error while rendering plone.header
You are here: Home / Community Assets Search / Pathway to Prosperity

Pathway to Prosperity

 
Public Report on Pathways Toward Prosperity and Well-Being Program led by Olmsted County Community Services
Last modified: April 12, 2019

Contents

Highlights


 

State lawmakers are being asked to provide $1 million in hopes of putting single parents and their children on a new path out of poverty this summer.

Contents


PB Reporting

State lawmakers are being asked to provide $1 million in hopes of putting single parents and their children on a new path out of poverty this summer.

The Pathways to Prosperity and Wellness pilot program will begin rolling out in July with the eventual goal of including 100 families in Olmsted and Dakota counties.

The goal of the pilot program is to test whether the counties can see improved outcomes for families in poverty by using a different approach, part of which is adding flexibility to benefits received through various state and federal programs.

Each program comes with regulations and limits that can hamper success.

As an example, Fleissner points to a single parent who might rely on daycare assistance to be able to work. Program rules limit funding based on income.

 

 

“When you get to about $19 an hour, which is really not a livable wage in either Dakota or Olmsted County, you start to lose $7 for every dollar you earn if you get a raise,” he said, noting the result is a reluctance to want to improve in the workforce.

“We have families turn down raises all the time,” he said.

At the same time, Fleissner said, the parent might be eligible for other benefits that aren’t needed, due to the unique circumstances that face any family. Those benefits, whether for housing, food or other basic needs, can’t be tapped for childcare or other uses without triggering violations of state or federal regulations.

That’s where the $1 million state request comes in.

It would be the start of a fund to provide flexible benefits. Another $2.8 million is expected to come from private foundations.

“We’ve had several foundations interested in funding the rest,” Fleissner recently told members of the Minnesota House’s Health and Human Services Finance Committee, noting that the state funds would not be spent until the private funds are raised.

The $3.8 million is key, because it is the amount that would be available to 100 families through existing state and federal programs.

 


 

Impact Levels

  Impact Lvl 1: Basic Needs ; Best Practice ; Business Process ; Diversity and Inclusion ; Health

 

Back to TOC

 


 

 


 

 

  

 

Related Reports


 

 

 

Site Information
Project Phase Definitions
The following defines the various project phases:
  1. Available - a product, program or service is in production
  2. Develop - program or application is being developed
  3. Plan - idea is solid, stakeholders are identified, and there is strong commitment to go forward from all parties.
  4. Concept Phase - idea scoped out with enough details to give an early sizing and/or to build a proof of concept
    demonstration
  5. Pre-concept Phase - an early idea or a requirement.
About Beam
  • For the commercial sector, we tend to register startup activities (new companies and new commercial projects) that bring diversification and high-impact opportunities to the area.
  • For the non-profit sector, we wish to shine light on all the organizations and services that otherwise labor under relative obscurity.
  • Our hope is that dmcbeam.org will encourage cross-sector collaborations and creative solutions.

While there are a number of registries in the community, dmcbeam.org's  distinct value is to pilot a database with a data structure and categorizations that answer the questions such as: What organizations or projects/programs in our community that have purported relevance with some of the over-arching focuses put forward by initiatives such as DMC, J2G and Health Improvements?

This database could be used as one of the ways to explore the capacities of the community. If you are someone on an exploratory journey to learn about the greater Rochester community. dmcbeam.org could be an interesting first step.

Links to Beam sub-sites 
Sample of Beam sub-sites: