Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Youth Workforce topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lawmakers hear request to make previous one‑time youth workforce boost ongoing; proponents warn providers will cut placements without funding
Summary
Sen. Kari Mohammed and youth program partners urged the committee to make a prior one‑time increase to the Minnesota Youth Program (Step Up) ongoing, describing employer demand and local success; fiscal staff said the change would raise base funding to about $8.56 million annually.
Sen. Kari Mohammed presented Senate File 2342 seeking to make a prior one‑time increase to the Minnesota Youth Program (MYP / Step Up) an ongoing addition to the program base.
Committee fiscal staff told members the A2 amendment would shift $4.5 million per year from the workforce settlement fund into the base, producing roughly $8.56 million annually for the program (the existing $4.0 million base plus the added $4.5 million). Mohammed said MYP provides paid summer work experiences, career advising and employer connections for opportunity youth and credited the program with expanding access in every corner of the state.
Witnesses included Kate Duin of the Minnesota Association of Workforce Boards, a young participant from Rochester's WDI (Aiden Grabo), and an employer partner (Abdul Abdi of Children's Dental Services). Kate Duin said local boards had not had a funding increase since 2003 and that the prior one‑time boost allowed nearly immediate scaling of placements. A Step Up employer said interns trained by the program have been hired into permanent roles.
Senators generally expressed support for program continuity; Senator Nelson and others asked for additional detail about audit estimates and the OLA treatment of misclassification data referenced earlier in the hearing. Committee adopted the A2 amendment and laid the bill over for possible inclusion.
