Policy Fellows: 2007-2008 Group Work

Working in small groups on an important public affairs project is an integral component of the Policy Fellows program, creating an opportunity for the Fellows to have a policy impact, integrate their experiences and skills, and work together closely.  Each group will define a problem and then discuss, analyze, and write-up its accomplishments for presentation at a public forum in June.

The goals of the project experience are to:

• Encourage Fellows to meet together for discussion in smaller groups outside the monthly seminars,
• Develop an independent project that contributes to the collective good, and
• Create a process for integrating the year long experiences and skills.

This year, project ideas were first discussed online at a Fellows posting site.  From these initial ideas, Fellows came together around common interests.  Groups developed their own process for meetings, discussion, and making progress on their work.  On June 6, 2008, all groups gathered to make final project presentations to an audience of Fellows, colleagues, family, and friends.  The Center commends all groups on their phenomenal work this year.

Michael Caputo introduces his group's topic.	A project group shares a photo from their strategy mapping session earlier in the year.
Nate Garvis, Vice President of Government Affairs at Target and a Policy Fellows alumnus, encourages the Fellows to continue being "civic engineers" and working across sectors to bring about change.	Penny Schumacher receives a framed group photo and certificate from program director Larry Jacobs.

Youth Civic Engagement

Abdi Ali, City of Saint Paul
Michael Caputo, Minnesota Public Radio
Beth Cieslik, Target Corporation
Mandy Digre, Minnesota National Guard
JaPaul Harris, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services
Jeremy Kovash, Lakes Country Service Cooperative
Ted Ludwig, Beckman Coulter
Julisa Viveros, Centro Legal

Our group realized that public policy is aiming more money and effort at trying to get young people to be involved intheir community, civic life, and democracy. Are those efforts working? If not, how should they be improved? Our group wanted to go directly to the source. We hosted a public insight forum in the UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio, which was attended by nearly 50 young people from all walks of life and backgrounds to discuss issues related to community engagement and civic life. Public officials and people who run civic engagement programs for youth were also present for the dialogue, which was live-blogged and re-aired on MPR.Stakeholders came away withnew insights and proposals. Youngpeople were encouraged to continue conversations and action on this topic.

Contact: Michael Caputo, 651-290-1081 or mcaputo@mpr.org

Access to Opportunities: Youth Transportation

Erika Binger, The McKnight Foundation
Heidi Kraemer, IBM
Denise Mayotte, The Sheltering Arms Foundation
Avni Patel Shridharani, formerly of Intercultural Mutual Assistance Association
Brigid Riley, MN Organization on Adolescent Pregnancy, Prevention and Parenting
Amy Weldon, Best Buy
Marnie Wells, formerly of St. Paul Mayor’s Office, currently Campfire USA – MN Council

Our group focused on the need in Minnesota for youth transportation to and from out-of-school-time (OST) programs and activities. We investigated the scope of the problem, barriers to OST transportation, models that work andpotential policy solutions. Through conversations with MN legislators, we realized that the solutions to OST transportation issues needed a grassroots base before policy/legislative solutions could occur. Our group provided community partners and stakeholders with recommendations and possible next steps to build this grassroots base, particularly relying on the partnership developed with the MN youth advocacy non-profit organization, Youth Community Connections.

Contact: Denise Mayotte, 612-871-9210 or dmayotte@sheltering-arms.org

Urban Renewal in Downtown Minneapolis:
Exploring the use of Business Improvement Districts

Neng Lee, Independent School District 622
Tiffany Mulvihill, Federal Executive Board of Minnesota
Jamie Proulx, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs
Kirk Pumphrey, UnitedHealth Group
Penny Schumacher, Saint Paul Jewish Community Center
Chuck Weber, Office of the Hennepin County Public Defender

Our group had an interest in exploring urban renewal in downtown Minneapolis. We partnered with the Minneapolis Downtown Council to investigate the opportunities of a Business Improvement District (BID) encompassing 130 blocks of downtown Minneapolis. We researched the BID success rates of cities such as Portland, Denver, Cincinnati, Baltimore, Seattle, and St. Louis, and interviewed representatives from these cities on their best practices, success stories and challenges related to their improvement districts. The Downtown Council will be able to utilize this comparison data when discussing the possibility of BID development with business owners in downtown Minneapolis.

Contact: Jamie Proulx, 612-625-9436 or Jamie@umn.edu

Voluntary HIV Testing at the Hennepin County jail

Yende Anderson, Dakota County Community Services
Maura Brown, Alliance for Metropolitan Stability
Deb Junod, Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor
Eric Peterson, Dorsey & Whitney LLP
Natarajan Raman, Hennepin County Medical Center

From the start, our group focused on HIV prevention, testing and education among the corrections population, specifically on interrupting the vector between the prison population and the general public. We worked with Hennepin County corrections and the Hennepin County Medical Center and determined we would like to see an HIV rapid test and related education offered to every inmate upon intake. In order to gather some initial data on prisoners’ willingness to take an offered HIV test, HCMC nurses have temporarily added several questions to their intake screening protocols. HCMC will evaluate the data and, if appropriate, use the results to bolster requests for funding to make the rapid tests consistently available upon intake.

Contact: Deb Junod, 651-296-1232 or Deborah.junod@state.mn.us

Transportation Services for Veterans

John Berns, Minnesota House of Representatives
Rob Clark, Medtronic
Mark Giga, Taxpayers League of Minnesota
Tom Hagen, Minnesota Department of Commerce
Mohamed Hassan, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department
Kevin Olson, Minnesota Army and Air National Guard

Our group members shared a concern about the availability of transportation services for veterans, specifically to and from the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis. Conversations with the Commander’s Task Force indicated a lack of comprehensive understanding of the problem among those in leadership roles. Our group spoke with military offices and transportation providers across the metro and in Greater Minnesota to understand the problem and establish patterns and needs. We found that there are a number of significant challenges and a need for more organized, systematic study to determine solutions that meet the unique needs of veterans.

Contact: Kevin Olson, 651-268-8949 or kevin.olson@us.army.mil

Quality Childcare by Family, Friends and Neighbors:
A Link to Poverty Reduction

Alex Carey, Office of Governor Tim Pawlenty
Gail Cederberg, ConsultingServices in Environmental Strategies, Solutions, and Sustainability
Jeff Heegaard, 1000 Friends of Minnesota
Mary Ann Hennen, University of Minnesota Extension
Tim Huebsch, General Mills
Mike Jungbauer, Minnesota State Senate
John Keller, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota
Robert Strand, Boston Scientific

Our group initially looked into the issue of poverty and poverty reduction strategies, and from conversations with organizations and stakeholders, we realized how poverty in Minnesota was linked to issues of early childhood education and child care. We saw a critical need to increase appreciation or and support for family, friend, or neighbor (FFN) caregivers, who care for 70% of Minnesota children age 12 and under on a regular basis. Our group successfully launched a public awareness campaign, including a proclamation from Governor Tim Pawlenty, and developed a pilot concept to help FFN providers enhance pre-K knowledge of colors, alphabet and numbers.

Contact: Tim Huebsch, 763-293-3143 or timothy.huebsch@gmail.com