(FARGO, ND) – Fargo City Commissioner Denise Kolpack is calling on her fellow commissioners to consider hiring a Community Integration Facilitator.
The position, created by the Office of Refugee Services under the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services in Bismarck, was created with the vision of the three largest cities in North Dakota – Bismarck, Grand Forks and Fargo – holding one of these positions. Grand Forks and Bismarck currently have a facilitator, but Fargo does not. The position is fully funded by the state.
“My focus in Fargo hopefully is to also remove barriers so we can make sure that New Americans have what they need to get into the workforce,” Kolpack said in an interview Friday.
The position would reside within City Hall but would be overseen by the state.
The programs are successful in both Grand Forks and Bismarck, Kolpack said.
She said a task force would be an ideal start to the process, with the goal of coming up with ‘measurable outcomes’ of what is being achieved. That task force would include members of the New American community, Kolpack herself, a member of City Administration and someone from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The New American community appears to be supportive.
“At this point, people are very positive with an emphasis on ‘let’s see some results,’” she said.
The commission will discuss the topic at its meeting Monday night.
