Item Description:
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Agmt A2412594 with MN DHS to expand lead agency capacity to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for people with disabilities, 10/11/24-06/30/26, $2,067,452 (recv)
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that Agreement A2412594 with the Minnesota Department of Human Services to expand lead agency capacity to improve competitive, integrated employment outcomes for people with disabilities during the period October 11, 2024 through June 30, 2026, in the receivable amount of $2,067,452 be approved; that the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the agreement on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to disburse the funds as directed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that sponsorship and acceptance of grant funding for this project by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continuing funding commitment by Hennepin County for these programs if these grant funds are not made available or when grant funds are no longer available.
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Background:
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) supports an Employment First approach to working with people with disabilities to find competitive, integrated employment. In 2020 the Minnesota Legislature added Employment First language to state law writing, “It is the policy of this state that all working-age Minnesotans with disabilities can work, want to work, and can achieve competitive integrated employment, and that each working-age Minnesotan with a disability be offered the opportunity to work and earn a competitive wage before being offered other supports and services.”
The Long Term Services and Supports (LTSS) area of Human Services in Hennepin County has been committed to addressing competitive, integrated employment for people with disabilities for over ten years. Our LTSS Employment First team actively participates in engagement with DHS, metro counties, employment capacity building cohorts (ECBC), Project SEARCH, Community Transition Interagency Committees (CTIC), schools and school districts, and provider engagement. Hennepin County LTSS has been actively engaged in E1MN work with DHS and Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) with monthly engagement with VRS since summer 2022. In our E1MN partnership we have had VRS come to CM Supervisor Forums and Transition Age Cohort, as well as engaging in continuous process improvement and weekly consults on individual cases. When the changes to Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) were put in place, Hennepin County LTSS engaged with providers, Anoka, Dakota, MCIL and Disability Law Center on a project called, ‘They Said Yes’ to support case managers, people and providers on knowing what to do next after someone had said “yes” to competitive integrated employment.
The LTSS Employment First Leadership Team has been actively engaging with Minnesota Transformation Initiative (MTI) for the past 18 months+ to attain data regarding subminimum wage in Hennepin County to be able to support planning with people and providers to reduce subminimum wage utilization.
Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) is committed to increasing competitive, integrated employment outcomes for people who use home and community-based service (HCBS) waivers and intermediate care facility for person with developmental disabilities (ICF/DD) services. This grant is specifically for lead agencies to develop a plan to support people with disabilities in contemplating, exploring, and maintaining competitive, integrated employment. Grantees receive funding and technical assistance from the University of Minnesota Transformation Initiative (MTI) to develop and execute a strategic plan to build their capacity to help people with disabilities explore, plan, find and maintain meaningful employment. The initial grant is for two years, ending June 20, 2026, and may be extended for up to a total of five years.
Impact/Outcomes:
This grant will support our ability in LTSS to enhance our current efforts to increase competitive, integrated employment outcomes for people who use home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers and intermediate care facility for persons with developmental disabilities (ICF-DD).
Disparity Reduction:
This request reduces disparities in the employment and income domains. Based on current data (State Fiscal Year 2023) available from DHS on their Employment First dashboard, Hennepin County has a total population of HCBS waiver participants of working-age (16-64) of 14,740. Of those only 12% (1,799) earn $600+ per month and 77% (11,406) earn no income. Our goal is to increase the number of people receiving HCBS and ICF-DD services who earn a competitive wage as well as increase the number of people who are employed. The specific outcomes will be determined through the plan developed with MTI.
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval