Memo

To:        GWDC Council Members

From:   Roger Hale, Chair

CC:      Koryn Schultz, Libby Starling, Kathy Sweeney, Luke Weisberg

Date:    4/19/02

Thanks to those of you who were able to join us for our 4/11/02 meeting at the Northland Inn.  Our agenda was full, and we ran out of time following the presentation from the Maple River Education Coalition to bring closure to the earlier part of the meeting.  I want to communicate a few items as follow-up to our discussions.

1.      We have sent a letter to the MN Congressional delegation and key Bush administration staff regarding the intersection of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program (TANF) as these federal initiatives are being discussed now in Congress.  We will forward electronic versions to each of you as well as Local Workforce Council chairs.  We encourage you to submit your own letters to members of Congress on these issues.

2.      We are moving forward with the individual elements of “Preeminence Minnesota” as discussed.  Our broader discussion of further defining and framing Preeminence will be reviewed the Executive Committee prior to our next full Council meeting.

§         You’ll find attached to this memo a detailed timeline for the WorkForce Center credentialing process.  A good deal of work will be done on this in the next two and a half months, and a provisional process will come before the Council for review at our July meeting.  We are also moving ahead to create a clear path for defining common performance measures and outcomes that encompass the Preeminence vision, the MN Job Skills Partnership standards for state-funded programs, and other existing measures.  We will provide information on this as it develops. 

§         We did not reach consensus regarding a next iteration of our Preeminence document in the absence of the planned transition of the workforce and economic development agencies.  My sense is that we may want to revisit this discussion at our next meeting. 

3.      We are scheduled to meet next as a full Council on Friday, July 12^th from 9:00 am to Noon at the Veteran’s Service Building in Saint Paul (20 W. 12^th Street).  Some of our committees are preparing to report back on their work at that meeting; and, we will also be discussing our 2002-03 workplan.   To facilitate good discussion, we will send material out in advance for your review.  Please be prepared for a full agenda and discussion.