Connect 700: An Opportunity for Some, But Questions About Equity Remain

By: Nyleve Eiram

Writer/Reporter

When Minnesota launched the Connect 700 Program in 2016, the goal was straightforward; create a pathway into state government employment for qualified individuals with disabilities who often face barriers during the traditional hiring process.

For many applicants, the program represents hope. Instead of competing solely through the standard hiring process, eligible candidates can be hired into a paid trial work period of up to 700 hours. If they successfully complete the trial period, they may be offered permanent employment with the State of Minnesota.

On paper, the program appears to be a step toward a more inclusive workforce. But nearly a decade after its launch, questions remain about how effective the program has been and whether everyone is benefiting equally.

According to publicly available information, approximately 1,510 eligibility certificates were issued during the program’s first three years. Yet only about 200 participants ultimately completed the trial period and became permanent state employees. While that represents an important opportunity for those individuals, it also means that many approved participants did not transition into state employment.

The numbers raise additional questions such as how many people actually apply to Connect 700 each year? How many receive interviews? How many receive job offers? Most importantly, who is getting hired?

The answers to those questions are surprisingly difficult to find.

While Minnesota publishes information about the Connect 700 Program and encourages qualified applicants with disabilities to participate, the state does not publicly release hiring outcomes by race or ethnicity.

As a result, there is no public data showing how many Black applicants have been hired through the program, how many White applicants have been hired, or whether hiring rates differ among racial or ethnic groups.

That lack of transparency makes it impossible for applicants, journalists, researchers, and the public to evaluate whether Connect 700 is providing equitable opportunities across all communities.

This question is especially important because people of color with disabilities often face multiple barriers to employment.

The Minnesota Council on Disability has recognized that programs such as Connect 700 can help improve access to state employment for historically underrepresented communities. At the same time, the Council has acknowledged that hiring initiatives alone cannot eliminate barriers such as racial bias or discrimination.

Without publicly available demographic data, it is impossible to measure whether those barriers continue to exist within Connect 700.

Transparency is not about assigning blame. It is about accountability, and if the program is achieving equitable outcomes, publishing that information could strengthen public confidence and encourage more qualified applicants to participate. If disparities exist, the data could help policymakers identify where improvements are needed.

As Minnesota continues investing in diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and workforce development, several important questions remain unanswered. Why aren’t Connect 700 hiring outcomes publicly reported by race and ethnicity? Does the state collect demographic information that could be released while protecting applicant privacy? Which agencies hire the most Connect 700 participants? How many applicants ultimately become permanent state employees?

These are not questions intended to criticize the program. They are questions intended to understand it.

Connect 700 has helped many Minnesotans begin careers in state government, and for those individuals, the program has made a meaningful difference.

However, transparency is essential to evaluating any public program. Until more detailed hiring data is made available, Minnesotans will continue to wonder whether Connect 700 is fulfilling its promise of creating equitable employment opportunities for every qualified applicant.

As discussions around workforce diversity and accessibility continue across Minnesota, greater transparency could provide a clearer picture of the program’s impact and help ensure that opportunity is not only promised, but measurable.

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2 comments

Michelle Pink August 23, 2026 3:14 pm

The Connect 700 program can be a great opportunity when everything goes exactly right. But the moment something goes wrong, you learn very quickly that you are a vulnerable person placed in an even more vulnerable position. You are not treated as a real employee. You are placed in a pre‑probationary trial status where you can be fired immediately, without rights, without representation, and without any meaningful protection.

When you read the fine print, the reality becomes clear:
You are not entitled to 700 hours. You are not guaranteed 30 days. In fact, the program explicitly allows termination within the first 30 days, and because you are not considered a full employee, you have none of the rights that other workers have during probation. No grievance process. No union representation. No due process.

And when your supervisor decides to terminate you at 4:30 PM on a Friday, no one questions it. No one steps in. No one asks whether you were trained, supported, or treated fairly. When you reach out for help — the union, HR, anyone — you are told the same thing:
You were not guaranteed anything.
You were not protected.
You were not considered a real employee.

The program promises opportunity, support, and fairness — but in practice, it can leave disabled workers exposed, unprotected, and dismissed without a second thought.

Michelle Pink August 23, 2026 3:26 pm

I don’t mean to be rude or disrespect the program but the program needs to change, and it needs to change NOW. It does help people but for the people that are treated so unfairly it is a traumatic experience. To be promised a job at the state making livable wage is a dream to many of us and the Connect 700 program has let so many people down- letting them down is really not the appropriate words for many people’s experience.
It has thrown them down off of a cliff is more accurate. I keep on hearing about more and more people who have been hired to the program and been terminated without any of the supports that they were promised. Supervisors get tired of people who may take more time and more patience and when the honeymoon is over, people are let go for poor work performance. Issues that have never been raised before become the reason that they are terminated immediately without any warnings. This treatment is not fair and has caused enough concern that people working at the state advise people not to apply through the program. It is known to have problems, but no one is dealing with the problems. Disabled people are being ignored and left out by a program that is supposed to be supporting people with disabilities. When is something going to be done about this?