The Seniors & Workers for Quality Coalition (the Coalition) is made up of elder care organizations and the Union Coalition of Long-Term Care Workers. Together, the Coalition advocates to improve the quality of long-term care for those who depend on it and those who provide it. In 2008 & 2009 Grasstops, Inc. aided the Coalition in passing safe staffing legislation and advocating for public policies that improve the recruitment, education, retention, recognition and support of direct care workers.
The Minnesota School Social Workers Association (MSSWA) is a state wide nonprofit that works to improve the status of school social workers and advocates for children by promoting best practices in schools. With MSSWA, Grasstops works to monitor state legislation, help draft bills, build their legislative agenda, and lobby on behalf of MSSWA with legislators and key decision makers.
The Minnesota Restorative Services Coalition (MRSC) hired Grasstops to provide advocacy training and increase the legislative presence at their annual conference in 2003 and again in 2005. As a result of this work, Grasstops received a contract from the MN Department of Corrections to research cost/benefit analyses of restorative justice efforts and develop a template that can be used for counties across the state interested in implementing restorative justice in their communities. In 2008 and 2009, Grasstops supervised a graduate student intern as she worked with MRSC to plan for and implement advocacy plans which included organizing a Restorative Justice Day at the Capitol!
Grasstops directed the Minnesota Youth Advancement Act (MYAA) in 2007 for the Minnesota Youth Services Association, a comprehensive effort to pursue public policy reform to increase opportunities and resources for youth, and was part of the advocacy effort that successfully secured $1 million in state funding for Runaway and Homeless Youth Services! In 2008 MYAA became an initiative of the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless (MCH). Grasstops continues to direct the Campaign and aided in passing "Ready to Launch" court review language which will help prepare youth who exit from state care at the age of 18 for independence. This legislation requires a court review of Independent Living Plans at the required annual hearing after age 15 for youth in care. This includes identifying a permanent carrying adult connection. Grasstops continued to work with MCH in 2009 to advance the Minnesota Youth Advancement Act.
The Rice County Growing Up Healthy (GUH) initiative was organized in 2006 with the intention of engaging in a 10 month long planning process to better understand the needs of low-income families with young children (birth to age 5) in Rice County. The planning project allowed area agencies and organizations to identify the needs of low-income families through a grassroots process and to engage in a new level of partnership benefiting the entire community. Growing Up Healthy contracted with Grasstops, Inc. in 2008 to set a policy agenda. Grasstops worked with GUH to determine what, if any, policy changes at the local, county or state level might make life easier and better for families with young kids by analyzing information from a 2007 community dialog series along with conversations with the GUH advisory board, some of the direct service staff from partner organizations, and neighborhood leaders.
In 2007 Grasstops worked with Greater Minnesota Housing Fund to promote the creation of a Sustainable Growth Working Group, which would increase the state's role in planning for our state's future, with an eye toward promoting economic development and growth that preserves our natural resources. While the Legislature did not pass the language establishing the working group, the growing list of stakeholders supporting this dialogue will work with Grasstops to pursue alternate methods of achieving our goals. The end result will be recommendations to the legislature and governor for the 2008 legislative session.
The Women's Consortium of Minnesota is an umbrella organization and resource center to groups and individuals dedicated to achieving full equality for women and girls. Grasstops helped the Women's Consortium's, Pay Equity Coalition, with strategic planning, policy development, advocacy and bill tracking. Grasstops has also assisted the Women's Consortium with their annual event "Girls Rock the Capitol" by inviting teachers, principals, social workers and counselors to be a part of the planning committee. In 2007 Grasstops worked with the Pay Equity Coalition to lobby for legislation requiring pay equity among organizations that obtain large contracts from the state of Minnesota.
The Mentoring Partnership of Minnesota (MPM) is the driving force in the mentoring movement, bringing together diverse individuals and organizations to connect caring adults with a generation of kids through mentoring relationships. Grasstops worked with MPM to increase their public policy presence. We have assisted them in developing a public policy task force, provided training to mentoring programs on advocacy, developed a legislative agenda and connected with stakeholders across the state. During the 2006 legislative session, Grasstops introduced and lobbied for legislation that would make both federal and state background checks more affordable to mentoring programs and continued this effort in 2007.
In 2007 Grasstops also worked with the Minnesota Community Land Trust Coalition to build their visibility at the State Capitol. Advocating in support of property tax relief for low and moderate-income homeowners.
SignBridgeTM Language Systems LLC is a company that develops products and training systems that utilize sign language signs to help teach second spoken language vocabulary to hearing children. Grasstops worked with Denise Meyer, President of SignBridge during the 2006 legislative session to introduce and lobby for SignBridge legislation, making sign language curriculum available to bilingual students in public schools. While the legislation did not pass into law, in addition to planning a second attempt in 2007, Meyer has since brought her proposition to national legislators in Washington D.C.
The Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) at the University of Minnesota provides applied research, training and outreach throughout Minnesota to help improve developmental outcomes for young children. Grasstops consulted with CEED on their McEvoy Lecture Series, specifically helping the organization to design an action group component that would engage in public policy around early childhood issues. Grasstops also facilitated one of the action groups as it monitored and acted upon the "child care crisis bill" which was successfully passed and provided 21 million dollars to the field of early care and education.
Invisible Children is a small organization dedicated to increasing mental health services for abused and neglected children. Mike Tikkanen, the executive director, hired Grasstops to help him build a movement around this issue. He has written a book about his experiences as a Guardian Ad Litem and Grasstops identified policy makers who will read the book and engage in dialogue about how we change our systems in Minnesota so they better support abused and neglected children.
Kids at Risk Action (KARA!) is a children's rights advocacy network and nonprofit outgrowth of Invisible Children. Grasstops has assisted in the formation of KARA!, guided its strategic planning process, and facilitated their stakeholder mapping and public policy engagement.
Ready 4K is a state wide nonprofit. Their vision is that children in Minnesota will be ready (emotionally and academically) to enter kindergarten. Grasstops assisted them with bill tracking and research. Ready 4K has effectively engaged the business community in their efforts, and was successful in passing legislation that will allocate a certain portion of state general funds into an Early Learning Fund, establishing a public-private partnership that develops and evaluates innovative early childhood programming in the state of Minnesota.
The Barbara Schneider Foundation (BSF) was formed to prevent mental health crisis and improve mental health crisis response in Minnesota. Grasstops aided BSF in the successful submission of a grant application for advocacy funding to the Headwaters Foundation for Justice.