AASD and DSD eList announcement

Date: July 16, 2024
To: Home and community-based services (HCBS) direct care professionals, traditional personal care assistance (PCA) professionals, service providers, lead agency staff, people who receive services and other interested parties
From: DHS Aging and Adult Services and Disability Services divisions
Purpose: To provide an update on the HCBS Workforce Development Grant initiatives
Contact: PositiveSupports@state.mn.us

HCBS Workforce Development Grant update

The HCBS Workforce Development Grant ended on June 30, 2024.

Current initiatives

Although the grant program ended, people can participate in the following related opportunities:

· Free technical assistance: People who want to receive technical assistance to start an employee-owned cooperative can receive support through the Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD) through June 30, 2025. For more information on how to receive free technical assistance, refer to MCCD – Shared ownership.

· Enhanced rate: PCA workers can receive the enhanced rate if they complete the trainings and meet additional requirements. For more information on how to receive an enhanced rate of pay to provide qualified services, refer to DHS – Qualifying for the enhance rate.

Completed initiatives

The HCBS Workforce Development Grant supported three initiatives:

· Employee-owned cooperative grants: Funds for employee-owned cooperatives are no longer available through the grant program. The grants supported the conversion or development of new cooperative businesses to support people with disabilities in communities throughout Minnesota.

· Training stipends: Stipends to cover training costs are no longer available through the grant program. The grant provided 146 workers with $500 stipends and covered the cost of 39 trainings.

· Retention bonuses: Bonuses for qualifying workers are no longer available through the grant program. The grant provided more than 6,300 workers $1,150 each in bonuses.

More information

DHS plans to publish a report with details about the completed HCBS Workforce Development Grant initiatives in late 2024. We will share more information in an eList announcement.

Previous eList announcements

AASD LEAD AGENCY ARCHIVE | DSD LEAD AGENCY ARCHIVE | DSD STAKEHOLDER ARCHIVE