Audit: DEED workforce grants report metrics but lack measurable goals; net-impact analysis overdue

The Office of the Legislative Auditor told the Legislative Audit Commission that the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development has not established measurable performance goals for several workforce grant programs, limiting the usefulness of statutorily required reporting metrics.

Deputy Legislative Auditor Jody Munson Rodriguez said the audit reviewed workforce grants including the Pathways to Prosperity competitive grants and several legislatively named workforce grants. The auditors analyzed administrative data and participant feedback and found the statistics state law requires DEED to collect cannot, by themselves, determine whether programs are successful without specific performance goals.

The auditors reviewed outcomes for program participants. For about 2,600 participants enrolled in Pathways to Prosperity during the 2021–22 to 2022–23 grant period, the report found about 63 percent had a “successful outcome” at the time enrollment…