SF 1638

as introduced - 81st Legislature (1999 - 2000) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to health; authorizing counties to establish 
  1.3             home visiting programs to promote child safety and 
  1.4             healthy development; establishing requirements for 
  1.5             program operation and evaluation; appropriating money; 
  1.6             amending Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 145A.15. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1998, section 145A.15, is 
  1.9   amended to read: 
  1.10     145A.15 [HOME VISITING PROGRAM PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE CHILD 
  1.11  SAFETY AND HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT.] 
  1.12     Subdivision 1.  [ESTABLISHMENT.] The commissioner of health 
  1.13  shall expand the current grant program to fund additional 
  1.14  projects allocate funds to every county in the state that 
  1.15  requests funds from the commissioner under this section for home 
  1.16  visiting programs designed to promote child safety and healthy 
  1.17  development, prevent child abuse and neglect, and reduce 
  1.18  juvenile delinquency by promoting positive parenting, resiliency 
  1.19  in children, and a healthy beginning for children by providing 
  1.20  early intervention services for families in need.  Grant dollars 
  1.21  shall be available to train paraprofessionals to provide in-home 
  1.22  intervention services and to allow public health nurses to do 
  1.23  case management of services.  The grant program shall provide 
  1.24  early intervention services for families in need and 
  1.25  will Nothing in this section requires a county to operate a home 
  1.26  visiting program or provide home visiting services under this 
  2.1   section.  Home visiting programs operated under this section 
  2.2   shall include: 
  2.3      (1) creation of home visiting programs or expansion of 
  2.4   current public health nurse and family aide home visiting 
  2.5   programs and public health home visiting projects which promote 
  2.6   child safety and healthy development, prevent child abuse and 
  2.7   neglect, prevent juvenile delinquency, and build resiliency in 
  2.8   children; 
  2.9      (2) early intervention to promote a healthy and nurturing 
  2.10  beginning; 
  2.11     (3) distribution provision of educational and public 
  2.12  information programs and materials in hospital maternity 
  2.13  divisions, well-baby clinics, obstetrical clinics, and community 
  2.14  clinics locations that are accessible to families; and 
  2.15     (4) training of home visitors in skills necessary for 
  2.16  comprehensive home visiting which promotes a healthy and 
  2.17  nurturing beginning for the child. 
  2.18     Subd. 1a.  [MONEY AVAILABLE FOR HOME VISITING PROGRAMS.] 
  2.19  Funds allocated for grants to counties under this section shall 
  2.20  be distributed on a two-calendar-year cycle as follows: 
  2.21     (1) The commissioner shall estimate the number of at-risk 
  2.22  children under three years of age in each county by averaging 
  2.23  the number of live births that occurred to residents of the 
  2.24  county in the three most recently available calendar years and 
  2.25  multiplying the resulting average by 33 percent. 
  2.26     (2) The total funding allocated for grants to counties 
  2.27  under this section shall be divided by the total estimated 
  2.28  number of at-risk children under three years of age in the state 
  2.29  to determine the statewide per-child allocation. 
  2.30     (3) If the statewide per-child allocation is at least 
  2.31  $1,000, the commissioner shall allocate an amount to each county 
  2.32  that is equal to the estimated number of at-risk children under 
  2.33  three years of age in the county times the statewide per-child 
  2.34  allocation. 
  2.35     (4) If the statewide per-child allocation is less than 
  2.36  $1,000, each county receiving funds under this section in the 
  3.1   current two-calendar-year cycle shall be allocated at least the 
  3.2   same amount of funds as the county is currently receiving.  If 
  3.3   insufficient funds are available to do so, the commissioner 
  3.4   shall reduce each county's allocation in proportion to the 
  3.5   amount of the funding shortfall.  Any remaining funds allocated 
  3.6   for grants to counties under this section shall be allocated to 
  3.7   the counties with the highest rates of children at risk for 
  3.8   child abuse and neglect so that each such county shall be 
  3.9   allocated approximately $1,000 for each estimated at-risk child 
  3.10  under three years of age in the county. 
  3.11     (5) The commissioner shall annually review each county's 
  3.12  use of home visiting program allocations and may reallocate 
  3.13  funds from counties with unexpended or unencumbered money to 
  3.14  those counties that have expended or are projected to expend 
  3.15  their full allocation. 
  3.16     Subd. 1b.  [MATCHING FUNDS.] The commissioner and the 
  3.17  counties shall seek to supplement any state funds with private 
  3.18  and other nonstate funding sources, including other grants and 
  3.19  insurance coverage for services provided.  State funds may be 
  3.20  used only to supplement, not to replace, existing funds being 
  3.21  used for home visiting services to promote child safety and 
  3.22  healthy development. 
  3.23     Subd. 2.  [GRANT RECIPIENTS.] (a) The commissioner is 
  3.24  authorized to award grants to programs that meet the 
  3.25  requirements of subdivision 3 and include a strong child abuse 
  3.26  and neglect prevention focus for families in need of services.  
  3.27  Priority will be given to families considered to be in need of 
  3.28  additional services.  These Each county shall use an assessment 
  3.29  tool validated and approved by the commissioner to determine 
  3.30  which eligible families in the county are in need of supportive 
  3.31  services to promote child safety and healthy development.  The 
  3.32  commissioner shall approve all assessment tools to be used to 
  3.33  ensure consistency of elements examined and capability to 
  3.34  measure outcomes across counties.  Assessments must be performed 
  3.35  by a public health nurse and may occur prenatally or any time 
  3.36  before a child's third birthday. 
  4.1      (b) County home visiting programs shall provide home 
  4.2   visiting services to families in need of supportive services.  
  4.3   To be eligible for services, a family must include a pregnant 
  4.4   woman or at least one child under three years of age.  Families 
  4.5   in need of supportive services may include, but are not limited 
  4.6   to, families with: 
  4.7      (1) adolescent parents; 
  4.8      (2) a history of alcohol and other drug abuse; 
  4.9      (3) a history of child abuse, domestic abuse, or other 
  4.10  types of violence in the family of origin; 
  4.11     (4) a history of domestic abuse, rape, or other forms of 
  4.12  victimization; 
  4.13     (5) reduced cognitive functioning; 
  4.14     (6) a lack of knowledge of child growth and development 
  4.15  stages; 
  4.16     (7) low resiliency to adversities and environmental 
  4.17  stresses; or 
  4.18     (8) lack of sufficient financial resources to meet their 
  4.19  needs. 
  4.20     (b) Grants made under this section shall be used to fund 
  4.21  existing and new home visiting programs.  In awarding grants 
  4.22  under this section, the commissioner shall give priority to new 
  4.23  home visiting programs with local matching funds. 
  4.24     (c) Home visiting services are available to an eligible 
  4.25  family until the child's third birthday. 
  4.26     Subd. 3.  [PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS AND OPERATION.] (a) The 
  4.27  commissioner shall award grants, using a request for proposal 
  4.28  system, to programs designed to A county home visiting program 
  4.29  receiving an allocation under this section shall make the 
  4.30  following services available to families: 
  4.31     (1) contact families at prenatally or after the birth of 
  4.32  the child through a public health nurse or trained program 
  4.33  representative with whom the county has contracted for the 
  4.34  provision of home visiting services, who will meet the family, 
  4.35  provide information, describe the benefits of the program, and 
  4.36  offer a home visit to the family to occur during the first weeks 
  5.1   of the newborn's life in the home setting; 
  5.2      (2) visit the pregnant woman or family and newborn in the 
  5.3   home setting child at which time the public health nurse or 
  5.4   trained individual representative will answer parents' 
  5.5   questions, give information, including information on breast 
  5.6   feeding, and make referrals to any other appropriate services; 
  5.7      (3) conduct a screening process an assessment by a public 
  5.8   health nurse to determine if families need additional support 
  5.9   supportive services or are at risk for child abuse and neglect 
  5.10  and provide additional supportive home visiting services needed 
  5.11  by the families including, but not limited to, education on:  
  5.12  parenting skills, secure attachment, child development and 
  5.13  stages of growth, communication skills, stress management, 
  5.14  problem-solving skills, positive child discipline practices, 
  5.15  methods to improve parent-child interactions and enhance 
  5.16  self-esteem, community support services and other resources, and 
  5.17  how to enjoy and have fun with your nurture children; 
  5.18     (4) establish clear objectives and protocols for the home 
  5.19  visits; 
  5.20     (5) determine the frequency and duration of home visits 
  5.21  based on a risk-need assessment of the client family; except 
  5.22  that home visits may begin as early as the first trimester of 
  5.23  pregnancy and continue based on the need of the client family 
  5.24  until the child reaches age six three; 
  5.25     (6) refer and actively assist the family in accessing new 
  5.26  parent and family education, self-help and support additional 
  5.27  services available in the community; 
  5.28     (7) develop and distribute educational resource materials 
  5.29  in appropriate locations and offer presentations in the 
  5.30  community on the prevention of child abuse and neglect for use 
  5.31  in hospital maternity divisions, well-baby clinics, obstetrical 
  5.32  clinics, and community clinics; and 
  5.33     (8) coordinate with other local home visitation programs, 
  5.34  particularly those offered by school boards under section 
  5.35  124D.13, subdivision 4, so as to avoid duplication. 
  5.36     (b) A county board that requests funds for a home visiting 
  6.1   program under this section may: 
  6.2      (1) operate a home visiting program independently or 
  6.3   jointly with one or more other county boards; and 
  6.4      (2) directly provide supportive services to eligible 
  6.5   families or contract with an appropriate agency or organization 
  6.6   to provide supportive services. 
  6.7      (c) If a family receiving home visiting services under this 
  6.8   section in one county moves to another county in the state, the 
  6.9   county originally providing services shall, with the family's 
  6.10  permission, refer the family to the home visiting program in the 
  6.11  family's new home county.  The home visiting program in the 
  6.12  family's new home county shall place high priority on providing 
  6.13  such families with home visiting services. 
  6.14     (d) Programs must provide at least 40 hours of training for 
  6.15  public health nurses, family aides, and other home 
  6.16  visitors.  The commissioner of health shall make the training 
  6.17  available to counties receiving funds under this section. 
  6.18  Training must include information on the following: 
  6.19     (1) the dynamics of child abuse and neglect, domestic and 
  6.20  nondomestic violence, and victimization within family systems; 
  6.21     (2) signs of abuse or other indications that a child may be 
  6.22  at risk of abuse or neglect; 
  6.23     (3) what is child abuse and neglect; 
  6.24     (4) how to properly report cases of child abuse and 
  6.25  neglect; 
  6.26     (5) skills for outreach to and engagement of families with 
  6.27  multiple risk factors; 
  6.28     (6) sensitivity and respect for diverse cultural practices 
  6.29  in child rearing and family systems, including but not limited 
  6.30  to complex family relationships, safety, appropriate services, 
  6.31  family preservation, family finances for self-sufficiency, and 
  6.32  other special needs or circumstances; 
  6.33     (6) (7) community resources, social service agencies, and 
  6.34  family support activities or programs; 
  6.35     (7) (8) fetal development and healthy child development and 
  6.36  growth, including brain development; 
  7.1      (8) (9) attachment theory; 
  7.2      (10) parenting skills; 
  7.3      (9) (11) positive child discipline practices; 
  7.4      (10) (12) identification of stress factors and stress 
  7.5   reduction techniques; 
  7.6      (11) (13) home visiting techniques; 
  7.7      (12) (14) needs assessment measures; and 
  7.8      (13) (15) caring for the special needs of newborns and 
  7.9   mothers before and after the birth of the infant; and 
  7.10     (16) program evaluation and reporting requirements. 
  7.11     Program services must be community-based, accessible, and 
  7.12  culturally relevant and must be designed to foster collaboration 
  7.13  among existing agencies and community-based organizations. 
  7.14     Subd. 4.  [EVALUATION.] (a) Each program county or group of 
  7.15  counties that receives a grant operates a home visiting program 
  7.16  under this section must include a plan for program evaluation 
  7.17  designed to measure the effectiveness of the program in 
  7.18  preventing child abuse and neglect shall evaluate the 
  7.19  effectiveness of the program in promoting child safety and 
  7.20  healthy development and preventing child abuse and neglect, 
  7.21  using a program evaluation tool chosen by the commissioner that 
  7.22  measures outcome indicators agreed upon by a task force on 
  7.23  outcome indicators established by the commissioner.  Outcomes 
  7.24  for each home visiting program shall be annually reported to the 
  7.25  commissioner. 
  7.26     (b) On January 1, 1994 2002, and annually biennially 
  7.27  thereafter, the commissioner of health shall submit a report to 
  7.28  the legislature on all activities initiated in the prior 
  7.29  biennium under this section.  The report shall include 
  7.30  information on the outcomes reported by all programs that 
  7.31  received grant funds under this section in that biennium, 
  7.32  including information on funding, families served, and program 
  7.33  effectiveness and outcomes. 
  7.34     Sec. 2.  [TASK FORCE TO ESTABLISH OUTCOME INDICATORS.] 
  7.35     The commissioner of health shall establish a task force to 
  7.36  prescribe the outcome indicators to be measured in the 
  8.1   evaluation tool chosen by the commissioner to evaluate home 
  8.2   visiting programs to promote child safety and healthy 
  8.3   development under Minnesota Statutes, section 145A.15, 
  8.4   subdivision 4.  Membership in the task force shall include the 
  8.5   commissioner or a designee, child advocates, public health 
  8.6   nurses, and state and local government employees with expertise 
  8.7   in home visiting programs or preventing child abuse and 
  8.8   neglect.  The task force is governed by Minnesota Statutes, 
  8.9   section 15.014. 
  8.10     Sec. 3.  [APPROPRIATIONS.] 
  8.11     $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  8.12  commissioner of health for home visiting programs to promote 
  8.13  child safety and healthy development under Minnesota Statutes, 
  8.14  section 145A.15, to be available until June 30, 2001.  Of this 
  8.15  amount: 
  8.16     (1) $....... is for the commissioner to allocate to 
  8.17  counties for the operation of home visiting programs; 
  8.18     (2) $....... is for the commissioner to conduct training 
  8.19  programs under Minnesota Statutes, section 145A.15, subdivision 
  8.20  3, paragraph (d); and 
  8.21     (3) $....... is for the commissioner to choose a program 
  8.22  evaluation tool to evaluate program effectiveness under 
  8.23  Minnesota Statutes, section 145A.15, subdivision 4, and to 
  8.24  establish a task force under section 2 to prescribe the outcome 
  8.25  indicators to be measured in the evaluation tool.