Senate committee hears request for $1M annually to expand employment program for autistic adults

Senate File 26-84, sponsored by Sen. Mark Rarick, as amended, would appropriate $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2026 and $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2027 from the Workforce Development Fund to Minnesota Independence College and Community (MICC) to expand its workplace readiness and career support programs for autistic and neurodivergent young adults.

Sen. Mark Rarick, presenting the bill, described MICC’s work as focused on “education and employment” for neurodivergent adults and said the program’s outcomes demonstrate a strong return on state investment. He asked the committee to consider that the program’s statistics represent individuals whose lives are affected by the services. “I ask that while we discuss those numbers today, we also keep in mind that these numbers represent individuals across our state who are able to live their lives independently with employment because of the support that they receive from MICC,” Rarick said.

Amy Goodmisted, chief executive officer of MICC in Richfield, told the committee MICC provides employment preparation, job placement, retention and ongoing career maintenance. She cited external research on employment challenges for autistic adults and presented MICC’s results: a 95% competitive employment rate for MICC program participants and an average job retention of about 4.65 years. “After trainings, we work with our participants to find, secure, and retain long term meaningful employment,” Goodmisted said. She said MICC offers three certificate training tracks—digital careers, food services and hospitality, and health and human services—and that program employers include Delta, Walgreens, Presbyterian Homes, Lunds & Byerlys and others.

Sen. Michele Housley praised the program and noted a personal connection; she asked about participant wages. Goodmisted said MICC’s placements average close to $15 per hour and that the program would like to raise that to the $16–$18 range.

Committee staff identified the fiscal impact in the record: the bill, as amended, was presented as appropriating $1,000,000 in FY2026 and $1,000,000 in FY2027 from the Workforce Development Fund. After testimony and questions, the chair laid Senate File 26-84, as amended, on the table for possible inclusion in the omnibus jobs bill.

Discussion vs. decision: the committee did not vote to enact funding into law; the A1 amendment to the bill was adopted in committee and the bill was laid over for possible inclusion in future legislation. No final appropriation was made in the hearing.

Background/context: witnesses and the senator referenced national research showing autistic adults face very low employment rates; MICC’s materials provided in the packet were cited as the source for the program’s metrics. The committee limited non-author testimony to two minutes.

The committee accepted written materials from MICC for its record.