State Leaders Innovations Institute

The State Leaders Innovations Institute is funded by a state leadership grant from the National Technical Assistance and Research Center (NTAR).

The grant was awarded to Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to pioneer innovative approaches to improve employment for adults with disabilities.

Under the grant, Minnesota identified the Camps to Careers program model and implementation of universal design principles to ensure Work Force Center accessibility as a priority for collaborative action. The plan connects the manufacturing sector, workforce and economic development, higher education and the disability services industry.

Referred to as the NTAR/SOAR Partnership, the first SLII model project was launched in Duluth, MN.  It combines PTE and Minnesota Job Skills Partnership/Low Income Worker Training funds to give hands-on career exploration and training experience to low income individuals. Participants include both people with disabilities and those without disabilities. The project includes three components:

• On-site tours with local employers to familiarize students with work in the career field
• Adult career exploration camps modeled after the Camps to Careers for youth and including hands-on time at a technical college
• Follow-up with employer partners to demonstrate acquired skills and pursue mentoring, job shadowing and on-the-job training

NTAR awarded grants to Connecticut, Maryland and Minnesota, three “transformational leader states" that demonstrate the capacity to create working partnerships across organizational boundaries. 

NTAR functions as a convener that brings people together to learn from one another. The group also conducts research and provides information driven by the needs of policy makers and practitioners.

Each grantee is expected to make infrastructure changes in five topic areas:

• Effective leadership, collaboration and partnerships
• Cross-agency and cross-system collaboration that results in opportunities for leveraging expertise and resources
• Universal design
• Asset-building efforts
• Customized employment strategies and flexibility in the workplace

This approach braids funding sources in order to break down barriers to service. These model partnerships use principles of universal design to create career development processes that successfully prepare job seekers, and match workforce with business needs across populations and industries. The following principles guide development:

• Goal-oriented
• Inclusive
• Accessible for people with disabilities
• Collaborative

Ultimately, Minnesota is testing the proposition that individuals from a wide range of populations can be served seamlessly and effectively by all resources available through the Minnesota Workforce Development System. Undergirding this process is the belief that Minnesota needs everyone to be in the workforce for businesses to thrive, and for communities to prosper.

For More Information
For more information about SLII, contact Terry Donovan at 651-259-7374 or email Terry.Donovan@state.mn.us