BE IT RESOLVED, that Agreement A2110787 with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development- Rehabilitation Services to accept grant funding for the Extended Employment Program during the period July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, in the receivable amount of $111,411 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 accept and disburse funds as directed; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Human Services and Public Health Department be authorized to receive a supplemental appropriation of $111,411 to the 2021 department budget; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that sponsorship and acceptance of grant funding for this program by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued funding commitment by Hennepin County for this program if grant funds are no longer available.

The Human Services Department Vocational Services Program (VSP) provides vocational rehabilitation services for Hennepin County residents who have a diagnosis of a serious mental illness and/or substance use disorder. This Wage Incentive funding from DEED supports the job retention services provided to individuals with serious and persistent mental illness.

VSP is a CARF accredited program that has provided supported employment services in Hennepin County for over 35 years. VSP counselors provide services that include job seeking skills, job development assistance, education on accommodations/disclosure, career exploration, and benefits management counseling. VSP served 167 individuals in 2020, and of those placed 71% retained their jobs after three months and 55% retained jobs for one year. The starting wage averaged $14.88 per hour.

In 2020, Black or African Americans consisted of 15.5% of VSP participants. This compares to 13.8% of the overall Hennepin County population per the 2019 population estimates of the U.S. Census. Hennepin County VSP is taking an active role in working to ensure that race no longer predicts the outcomes for individuals in the domains of employment and income. Hennepin County has a Racial Equity Impact Tool to guide employees and partners to make sure we are serving those who could most benefit from our services. The VSP program of Human Services Behavioral Health believes that work is a significant part of an individual’s recovery and contributes to the Department’s strategies of stability, self-sufficiency and well-being.

This BAR requests adoption of Agreement A2110787 in order to receive wage incentive funding from Minnesota DEED. Funds are awarded as a result of program performance in helping clients achieve and sustain employment at or above the minimum wage. The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development calculated the award according to the number of participant work hours that met or exceeded the minimum wage in state fiscal year 2020.