HF 1606

as introduced - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/21/2013 08:31am

A bill for an act
relating to early childhood; establishing focused home visiting grants;
appropriating money; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 145A.17,
subdivisions 1, 7.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 145A.17, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Establishment deleted text begin ; goals deleted text end .

The commissioner shall establish a program
to fund family home visiting programs designed to foster healthy beginnings, improve
pregnancy outcomes, promote school readiness, prevent child abuse and neglect, reduce
juvenile delinquency, promote positive parenting and resiliency in children, and promote
family health and economic self-sufficiency for children and families. The commissioner
shall promote partnerships, collaboration, and multidisciplinary visiting done by teams of
professionals and paraprofessionals from the fields of public health nursing, social work,
and early childhood education.

new text begin Subd. 1a. new text end

new text begin General criteria. new text end

new text begin (a) Except as provided for early family development
grants under subdivision 1b, new text end a program funded under this section must serve families at
or below 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and other families determined
to be at risk, including but not limited to being at risk for child abuse, child neglect,
or juvenile delinquency.

new text begin (b) new text end Programs must begin prenatally whenever possible and must be targeted to
families with:

(1) adolescent parents;

(2) a history of alcohol or other drug abuse;

(3) a history of child abuse, domestic abuse, or other types of violence;

(4) a history of domestic abuse, rape, or other forms of victimization;

(5) reduced cognitive functioning;

(6) a lack of knowledge of child growth and development stages;

(7) low resiliency to adversities and environmental stresses;

(8) insufficient financial resources to meet family needs;

(9) a history of homelessness;

(10) a risk of long-term welfare dependence or family instability due to employment
barriers; or

(11) other risk factors as determined by the commissioner.

new text begin Subd. 1b. new text end

new text begin Early family development grants. new text end

new text begin (a) The commissioner shall establish
early family development grants under this section and as provided in this subdivision.
new text end

new text begin (b) To be eligible for an early family development grant, a family home visiting
program must serve families meeting the criteria and risk factors under subdivision 1a,
except that the families served must:
new text end

new text begin (1) be at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty guidelines; and
new text end

new text begin (2) include an expecting parent or at least one child under the age of two.
new text end

new text begin (c) A family home visiting program that receives a grant under this subdivision must
implement procedures so that, to the fullest extent feasible, families are identified and
home visits commence prenatally.
new text end

new text begin (d) The commissioner shall allocate early family development grants in a manner
that is regionally balanced throughout the state and that is proportional based on
population or families available to be served.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 145A.17, subdivision 7, is amended to read:

Subd. 7.

Evaluation.

new text begin (a) new text end Using the qualitative goals and quantitative outcome and
performance measures established under subdivisions 1 new text begin , 1a, new text end and 6, the commissioner shall
conduct ongoing evaluations of the programs funded under this section. new text begin Evaluations must
specifically include early family development grants under subdivision 1b.
new text end

new text begin (b) new text end Community health boards and tribal governments shall cooperate with the
commissioner in the evaluations and shall provide the commissioner with the information
necessary to conduct the evaluations. As part of the ongoing evaluations, the commissioner
shall rate the impact of the programs on the outcome measures listed in subdivision 6, and
shall periodically determine whether home visiting programs are the best way to achieve
the qualitative goals established under subdivisions 1 new text begin , 1a, new text end and 6. If the commissioner
determines that home visiting programs are not the best way to achieve these goals, the
commissioner shall provide the legislature with alternative methods for achieving them.

Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATION; EARLY FAMILY DEVELOPMENT.
new text end

new text begin $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2014 and $20,000,000 in fiscal year 2015 are appropriated
from the general fund to the commissioner of health for early family development grants
under Minnesota Statutes, section 145A.17, subdivision 1b. The base appropriation
for early family development grants is $20,000,000 in each year, and is added to base
appropriations for family home visiting under Minnesota Statutes, section 145A.17.
new text end