10119,1799224.6%
Faribault County7,3806,9833975.4%
Fillmore County11,57210,9426305.4%
Freeborn County16,22515,5107154.4%
Goodhue County27,19325,9791,2144.5%
Grant County3,3343,0982367.1%
Hennepin County688,592665,25523,3373.4%
Houston County10,77310,1755985.6%
Hubbard County9,4008,5948068.6%
Isanti County21,00219,7781,2245.8%
Itasca County23,34621,1962,1509.2%
Jackson County6,3276,0522754.3%
Kanabec County8,9918,09689510%
Kandiyohi County24,10122,8761,2255.1%
Kittson County2,4492,3081415.8%
Koochiching County6,1815,6655168.3%
Lac qui Parle County3,7573,5422155.7%
Lake County5,7375,1785599.7%
Lake of the Woods County2,6012,4851164.5%
Le Sueur County16,16215,1451,0176.3%
Lincoln County3,3583,1761825.4%
Lyon County15,25414,5676874.5%
Mahnomen County2,4812,3331486%
Marshall County5,7365,1735639.8%
Martin County10,4219,9264954.8%
McLeod County20,27119,2531,0185%
Meeker County13,50712,7137945.9%
Mille Lacs County13,26512,1981,0678%
Morrison County18,08216,6601,4227.9%
Mower County20,68919,9147753.7%
Murray County5,0904,7313597.1%
Nicollet County20,62619,9606663.2%
Nobles County11,68211,1375454.7%
Norman County3,3943,1762186.4%
Olmsted County84,90482,0402,8643.4%
Otter Tail County30,86428,9951,8696.1%
Pennington County9,1808,5556256.8%
Pine County15,07713,9091,1687.7%
Pipestone County4,9334,6762575.2%
Polk County17,60016,7588424.8%
Pope County6,5316,2392924.5%
Ramsey County284,339273,70510,6343.7%
Red Lake County2,3512,1412108.9%
Redwood County8,1777,7474305.3%
Renville County8,4777,9565216.1%
Rice County36,07934,5621,5174.2%
Rock County5,9495,7731763%
Roseau County8,6367,9756617.7%
Saint Louis County102,59395,7326,8616.7%
Scott County80,40377,4722,9313.6%
Sherburne County50,84648,3162,5305%
Sibley County8,7088,2444645.3%
Stearns County90,86586,8204,0454.5%
Steele County20,53719,6668714.2%
Stevens County5,6545,4522023.6%
Swift County5,1664,8213456.7%
Todd County13,19412,3908046.1%
Traverse County1,7921,699935.2%
Wabasha County12,23111,6635684.6%
Wadena County6,5095,9775328.2%
Waseca County9,6819,1665155.3%
Washington County139,846134,7915,0553.6%
Watonwan County6,3035,9293745.9%
Wilkin County3,6873,5341534.1%
Winona County29,64028,5101,1303.8%
Wright County73,74070,2313,5094.8%
Yellow Medicine County5,5695,2922775%