Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1994, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 529-S.F.No. 1930
An act relating to human services; interstate
contracts for mental health services; mental health
grants; rules concerning psychopathic personalities;
treatment for alcohol, drug abuse, and chemical
dependency; stepparent income standards under aid to
families with dependent children; child support
incentives; medical assistance for needy persons;
state and county social service plans; organ and
tissue transplants; family preservation;
commissioner's reports; group residential housing
payments and agreements; and paternity proceedings;
amending Minnesota Statutes 1992, sections 245.696,
subdivision 2; 254A.02, subdivision 11; 254B.04,
subdivision 1; 254B.05, subdivision 1; 256.74,
subdivision 1a; 256B.69, subdivision 4; 256E.04;
256E.09, subdivision 3; 256H.24; and 257.60; Minnesota
Statutes 1993 Supplement, sections 245.50, subdivision
5; 246B.04; 256.979, subdivision 8; 256B.0629,
subdivisions 3 and 4; 256F.11, subdivision 3; and
256I.04, subdivisions 1a and 2a; repealing Minnesota
Statutes 1992, section 254A.16, subdivisions 3 and 4;
Laws 1993, chapter 337, section 16.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
245.50, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
Subd. 5. [SPECIAL CONTRACTS; WISCONSIN.] The commissioner
of the Minnesota department of human services must enter into
negotiations with appropriate personnel at the Wisconsin
department of health and social services and must develop an
agreement that conforms to the requirements of subdivision 4, to
enable the placement in Minnesota of patients who are on
emergency holds or who have been involuntarily committed as
mentally ill or chemically dependent in Wisconsin and to enable
the temporary placement in Wisconsin of patients who are on
emergency holds in Minnesota under section 253B.05, provided
that the Minnesota courts retain jurisdiction over Minnesota
patients, and the state of Wisconsin affords to Minnesota
patients the rights under Minnesota law. Persons committed by
the Wisconsin courts and placed in Minnesota facilities shall
continue to be in the legal custody of Wisconsin and Wisconsin's
laws governing length of commitment, reexaminations, and
extension of commitment shall continue to apply to these
residents. In all other respects, Wisconsin residents placed in
Minnesota facilities are subject to Minnesota laws. The
agreement must specify that responsibility for payment for the
cost of care of Wisconsin residents shall remain with the state
of Wisconsin and the cost of care of Minnesota residents shall
remain with the state of Minnesota. The commissioner shall be
assisted by attorneys from the Minnesota attorney general's
office in negotiating and finalizing this agreement. The
agreement shall be completed so as to permit placement of
Wisconsin residents in Minnesota facilities and Minnesota
residents in Wisconsin facilities beginning July 1, 1994.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 245.696,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [SPECIFIC DUTIES.] In addition to the powers and
duties already conferred by law, the commissioner of human
services shall:
(1) review and evaluate local programs and the performance
of administrative and mental health personnel and make
recommendations to county boards and program administrators;
(2) provide consultative staff service to communities and
advocacy groups to assist in ascertaining local needs and in
planning and establishing community mental health programs;
(3) employ qualified personnel to implement this chapter;
(4) adopt rules for minimum standards in community mental
health services as directed by the legislature;
(5) cooperate with the commissioners of health and jobs and
training to coordinate services and programs for people with
mental illness;
(6) evaluate the needs of people with mental illness as
they relate to assistance payments, medical benefits, nursing
home care, and other state and federally funded services;
(7) provide data and other information, as requested, to
the advisory council on mental health;
(8) develop and maintain a data collection system to
provide information on the prevalence of mental illness, the
need for specific mental health services and other services
needed by people with mental illness, funding sources for those
services, and the extent to which state and local areas are
meeting the need for services;
(9) apply for grants and develop pilot programs to test and
demonstrate new methods of assessing mental health needs and
delivering mental health services;
(10) study alternative reimbursement systems and make
waiver requests that are deemed necessary by the commissioner;
(11) provide technical assistance to county boards to
improve fiscal management and accountability and quality of
mental health services, and consult regularly with county
boards, public and private mental health agencies, and client
advocacy organizations for purposes of implementing this
chapter;
(12) promote coordination between the mental health system
and other human service systems in the planning, funding, and
delivery of services; entering into cooperative agreements with
other state and local agencies for that purpose as deemed
necessary by the commissioner;
(13) conduct research regarding the relative effectiveness
of mental health treatment methods as the commissioner deems
appropriate, and for this purpose, enter treatment facilities,
observe clients, and review records in a manner consistent with
the Minnesota government data practices act, chapter 13; and
(14) enter into contracts and promulgate rules the
commissioner deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this
chapter; and
(15) administer county mental health grants on a calendar
year basis, unless that procedure hinders the achievement of the
purposes of a particular grant.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
246B.04, is amended to read:
246B.04 [RULES; EVALUATION.]
The commissioner of human services shall adopt rules to
govern the operation, maintenance, and licensure of the program
established at the Minnesota Psychopathic Personality Treatment
Center, or at any other facility operated by the commissioner,
for persons committed as a psychopathic personality. The
commissioner shall establish an evaluation process to measure
outcomes and behavioral changes as a result of treatment
compared with incarceration without treatment, to determine the
value, if any, of treatment in protecting the public.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 254A.02,
subdivision 11, is amended to read:
Subd. 11. "American Indian" means a person of one quarter
or more Indian blood who is a member of an Indian tribe. The
commissioner shall use the definitions of "Indian" and "Indian
tribe" and "Indian organization" provided in United States Code,
title 25, section 450(b), as amended through December 31, 1992.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 254B.04,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [ELIGIBILITY.] (a) Persons eligible for
benefits under Code of Federal Regulations, title 25, part 20,
persons eligible for medical assistance benefits under sections
256B.055 and, 256B.056, and 256B.057, subdivisions 1, 2, 5, and
6, or who meet the income standards of section 256B.056,
subdivision 4, and persons eligible for general assistance
medical care under section 256D.03, subdivision 3, are entitled
to chemical dependency fund services. State money appropriated
for this paragraph must be placed in a separate account
established for this purpose.
(b) A person not entitled to services under paragraph (a),
but with family income that is less than 60 percent of the state
median income for a family of like size and composition, shall
be eligible to receive chemical dependency fund services within
the limit of funds available after persons entitled to services
under paragraph (a) have been served. A county may spend money
from its own sources to serve persons under this paragraph.
State money appropriated for this paragraph must be placed in a
separate account established for this purpose.
(c) Persons whose income is between 60 percent and 115
percent of the state median income shall be eligible for
chemical dependency services on a sliding fee basis, within the
limit of funds available, after persons entitled to services
under paragraph (a) and persons eligible for services under
paragraph (b) have been served. Persons eligible under this
paragraph must contribute to the cost of services according to
the sliding fee scale established under subdivision 3. A county
may spend money from its own sources to provide services to
persons under this paragraph. State money appropriated for this
paragraph must be placed in a separate account established for
this purpose.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (b) and
(c), state funds appropriated to serve persons who are not
entitled under the provisions of paragraph (a), shall be
expended for chemical dependency treatment services for
nonentitled but eligible persons who have children in their
household, are pregnant, or are younger than 18 years old.
These persons may have household incomes up to 60 percent of the
state median income. Any funds in addition to the amounts
necessary to serve the persons identified in this paragraph
shall be expended according to the provisions of paragraphs (b)
and (c).
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 254B.05,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [LICENSURE REQUIRED.] Programs licensed by
the commissioner are eligible vendors. Hospitals may apply for
and receive licenses to be eligible vendors, notwithstanding the
provisions of section 245A.03. American Indian programs located
on federally recognized tribal lands that provide chemical
dependency primary treatment, extended care, transitional
residence, or outpatient treatment services, and are licensed by
tribal government are eligible vendors. Detoxification programs
are not eligible vendors. Programs that are not licensed as a
chemical dependency residential or nonresidential treatment
program by the commissioner or by tribal government are not
eligible vendors. To be eligible for payment under the
Consolidated Chemical Dependency Treatment Fund, a vendor must
participate in the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Normative Evaluation
System or a comparable system approved by the commissioner.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 256.74,
subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. [STEPPARENT'S INCOME.] In determining income
available, the county agency shall take into account the
remaining income of the dependent child's stepparent who lives
in the same household after disregarding:
(1) the first $75 $90 of the stepparent's gross earned
income;
(2) an amount for support of the stepparent and any other
individuals whom the stepparent claims as dependents for
determining federal personal income tax liability and who live
in the same household but whose needs are not considered in
determining eligibility for assistance under sections 256.72 to
256.87. The amount equals the standard of need for a family of
the same composition as the stepparent and these other
individuals;
(3) amounts the stepparent actually paid to individuals not
living in the same household but whom the stepparent claims as
dependents for determining federal personal income tax
liability; and
(4) alimony or child support, or both, paid by the
stepparent for individuals not living in the same household.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
256.979, subdivision 8, is amended to read:
Subd. 8. [MEDICAL PROVIDER REIMBURSEMENT.] (a) A fee to
the providers of medical services is created for the purpose of
increasing the numbers of signed and notarized recognition of
parentage forms completed in the medical setting.
(b) A fee of $25 shall be paid to each medical provider for
each properly completed recognition of parentage form sent to
the department of vital statistics.
(c) The office of vital statistics shall make the bonus
payment of $25 to each medical provider and notify the
department of human services quarterly of the numbers of
completed forms received and the amounts paid.
(d) The department of human services shall remit quarterly
to the office of vital statistics the sums paid to each medical
provider a payment for the number of signed recognition of
parentage forms completed by that medical provider and sent to
the office of vital statistics.
(e) The commissioners of the department of human services
and the department of health shall develop procedures for the
implementation of this provision.
(f) Payments will be made to the medical provider within
the limit of available appropriations.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
256B.0629, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [ANNUAL REPORT.] The advisory committee shall
present an annual report to the commissioner and the chairs of
the health and housing human services finance division of the
house health and human services committee and the health care
and family services finance division of the senate family
services and health care committees by January 1 of each year on
the findings and recommendations of the committee.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
256B.0629, subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE COMMISSIONER.] (a) The
commissioner shall periodically:
(1) Recommend to the legislature Determine criteria
governing the eligibility of organ and tissue transplant
procedures for reimbursement from medical assistance and general
assistance medical care. Procedures approved by Medicare are
automatically eligible for medical assistance and general
assistance medical care reimbursement. Additional procedures
are eligible for reimbursement only if they are recommended
by both the task force and, approved by the commissioner, and
published in the State Register.
(2) Recommend to the legislature Determine criteria for
certifying transplant centers within and outside of Minnesota
where Minnesotans receiving medical assistance and general
assistance medical care may obtain transplants. Additional
centers may be certified only upon approval of the legislature.
Only centers recommended by the task force and approved by the
commissioner may be considered certified by the legislature
commissioner.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 256B.69,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [LIMITATION OF CHOICE.] The commissioner shall
develop criteria to determine when limitation of choice may be
implemented in the experimental counties. The criteria shall
ensure that all eligible individuals in the county have
continuing access to the full range of medical assistance
services as specified in subdivision 6. The commissioner shall
exempt the following persons from participation in the project,
in addition to those who do not meet the criteria for limitation
of choice: (1) persons eligible for medical assistance
according to section 256B.055, subdivision 1, or and children
under age 21 who are in foster placement; (2) persons eligible
for medical assistance due to blindness or disability as
determined by the social security administration or the state
medical review team, unless they are 65 years of age or older;
(3) recipients who currently have private coverage through a
health maintenance organization; and (4) recipients who are
eligible for medical assistance by spending down excess income
for medical expenses other than the nursing facility per diem
expense. Before limitation of choice is implemented, eligible
individuals shall be notified and after notification, shall be
allowed to choose only among demonstration providers. After
initially choosing a provider, the recipient is allowed to
change that choice only at specified times as allowed by the
commissioner. If a demonstration provider ends participation in
the project for any reason, a recipient enrolled with that
provider must select a new provider but may change providers
without cause once more within the first 60 days after
enrollment with the second provider.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 256E.04, is
amended to read:
256E.04 [BIENNIAL STATE PLAN.]
Subdivision 1. The commissioner shall prepare a biennial
social services plan and present the plan to the governor and
the legislature. The commissioner shall update the plan
biennially. The plan shall include:
(a) A statement of methods used to ensure intergovernmental
coordination of state and local planning and delivery of
community social services a description of state social service
programs and priorities;
(b) A coordination statement setting forth the relationship
of the state social services plan to any other federal, state or
locally financed human services programs, including but not
limited to, programs for the aged, children, the developmentally
disabled, the chemically dependent, and programs related to
corrections, education, vocational rehabilitation, mental
health, housing, health, and employment;
(c) A summary and analysis an overview of all county
biennial community social services plans;
(d) (c) identification of social services program
requirements which counties have identified as unnecessarily
administratively burdensome;
(e) (d) identification of social services program
requirements for which inadequate state and local funding is
available; and
(f) (e) identification of unmet needs reported by the
county agencies.
The commissioner shall consult with the heads of human
service related state departments and agencies in preparing the
coordination statement required by this subdivision.
Subd. 2. Copies of the proposed state plan shall be made
reasonably available to the public allowing sufficient time for
public review and comment. Copies of the updated state social
services plan shall be submitted to the governor and the
legislature prior to the beginning of each biennium on July 1,
after approval of county social service plans and any amendments
to those plans, and shall be made available to the public.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 256E.09,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [PLAN CONTENT.] The biennial community social
services plan shall include:
(1) a description of the planning process, including
methods used to assess needs and obtain citizen input;
(2) county outcome goals and specific objectives intended
outcomes and outcome indicators for each program area;
(3) a description of resources allocated within the county
to support each program and service;
(4) a description of the services to be provided;
(5) an analysis of the adequacy of resources available to
support the community social services plan including estimates
of unmet needs;
(6) a description of how the service system will be
coordinated within each program area; and
(7) a statement signed by the county board or its designee
that the county is in compliance with specified Minnesota
Statutes.
Sec. 14. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
256F.11, subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [EVALUATIONS.] Beginning January 1, 1995, the
commissioner of human services shall submit an annual report to
the legislature evaluating the program. The report must include
information concerning program costs, the number of program
participants, the program's impact on family stability, the
incidence of abuse and neglect, and all other relevant
information determined by the commissioner.
Sec. 15. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 256H.24, is
amended to read:
256H.24 [DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER.]
In addition to the powers and duties already conferred by
law, the commissioner of human services shall:
(1) by September 1, 1990 1998, and by September 1 of each
subsequent even-numbered year every five years thereafter,
survey and report on all components of the child care system,
including, but not limited to, availability of licensed child
care slots, the number of children in various kinds of child
care settings, staff wages, rate of staff turnover,
qualifications of child care workers, cost of child care by type
of service and ages of children, and child care availability
through school systems;
(2) by September 1, 1990 1998, and September 1 of each
subsequent even-numbered year every five years thereafter,
survey and report on the extent to which existing child care
services fulfill the need for child care, giving particular
attention to the need for part-time care and for care of
infants, sick children, children with special needs, low-income
children, toddlers, and school-age children;
(3) administer the child care fund, including the sliding
fee program authorized under sections 256H.01 to 256H.19;
(4) monitor the child care resource and referral programs
established under section 256H.20; and
(5) encourage child care providers to participate in a
nationally recognized accreditation system for early childhood
programs. The commissioner shall reimburse licensed child care
providers for one-half of the direct cost of accreditation fees,
upon successful completion of accreditation.
Sec. 16. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
256I.04, subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. [COUNTY APPROVAL.] A county agency may not
approve a group residential housing payment for an individual in
any setting with a rate in excess of the MSA equivalent rate for
more than 30 days in a calendar year unless the county agency
has developed or approved a plan for the individual which
specifies that:
(1) the individual has an illness or incapacity which
prevents the person from living independently in the community;
and
(2) the individual's illness or incapacity requires the
services which are available in the group residence.
The plan must be signed or countersigned by any of the
following employees of the county of financial responsibility:
the director of human services or a designee of the director; a
social worker; or a case aide.
Sec. 17. Minnesota Statutes 1993 Supplement, section
256I.04, subdivision 2a, is amended to read:
Subd. 2a. [LICENSE REQUIRED.] A county agency may not
enter into an agreement with an establishment to provide group
residential housing unless:
(1) the establishment is licensed by the department of
health as a hotel and restaurant; a board and lodging
establishment; a residential care home; a boarding care home
before March 1, 1985; or a supervised living facility, and the
service provider for residents of the facility is licensed under
chapter 245A. However, an establishment licensed by the
department of health to provide lodging need not also be
licensed to provide board if meals are being supplied to
residents under a contract with a food vendor who is licensed by
the department of health; or
(2) the residence is licensed by the commissioner of human
services under Minnesota Rules, parts 9555.5050 to 9555.6265, or
certified by a county human services agency prior to July 1,
1992, using the standards under Minnesota Rules, parts 9555.5050
to 9555.6265.
The requirements under clauses (1) and (2) do not apply to
establishments exempt from state licensure because they are
located on Indian reservations and subject to tribal health and
safety requirements.
Sec. 18. Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 257.60, is
amended to read:
257.60 [PARTIES.]
The child may be made a party to the action. If the child
is a minor and is made a party, a general guardian or a guardian
ad litem shall be appointed by the court to represent the
child. The child's mother or father may not represent the child
as guardian or otherwise. The biological mother, each man
presumed to be the father under section 257.55, and each man
alleged to be the biological father, shall be made parties or,
if not subject to the jurisdiction of the court, shall be given
notice of the action in a manner prescribed by the court and
shall be given an opportunity to be heard. The public agency
responsible for support enforcement is joined as a party in each
case in which rights are assigned under section 256.74,
subdivision 5. A person who may bring an action under section
257.57 may be made a party to the action. The court may align
the parties. The child shall be made a party whenever:
(1) the child is a minor and the case involves a compromise
under section 257.64, subdivision 1, or a lump sum payment under
section 257.66, subdivision 4, in which case the commissioner of
human services shall also be made a party subject to department
of human services rules relating to paternity suit settlements;
or
(2) the child is a minor and the action is to declare the
nonexistence of the father and child relationship; or
(3) an action to declare the existence of the father and
child relationship is brought by a man presumed to be the father
under section 257.55, or a man who alleges to be the father, and
the mother of the child denies the existence of the father and
child relationship.
Sec. 19. [REPEALER.]
Minnesota Statutes 1992, section 254A.16, subdivisions 3
and 4, are repealed. Laws 1993, chapter 337, section 16, is
repealed.
Sec. 20. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1 to 6 and 8 to 19 are effective July 1, 1994.
Section 7 is retroactively effective from October 1, 1993.
Presented to the governor April 26, 1994
Signed by the governor April 28, 1994, 2:32 p.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes