as introduced - 92nd Legislature (2021 - 2022) Posted on 04/07/2022 10:06am
A bill for an act
relating to human services; authorizing grants for nonprofits serving homeless
youth in Minnesota; appropriating money.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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The commissioner of human services must establish a
competitive grant program for nonprofit organizations seeking to establish or expand services
for homeless youth that formalize situations where a family friend, relative, or neighbor
allows a youth between the ages of 18 and 24 to stay at the family friend's, relative's, or
neighbor's residence to avoid being homeless.
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For the purposes of this section, "set of participants" means a youth
between the ages of 18 and 24 and a family friend, relative, or neighbor with whom the
youth is living to avoid being homeless.
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(a) The commissioner of human services, as authorized by
Minnesota Statutes, section 256.01, subdivision 2, paragraph (a), clause (6), shall contract
with a technical assistance provider to:
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(1) develop guidelines, criteria, and procedures for awarding grants;
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(2) serve as a consultant to the commissioner for selecting grantees;
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(3) provide technical assistance to grantees;
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(4) select an evaluator to annually evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the
grant program; and
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(5) submit an annual report to the commissioner based on the evaluator's findings.
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(b) When developing the criteria for awarding grants, the technical assistance provider
must include a requirement that all grantees:
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(1) partner with at least one set of participants;
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(2) mediate agreements within each set of participants about shared expectations regarding
the living arrangement;
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(3) provide monthly stipends to sets of participants to offset the costs created by the
living arrangement; and
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(4) connect sets of participants to community resources.
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The commissioner must select a technical
assistance provider to aid in selecting grantees. In order to be selected, the technical assistance
provider must:
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(1) have in-depth experience with research on and evaluation of youth homelessness;
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(2) offer education on informal living arrangements between homeless youth and family
friends, relatives, or neighbors to organizations that serve homeless youth;
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(3) have previous experience providing technical assistance to organizations that support
informal living arrangements between homeless youth and family friends, relatives, or
neighbors; and
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(4) be located in Hennepin County.
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To be eligible for a grant under this section, an applicant
must be a nonprofit organization serving homeless youth in Minnesota. The competitive
grants must be awarded to at least five applicants beginning no later than December 31,
2022.
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A nonprofit organization seeking a grant under this section shall
apply to the commissioner. The grant applicant must include a description of the project
that the applicant is proposing, the amount of money that the applicant is seeking, and a
proposed budget describing how the applicant will spend the grant money.
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The technical assistance provider must report annually to the
commissioner in a manner specified by the commissioner on the evaluator's findings
regarding the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the grant program.
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$8,000,000 in fiscal year 2023 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of human services for the grants for nonprofits serving homeless youth in section 1. Of this
amount, $....... is for a contract with the technical assistance provider for the activities listed
in section 1, subdivision 3. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30,
2027.
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