Tuesday, the Sherburne County Board approved an agreement between the county and Central  Minnesota  Jobs   and Training (CMJTS) to provide  Minnesota Family  Investment  Program (MFIP) and Diversionary  Work Program (DWP) services in the amount of  $358,583 for 2018.

 

MFIP helps families with children meet their basic needs, while helping parents move to financial stability through work. Parents are expected to work and are supported in working with both cash and food assistance. Most families have a lifetime limit of 60 months on MFIP. 

 

DWP is a four-month program that helps Minnesota parents find jobs. The goal is to help parents quickly find work so they do not need to go on MFIP. When families first apply for cash assistance, most will be enrolled DWP.

 

Twylla Wozniak, CMJTS regional manager and manager for public assistance programs, said they help clients overcome barriers through services like transportation assistance, child care and job training.

 

“We work one-on-one after they’re referred from the county,” she told members of the board. “We are not a job placement service. We help them become job-ready.”

 

From January through the end of October of this year, 249 individuals enrolled in MFIP and became eligible for an immediate cash grant. 

 

“They received a grant prior to working with employment and training. But if they don’t enroll, they get sanctioned 10% and eventually lose 100% if they don’t start working with employment and training,” said Wozniak.

 

Most people enrolled in MFIP work with a job counselor to create an employment plan. Those who are younger than 20 and have not completed high school or any equivalency program will get help getting their high school diploma or go to work. They can also receive child care help while they are looking for work, going to school or working.

 

Over the same 10-month period, 124 enrolled in DWP once they were determined to be eligible.

 

DWP enrollees must develop and sign an employment plan before being approved for the program. They must also seek fulltime work immediately. The employment plan will consider the type of work that best meets their family situation.

 

Benefits of the program may include:

 

Help finding work that fits their employment plan;

 

Help identifying and dealing with family issues that may prevent or delay getting a job;

 

Limited training that  can be completed in four months or fewer;

 

Assistance with housing costs, utilities and personal needs.

 

Often rent and other bills are paid directly from a family’s monthly benefit to the landlord or utility company. Money left after those bills are paid can be used by families to pay for personal needs.

 

Employment specialist  Julie Olson with CMJTS spoke about one success story as a result of the programs.

 

Olson said a client who enrolled in DWP in 2016 was homeless and temporarily staying with relatives. She was pregnant with her first child and had started a part-time job at a local restaurant. She had a bachelor’s degree in human services and had started a masters degree.

 

“She needed to find housing, get a job in her field and complete masters degree,” said Raiter. “After enrolling in DWP, she took the program very seriously and made sure to turn in her paperwork each week. She provided pay stubs to verify her work hours and also provided information on apartment complexes she was looking into.”

 

By her fourth week, she found an apartment, but needed money for half the deposit and the first month’s rent totalling $1,200. She tried emergency assistance and was denied.

 

She told Olson said she could borrow the money from her mother, then pay  off the debt by working for her mother.

 

“Working for her mother wasn’t an activity that was normally allowed for the 35-hour requirement for DWP,” said Raiter. “I decided to do some research to see what I could do to help her.”

 

A financial worker informed Olson of a gift/loan agreement they had for such situations. It was mailed to her and turned in.

 

“She began working with her mom 10 hours a week in addition to her part-time job,” said Olson. “In her fourth and final month, she enrolled in the Adult Dislocated Worker Program to work towards finishing her masters degree.”

 

In her last week on the program she said she had a an interview for a counselor position. She accepted that position with a non-profit organization in March, had her child in June and finished her eligibility for MFIP at the end of July.

 

Her employment specialist for MFIP, Valerie Raiter, said the client had cleared multiple hurdles to be able to work in the field of her bachelor’s degree.

 

When she first enrolled, the client had written on her application, “I am an enthusiastic person who wants to make the world better. I enjoy helping people and I can multi-task. I am very organized and will work had to get where I want to be.” 

 

 “I believe she has accomplished this with the guidance of Julie and myself,” said Raiter.