1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to human services; making nontraditional 
  1.3             career assistance and job training available to female 
  1.4             MFIP recipients; establishing grants to encourage and 
  1.5             provide supports for low-income women to enter 
  1.6             nontraditional careers; appropriating money; amending 
  1.7             Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, sections 256J.02, 
  1.8             subdivision 2; and 268.0122, subdivision 2; proposing 
  1.9             coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapters 
  1.10            256J; and 256K. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  1.13  256J.02, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 2.  [USE OF MONEY.] State money appropriated for 
  1.15  purposes of this section and TANF block grant money must be used 
  1.16  for: 
  1.17     (1) financial assistance to or on behalf of any minor child 
  1.18  who is a resident of this state under section 256J.12; 
  1.19     (2) employment and training services under this chapter or 
  1.20  chapter 256K; 
  1.21     (3) emergency financial assistance and services under 
  1.22  section 256J.48; 
  1.23     (4) diversionary assistance under section 256J.47; 
  1.24     (5) the health care and human services training and 
  1.25  retention program under chapter 116L, for costs associated with 
  1.26  families with children with incomes below 200 percent of the 
  1.27  federal poverty guidelines; 
  1.28     (6) the pathways program under section 116L.04, subdivision 
  2.1   1a; 
  2.2      (7) welfare-to-work extended employment services for MFIP 
  2.3   participants with severe impairment to employment as defined in 
  2.4   section 268A.15, subdivision 1a; 
  2.5      (8) the family homeless prevention and assistance program 
  2.6   under section 462A.204; 
  2.7      (9) the rent assistance for family stabilization 
  2.8   demonstration project under section 462A.205; ~~and~~ 
  2.9      (10) the nontraditional career assistance and training 
  2.10  grant program under section 256K.30; and 
  2.11     (11) program administration under this chapter. 
  2.12     Sec. 2.  [256J.655] [NONTRADITIONAL CAREER ASSISTANCE AND 
  2.13  TRAINING.] 
  2.14     With the approval of the job counselor, a participant may 
  2.15  enroll and participate in a nontraditional career assistance 
  2.16  training (NCAT) program under section 256K.30.  An MFIP 
  2.17  recipient participating in NCAT with the approval of the job 
  2.18  counselor is also eligible for employment and training services, 
  2.19  including child care and transportation. 
  2.20     Sec. 3.  [256K.30] [GRANTS FOR NONTRADITIONAL CAREER 
  2.21  ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING PROGRAMS.] 
  2.22     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.] The 
  2.23  commissioner shall establish a program of grants to nonprofit 
  2.24  organizations to provide nontraditional career assistance and 
  2.25  training (NCAT) programs that encourage and assist low-income 
  2.26  women with minor children to enter nontraditional careers in the 
  2.27  trades and in manual and technical operations. 
  2.28     Subd. 2.  [REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTEES.] To be eligible for a 
  2.29  grant under this section, an NCAT program must include at least 
  2.30  one of the components specified in subdivisions 3 and 4. 
  2.31     Subd. 3.  [OUTREACH COMPONENT.] An NCAT program may include 
  2.32  an outreach component that provides outreach to girls and women 
  2.33  through public and private elementary and secondary schools, 
  2.34  appropriate community organizations, or existing state and 
  2.35  county employment and training programs.  The outreach must 
  2.36  consist of:  general information concerning opportunities for 
  3.1   women in the trades, manual, and technical occupations, 
  3.2   including specific fields where worker shortages exist; and 
  3.3   specific information about training programs offered.  The 
  3.4   outreach may include printed or recorded information, hands-on 
  3.5   experiences for women and girls, presentations to women and 
  3.6   girls, or ongoing contact with appropriate staff. 
  3.7      Subd. 4.  [CAREER ASSISTANCE COMPONENT.] An NCAT program 
  3.8   may include a career assistance component that provides the 
  3.9   following assistance for low-income women to enter careers in 
  3.10  the trades and technical occupations: 
  3.11     (1) training designed to prepare women to succeed in 
  3.12  nontraditional occupations, conducted by an NCAT grantee or in 
  3.13  collaboration with another institution.  The training must cover 
  3.14  the knowledge and skills required for the trade, information 
  3.15  about on-the-job realities for women in the particular trade, 
  3.16  physical strength and stamina training as needed, opportunities 
  3.17  for developing workplace problem-solving skills, and information 
  3.18  about the current and projected future job market and likely 
  3.19  career path for the trade; 
  3.20     (2) assistance with child care and transportation during 
  3.21  training, during job search, and for at least the first two 
  3.22  months of posttraining employment; 
  3.23     (3) job placement assistance during training, during job 
  3.24  search, and for at least two years after completion of the 
  3.25  training program; and 
  3.26     (4) job retention support may be in the form of mentorship 
  3.27  programs, support groups, or ongoing staff contact for at least 
  3.28  the first year of posttraining employment, including access to 
  3.29  job-related information, assistance with workplace issue 
  3.30  resolution, and access to advocacy services. 
  3.31     Subd. 5.  [NCAT; ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS.] To be eligible to 
  3.32  enroll in an NCAT program under this section, a participant must:
  3.33     (1) be a female caregiver receiving assistance under 
  3.34  chapter 256J or this chapter; or 
  3.35     (2) be a female single parent of a minor child or a 
  3.36  pregnant woman, be working at least a monthly average of 20 
  4.1   hours per week, and have household income at or below 200 
  4.2   percent of the federal poverty guidelines. 
  4.3      Subd. 6.  [ACCESSIBILITY REQUIRED.] Approved NCAT programs 
  4.4   must be accessible to women who are MFIP participants and to 
  4.5   other low-income women with minor children.  Factors that 
  4.6   contribute to a program's accessibility include: 
  4.7      (1) affordability of tuition and supplies; 
  4.8      (2) geographic proximity to low-income neighborhoods, child 
  4.9   care, and public transportation routes; and 
  4.10     (3) flexibility of the hours per week required by the 
  4.11  program and the duration of the program, in order to be 
  4.12  compatible with the program participants' family needs and the 
  4.13  need for participants to be employed during training. 
  4.14     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1999 Supplement, section 
  4.15  268.0122, subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.16     Subd. 2.  [SPECIFIC POWERS.] The commissioner of economic 
  4.17  security shall: 
  4.18     (1) administer and supervise all forms of reemployment 
  4.19  compensation provided for under federal and state laws that are 
  4.20  vested in the commissioner, including make investigations and 
  4.21  audits, secure and transmit information, and make available 
  4.22  services and facilities as the commissioner considers necessary 
  4.23  or appropriate to facilitate the administration of any other 
  4.24  states, or the federal Economic Security Law, and accept and use 
  4.25  information, services, and facilities made available by other 
  4.26  states or the federal government; 
  4.27     (2) administer and supervise all employment and training 
  4.28  services assigned to the department under federal or state law; 
  4.29     (3) review and comment on local service unit plans and 
  4.30  community investment program plans and approve or disapprove the 
  4.31  plans; 
  4.32     (4) establish and maintain administrative units necessary 
  4.33  to perform administrative functions common to all divisions of 
  4.34  the department; 
  4.35     (5) supervise the county boards of commissioners, local 
  4.36  service units, and any other units of government designated in 
  5.1   federal or state law as responsible for employment and training 
  5.2   programs; 
  5.3      (6) establish administrative standards and payment 
  5.4   conditions for providers of employment and training services; 
  5.5      (7) act as the agent of, and cooperate with, the federal 
  5.6   government in matters of mutual concern, including the 
  5.7   administration of any federal funds granted to the state to aid 
  5.8   in the performance of functions of the commissioner; 
  5.9      (8) obtain reports from local service units and service 
  5.10  providers for the purpose of evaluating the performance of 
  5.11  employment and training services; ~~and~~ 
  5.12     (9) review and comment on plans for Indian tribe employment 
  5.13  and training services and approve or disapprove the plans; and 
  5.14     (10) require all general employment and training programs 
  5.15  that receive state funds to make available information about 
  5.16  opportunities for women in nontraditional careers in the trades 
  5.17  and technical occupations. 
  5.18     Sec. 5.  [APPROPRIATION; FEDERAL TANF FUNDS.] 
  5.19     For the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, $500,000 of the 
  5.20  federal temporary assistance to needy families (TANF) block 
  5.21  grant funds authorized under United States Code, title 42, 
  5.22  sections 601 et seq. and awarded in federal fiscal years 2000 
  5.23  and 2001 are appropriated to the commissioner of human services 
  5.24  for grants for nontraditional career assistance training 
  5.25  programs under Minnesota Statutes, section 256K.30.