Improving health outcomes by lowering employment barriers for people with a criminal record -- TakeAction Minnesota Education Fund

The Foundation's Roadmaps to Health Community grants initiative was designed to identify, support, and disseminate models of cross-sector coalitions working to improve health by taking action to address the social and economic determinants of health, such as education, employment, income, community safety, and family and social support.The TakeAction Minnesota Education Fund seeks to improve health outcomes by lowering employment barriers for people with a criminal record. They plan to lay the ground work for new legislation that would set statewide fair hiring standards for private businesses to limit the consideration of prior criminal conviction. If the state political environment is not conducive to state policy change, they will lay the groundwork for exploring the passage of local ordinances in Minneapolis and St. Paul with similar standards. In the interim, TakeAction Minnesota will seek to influence private employers to adopt these standards, with a particular focus on the state's large employers. In order to educate the general public, business leaders, and policymakers ultimately, to achieve these policy and business practice objectives, they will engage businesses, educate decision-makers, provide public education, build a grassroots base of engaged leaders, expand their core partners to a broader multi-sector coalition, collaborate with the Minnesota Health Department and expand relationships with law enforcement officials. No RWJF dollars will be used for lobbying. The grantee has set aside sufficient unrestricted funds to engage in any lobbying activities. Deliverables include presentations and visits to businesses, forums for decision makers, nonpartisan research and analysis policy documents, media and social media efforts, storybank of first person narratives on video and in print, leadership and issue trainings, including a week-long leadership training, and roundtables bringing together business, law enforcement, social services, and decision-makers.

Grant Details

Amount Awarded $200,000.00

Awarded on: 11/1/2012

Time frame: 11/1/2012 - 10/31/2014

Grant Number: 70529