Certified nonprofit providers for the state Dislocated Worker program (known as Small Layoff Independent Grantees (SLIGs)) are eligible to receive small layoff funding allocations each fiscal year under Minnesota Job Skills Partnership (MJSP) policy. These allocations are based on a performance tier system, where 75 percent of total available funds are distributed to the five organizations who achieve the best overall performance scores in five (5) key metrics, while the remaining 25 percent of funds are distributed among the remaining eligible organizations. Funds allocated under this policy will be available for two years.
Eleven percent of the annual collections in the Workforce Development Fund from the May forecast, after all direct legislative appropriations and state administrative costs are subtracted, are available for allocation. The MJSP Board reserves the authority to increase or decrease the amount of funding available for SLIGs or the amounts available in each tier every fiscal year.
Eligibility
To be eligible a provider must:
- Achieve a performance score of 50 percent or higher for each performance indicator during the most recent four quarter reports.
- Remain in good standing for all relevant legal, ethical, and financial requirements;
- Complete a satisfactory proposal, including work plan and budget, for the grant period;
- Have exited at least 40 customers within the most recent fiscal year; and
- Achieve the best result across all five (5) of the following metrics:
- Highest percentage of Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) participants who are employed in the 2nd quarter after existing
- Highest rate of all participants employed in the 2nd quarter after exiting
- Highest rate of all participants employed in the 4th quarter after exiting
- Highest percentage of long-term unemployed* participants at enrollment who are employed in the 2nd quarter after exiting
- Highest served count during the most recent program year
*unemployed for at least 15 weeks of the last 52 weeks, can be nonconsecutive
Once all organizations are ranked for their achievement in each metric (1st - 8th place), each organization's placement for all metrics are tallied.
- The providers with five (5) lowest scores split 75% of available funding
- All remaining providers split the remaining 25% of available funding
Procedure
Dislocated Worker program staff will present the proposed performance tier rankings to the MJSP Board during the March Board meeting for approval. Once approved, staff will use the May Workforce Development Fund forecast to estimate the amount of funding available for the upcoming fiscal year based on the performance rankings. Eligible providers will be required to submit a preliminary work plan and budget to DEED staff based on the estimated allocation amounts prior to the June MJSP Board meeting. These allocations are considered final only if the Legislature has passed the state's budget. If the state budget has not yet been passed, DEED staff will update the final allocation amounts and will require providers to resubmit their work plans and budgets. The MJSP Board is not required to re-approve the updated allocation amounts so long as the percentage distribution among providers remains the same.
Performance Rank Formula
75% of funding is available to five providers in each fiscal year. In addition to complying with and meeting the standards laid out in the Performance Standards policy, providers must have at least 40 participants exit the Small Layoff Independent Grant per year to be eligible. These calculations only include those served by Small Layoff Independent Grant funds, not mass layoff grant participants. Providers are eligible for only one performance award, which are distributed in the order presented in this policy.
While DEED staff will calculate most of these performance measures using external data sources, some measures by nature are harder to verify. DEED expects providers will uphold the integrity of this competitive process, and reserves the right to rescind funds and/or revoke Dislocated Worker program certification if evidence of falsified Workforce One data is found by DEED Monitors or other staff.
Performance Measure Formulas
- BIPOC Participants employed in the 2nd quarter after exiting
Of participants exited between July and June of the previous year:
[Participants of color employed in the 2nd quarter after the exit quarter divided by
[Total number of employed participants in the same exiting cohort during the same timeframe]
The provider who has the highest rate of BIPOC participants employed in their 2nd quarter after program exit will receive a 1st place rank. The provider who has the lowest rate will receive an 8th place rank. The numerator is comprised of participants of color who are working in the second quarter after exit. Racial and Ethnicity status is entered into the Enrollment screen of Workforce One, and is defined as self-identifying as one or more of the following:
- Hispanic or Latino
- American Indian or Alaska Native
- Asian
- Black or African American
- Hawaiian Native or other Pacific Islander
DEED will calculate this measure using employment data from wage detail and supplemental wage information from Workforce One. All participants must also meet program eligibility requirements. (Fiscal year 2023 performance measures are based off July 2020 – June 2021 exits.)
- Second quarter employment rate
Of participants exited between July and June of the previous year:
[Number of participants employed in the 2nd quarter after the exit quarter] divided by [Total number of exited participants during the same timeframe]
The provider who has the highest rate of participants who are employed in the second quarter after exiting the program will receive a 1st place rank. The provider who has the lowest rate will receive an 8th place rank.
DEED will calculate this measure using employment data from wage detail and supplemental wage information from Workforce One. (Fiscal year 2023 performance measures are based off July 2020 – June 2021 exiters.)
- Fourth quarter employment rate
Of participants exited between January and December of the previous year:
[Number of participants employed in the 4th quarter after the exit quarter] divided by [Total number of exited participants during the same timeframe]
The provider who has the highest rate of participants who are employed in the fourth quarter after exiting the program will receive a 1st place rank. The provider who has the lowest rate will receive an 8th place rank.
DEED will calculate this measure using employment data from wage detail and supplemental wage information from Workforce One. (Fiscal year 2023 performance measures are based off January 2020 – December 2020 exiters.)
- Long-term unemployed employed in 2nd quarter after exiting
Of participants exited between July and June of the previous year:
[Long-term unemployed participants employed in the 2nd quarter after the exit quarter] divided by [Total number of employed participants in the same exiting cohort during the same timeframe]
The provider who has the highest rate of long-term unemployed participants employed in their 2nd quarter after program exit will receive a 1st place rank. The provider who has the lowest rate will receive an 8th place rank. The numerator is comprised of long-term unemployed participants who are working in the second quarter after exit. DEED defines long-term unemployed as being unemployed for at least 15 of the past 52 weeks at program enrollment, which is entered into Workforce One in the Eligibility screen. DEED will calculate this measure using employment data from wage detail and supplemental wage information from Workforce One.
A layoff notice, statement of Unemployment Insurance benefits, resume, and/or a signed letter from the customer detailing unemployment period must verify 15-week unemployment and must be included in the client file for all participants indicated as long-term unemployed in Workforce One. In addition, DEED will look for yearly earnings below a reasonable threshold in wage detail as further indication of the participant's unemployment. All participants must meet program eligibility requirements. (Fiscal year 2023 performance measures are based off July 2020 – June 2021 exiters.)
- Highest Rate of Participants Receiving Staff Assisted Services
The provider who has the highest rate of participants receiving services from their agency during the most recent full program year will receive a 1st place rank. The provider who has the lowest rate will receive an 8th place rank. DEED will calculate this measure using Workforce One activity data that differentiates the participants receiving services funded by small layoff grant allocations from other grant sources. (Fiscal year 2023 performance measures are based off program served counts July 2020 – June 2021 exiters.)