DEED presents preliminary review of competitive workforce grants; lawmakers press for clearer outcomes and reviewer safeguards

The House Workforce Development, Finance and Policy Committee heard a preliminary report March 26 from the Department of Employment and Economic Development on how the agency administers competitive workforce grants.

Commissioner Matt, who identified himself as DEED’s commissioner, told the committee the agency issued the preliminary report with a final version due in 2027 and apologized for the delayed delivery. He described the grant lifecycle as statute-driven guideline development, a public request-for-proposals, application review (including community reviewer panels), award recommendations, contract execution, reimbursement-based payments and post-award monitoring.

Lawmakers said they welcomed the department’s focus on accountability and accessibility but pressed officials about outcome measurement and reviewer safeguards. “We were overdue on the delivery of the timing of this one. So my apologies for that,” the commissioner said during the presentation, noting DEED’s intent to include listening-session findings in the final report.

Mike Lang, identified as DEED’s director of Workforce Strategies and Innovation, outlined risk- and fraud-prevention steps: pre-award risk assessments for grants of $50,000 or more, random audits and targeted monitoring visits for grantees judged high risk. He said payments are generally reimbursements and that advance payments are allowed only in limited circumstances after financial-review recommendations.

Members asked how DEED determines whether a grant made a meaningful difference for participants. The commissioner said the agency collects enrollment and post-program data and can aggregate outcomes such as enrollments and wage changes, but cautioned that attributing causation — whether the program itself produced a wage increase — is complex. DEED officials said they are working with other agencies to develop common metrics.

Several members pushed DEED to explain how community reviewers are recruited and how conflicts of interest are handled. DEED said panels are recruited statewide, that review panels include at least 25% community reviewers (often closer to 50%), and that reviewers are asked to disclose conflicts; officials said they reserve the right to adjust award recommendations to ensure geographic and sectoral balance.

Committee members asked for additional detail about how DEED selects entities for random audits and how the agency responds when few or no applicants respond to an RFP. DEED pledged to provide more information on audit-selection methods and described practices to stagger application windows and pause awards if application quality is insufficient.

The committee framed the review as part of a broader effort to ensure taxpayer dollars support demonstrably effective programs and to improve outreach to Greater Minnesota and non‑English-speaking communities. Officials said DEED will continue stakeholder engagement and include recommendations in the 2027 final report.

The committee did not take formal action on the report at the hearing; members were invited to submit additional questions and suggested metrics to inform the final review.