Earlier this month, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) announced the establishment of its new Office of Public Engagement. Under the leadership of Director Maureen Ramirez, this office will:
“…focus on targeted outreach and engagement efforts to make DEED's programs more accessible to all Minnesotans. Specifically, it will connect with populations in Minnesota hit hardest by racial and other disparities in employment – including gender, sexual orientation, geography, race/ethnicity, national origin, color, disability, age, or other protected groups.”
The Office of Public Engagement will also coalesce a number of DEED’s other outreach strategies – such as Immigrant and Refugee Affairs and the recently created New Americans Task Force (NATF) – under one unit, with plans to increase the number of staff “dedicated to this work.”
Currently, for example, the New Americans Task Force is soliciting recommendations from immigrants and refugees, DEED’s service partners, and other interested citizens on better ways to serve Minnesota’s newest arrivals as they navigate our systems, services and programs. This includes supports around such issues as employment, housing, healthcare, education, childcare, mental health, and access to technology. For those interested in providing input, please complete and submit this form by 12:00 pm CST, Friday, July 29, 2022.
And, to learn more about DEED’s new Office of Public Engagement, you can view the July 2022 Immigrant and Refugee Affairs forum on YouTube, or access the latest installment of the DEED Development Blog. You can also reach DEED’s new office of Public Engagement by calling 651-356-5423 or by sending an email to askDEED@state.mn.us.
