The goal of this visit was to provide technical assistance to key stakeholders in Minnesota with a vested interest in improving employment outcomes for people with criminal histories under the Second Chance Act (SCA) Adult Reentry and Employment Strategic (ARES) Planning Program. With the assistance, guidance and support of the CSG Justice Center, the Minnesota Department of Corrections, the Minnesota Statewide Initiative to Reduce Recidivism (MSIRR) Employment Matters Executive Steering Committee, state workforce development boards and additional key stakeholders, this two-day session lead to an understanding of the current strengths, challenges and barriers to improving employment outcomes for people directly impacted by the justice system. Objectives for the site visit included: Providing education and facilitating discussions with the MSIRR Employment Matters Executive Steering Committee on strategies to improve employment outcomes for people with criminal histories. Identifying strategies to build internal and external partnerships that foster the development of meaningful connections to employers willing to hire people with criminal histories in Minnesota; Assisting the grantee with reviewing and enhancing their plans and procedures for conducting an effective system mapping and process analysis exercise that will identify current strengths, challenges, and barriers to improving employment outcomes; Identifying any issues that can be addressed during future technical assistance activities.
The meetings were informative and productive since many of the work group members were engaged and excited about the project.The grantee has managed to put together a well-informed and diverse group of individuals to participate on the Executive Steering Committee and to lead the systems mapping and process analysis exercise. CSG Justice Center TA providers discussed concerns and involvement of executive leadership because it was observed in the recent recidivism reduction grant and staff worked with the grantee to brainstorm ideas for continued engagement. In addition, the grantee received recommendations for building their industry advisory group and information on topics to consider when conducting their systems mapping exercises.
Please check the box next to the following questions if the answer is 'yes'.
Please enter the applicable Event Date if there is an Event associated with this TTA.
When entering an Event Date, the Time is also required.
If the TTA is targeted to a particular audience or location, please complete the questions below.
Milestones are an element, activity, work product, or key task associated with completing the TTA (e.g. kick-off meeting, collect data from stake holders, deliver initial data analysis).
Please complete the fields below, if applicable, to create a milestone for this TTA.
Please respond to the Performance Metrics below. The Performance Metrics questions are based on the TTA Type indicated in the General Information section of the TTA.
Please submit a signed letter of support from your agency’s executive or other senior staff member. The letter can be emailed to or uploaded with this request. The letter should be submitted on official letterhead and include the following information:
- General information regarding the request for TTA services, i.e., the who, what, where, when, and why.
- The organizational and/or community needs specific to the request for TTA services.
- The benefits or anticipated outcomes from the receipt of TTA services.
By submitting this application to BJA NTTAC, I understand that upon approval of this application for TTA, the requestor agrees to keep BJA NTTAC informed of any circumstances that may impact the delivery of the TTA, including changes in the date of the event, event cancellation, or difficulties communicating with the assigned TTA provider.
Please call [site:phone] if you need further assistance completing this application.