How to Move Families Forward

Overview
The McKnight Foundation and the Minnesota Governor's Workforce Development Council (GWDC) developed the Families Forward Initiative in 2001 to convene and support partnerships that function across organizational and/or geographic boundaries to promote the skill development and career advancement of working families in Minnesota. The McKnight Foundation's experience in workforce development and welfare reform suggests that partnerships, which include employers, education/training providers, and community-based organizations, are key to effectively serving incumbent workers and employers. Further, the Foundation recognizes that to be sustained over time, such efforts must be linked to, and influential in, shaping, publicly-supported systems. Based on this premise, the Foundation asked the GWDC to facilitate the growth of existing partnerships, the development of partnerships in areas where they had not yet matured, and to link such efforts to the public workforce, economic development, and education systems.

The GWDC worked with 18 partnerships from December 2001 to December 2004 and this website includes many of the GWDC's learnings from the Families Forward Initiative. The learnings do not indicate whether grantees excelled in absolute or relative terms but rather provide a template of ideas for use by service providers and policymakers. Ultimately, these concepts will help to ensure that Minnesota is serving and utilizing its low income incumbent workers in the most effective and efficient manner possible in support of Minnesota's strong economy.