Grant Questions and Answers

Below are questions and answers about the Youth Skills Training (YST@DLI) grant.

Question:  Is the maximum YST grant award of $100,000 over a two year cycle?
Answer:  Yes that is the maximum TOTAL amount a partnership can be awarded for the two-year grant.

Question:  Are grants ever partially funded?
Answer:  Yes, it does occasionally happen where an applicant is funded for less than they requested.

Question:  Can funds be designated for a staff member to get their Work Based Learning certification?
Answer:  No, YST grant funding cannot be used to pay for a staff member to get their Work Based Learning certification

Question:  Can I apply for the new YST grant round if I am the fiscal agent for a current YST grant?
Answer:  No. This grant does not allow for overlapping grant contracts. Any open grants must be closed/finished by the start date of the next round. “Programs that received YST grant funding in the immediately preceding grant round are ineligible to apply for additional funding to avoid overlapping grant contracts.”

Question:  Does the partnership between the school and business already need to exist to apply for funds? 
Answer:  Partnerships on the YST grant application may include existing partnerships and partnerships that are in development. Listed employers do not need to be officially YST employer approved, but need to be partners that you are actively working with, not just a list of employers in your community. 

Question:  We have a licensed teacher who teaches/monitors and places students at various work/internship locations. If we apply for and receive a grant, could the award dollars pay for a part of their salary?
Answer:  You would be able to use some of the YST grant funding to support a staff position to coordinate/oversee the YST specific programming for your school. The position that YST dollars could be utilized for needs to be targeted toward developing YST programming in one or more of the YST industry areas - Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Automotive, Health Care and Information Technology. 

Question:  Can YST grant funding be used to pay student wages or buy incentives as payment for student work experiences? 
Answer:  No, based on YST statute, grant funding cannot be used to pay or supplement student wages in any form for a paid work experience.

Question:  The grant application indicates that there is a six-page maximum of written narrative. Which questions 1-10 does this apply to?
Answer:  The six-page maximum of written narrative applies to questions 1-8 (the narrative questions) on the grant application. The chart, budget form, addendum and application page do not count toward the six-page maximum of written narrative.

Question:  Are the YST grant funds reimbursed in equal payments on a quarterly basis? How should the proposed grant budget form be completed?
Answer:  No, the grant funds are reimbursed based on program spending during each quarter. There is no requirement to spend the money in equal amounts based on a quarterly or yearly basis. The proposed grant budget form should be completed using the total dollar amount requested over the two-year grant period.

Question:  Can we use YST grant funding to pay employer partners a stipend for participating?
Answer:  No, YST grant funding cannot be used to pay employer partners for participating in the program.

Question:  Does our partnership need to receive a grant before applying for YST program approval?
Answer:  No, you do not need to be a YST grant recipient to apply for YST program approval. The YST@DLI grant process and YST@DLI program approval are two independent components of the program.

Question:  Which industries are currently approved for YST grant funding and YST program approval?
Answer:  YST@DLI has approved the following industries for both the grant process and program approval – advanced manufacturing, agriculture, automotive, information technology and health care.

Question:  Do YST employer partners have to pay wages or can another program fund the wages through an eligibility based program?
Answer:  YST employer partners need to be the employer of record, which includes paying the wages and covering workers' compensation insurance for student learners.

Question:  What are the expected outcomes based on YST statute?
Answer:  At least 80% of the student learners who participate in a YST program should receive a high school diploma; and at least 60% of the student learners who participate in a YST program should receive a recognized credential upon completion of the YST program.

Question:  Why is construction not one of the industries included for the YST grant and YST program approval?
Answer:  Minnesota child labor law does not allow for minors under 18 years of age on construction and building sites. Youth Skills Training programs include 16- and 17-year-old students and require paid work experience.

Question:  Can grant money be used to purchase equipment and supplies for classrooms?
Answer:  Yes, grant money may be used to purchase equipment and supplies for classrooms as long as the employer partners agree the purchases are important to the program and a good use of the grant funds. The YST grant funding is designed to create and implement YST programs and is not designed to become an educational funding source. Equipment expenses that exceed $5,000 in total during the course of the grant and have an expected useful life of more than two years are considered capital expenses and require approval prior to purchase.

Question:  Is there a target or minimum number of hours required for paid work experience for a YST grant?
Answer:  No, there are no target or minimum hours required. The number of hours for a YST paid work experience are determined by the school and employer partnership.