This article shares insights from Minnesota-based focus groups, revealing that low-income women navigating unemployment insurance often face confusion and uncertainty around eligibility, complex administrative processes, and additional challenges related to childcare, housing stability, and mistrust of benefit systems.
Minnesota is a good example of an organization that started small in its drive to integrate benefits programs. For instance, its recent statewide rollout of its online integrated benefit application website, MNbenefits.mn.gov, started as a pilot in 2020 with Code for America. The pilot encompassed two counties including Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located. The pilot later expanded to four counties, then 16 and a tribal nation. The final roll out, which took 12 months to implement, included the state’s 87 counties and three tribal nations.
Hennepin County, Minnesota, implemented an online application system for child care assistance, resulting in increased applications, faster benefit distribution, and reduced administrative burdens.
During this event, researchers addressed questions with findings from data collected from state UI agencies across the country and focus groups with women who have experienced unemployment.
This report calculates the cumulative impact of major benefit programs on two types of families and how their benefits change as they move into the labor market and climb the ladder of upward mobility.
This article highlights how the City of Saint Paul and Ramsey County are advancing equitable access to climate-resilient green careers through their participation in TOPCities.
This charter defines the goals, scope and organization of the “Integrated Service Delivery (ISD) Product Office” charged with planning, implementing, governing, and managing all business transformation, change, and systems modernization efforts related to integrated service delivery, focused initially on integrated eligibility and enrollment.
