1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; increasing the number of
1.3 	living-at-home/block nurse programs; increasing annual
1.4 	program funding; appropriating money; amending
1.5 	Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 256B.0917,
1.6 	subdivision 8.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 256B.0917,
1.9 	subdivision 8, is amended to read:
1.10 		Subd. 8.Living-at-home/block nurse program grant.  (a)
1.11 	The organization awarded the contract under subdivision 7, shall
1.12 	develop and administer a grant program to establish or expand up
1.13 	to 33 38 community-based organizations that will implement
1.14 	living-at-home/block nurse programs that are designed to enable
1.15 	senior citizens to live as independently as possible in their
1.16 	homes and in their communities.  At least one-half of the
1.17 	programs must be in counties outside the seven-county
1.18 	metropolitan area.  Nonprofit organizations and units of local
1.19 	government are eligible to apply for grants to establish the
1.20 	community organizations that will implement living-at-home/block
1.21 	nurse programs.  In awarding grants, the organization awarded
1.22 	the contract under subdivision 7 shall give preference to
1.23 	nonprofit organizations and units of local government from
1.24 	communities that:
1.25 	(1) have high nursing home occupancy rates;
1.26 	(2) have a shortage of health care professionals;
2.1 	(3) are located in counties adjacent to, or are located in,
2.2 	counties with existing living-at-home/block nurse programs; and
2.3 	(4) meet other criteria established by LAH/BN, Inc., in
2.4 	consultation with the commissioner.
2.5 	(b) Grant applicants must also meet the following criteria:
2.6 	(1) the local community demonstrates a readiness to
2.7 	establish a community model of care, including the formation of
2.8 	a board of directors, advisory committee, or similar group, of
2.9 	which at least two-thirds is comprised of community citizens
2.10 	interested in community-based care for older persons;
2.11 	(2) the program has sponsorship by a credible,
2.12 	representative organization within the community;
2.13 	(3) the program has defined specific geographic boundaries
2.14 	and defined its organization, staffing and coordination/delivery
2.15 	of services;
2.16 	(4) the program demonstrates a team approach to
2.17 	coordination and care, ensuring that the older adult
2.18 	participants, their families, the formal and informal providers
2.19 	are all part of the effort to plan and provide services; and
2.20 	(5) the program provides assurances that all community
2.21 	resources and funding will be coordinated and that other funding
2.22 	sources will be maximized, including a person's own resources.
2.23 	(c) Grant applicants must provide a minimum of five percent
2.24 	of total estimated development costs from local community
2.25 	funding.  Grants shall be awarded for four-year periods, and the
2.26 	base amount shall not exceed $80,000 $100,000 per applicant for
2.27 	the grant period.  The organization under contract may increase
2.28 	the grant amount for applicants from communities that have
2.29 	socioeconomic characteristics that indicate a higher level of
2.30 	need for assistance.  Subject to the availability of funding,
2.31 	grants and grant renewals awarded or entered into on or after
2.32 	July 1, 1997, shall be renewed by LAH/BN, Inc. every four years,
2.33 	unless LAH/BN, Inc. determines that the grant recipient has not
2.34 	satisfactorily operated the living-at-home/block nurse program
2.35 	in compliance with the requirements of paragraphs (b) and (d).
2.36 	Grants provided to living-at-home/block nurse programs under
3.1 	this paragraph may be used for both program development and the
3.2 	delivery of services.
3.3 	(d) Each living-at-home/block nurse program shall be
3.4 	designed by representatives of the communities being served to
3.5 	ensure that the program addresses the specific needs of the
3.6 	community residents.  The programs must be designed to:
3.7 	(1) incorporate the basic community, organizational, and
3.8 	service delivery principles of the living-at-home/block nurse
3.9 	program model;
3.10 	(2) provide senior citizens with registered nurse directed
3.11 	assessment, provision and coordination of health and personal
3.12 	care services on a sliding fee basis as an alternative to
3.13 	expensive nursing home care;
3.14 	(3) provide information, support services, homemaking
3.15 	services, counseling, and training for the client and family
3.16 	caregivers;
3.17 	(4) encourage the development and use of respite care,
3.18 	caregiver support, and in-home support programs, such as adult
3.19 	foster care and in-home adult day care;
3.20 	(5) encourage neighborhood residents and local
3.21 	organizations to collaborate in meeting the needs of senior
3.22 	citizens in their communities;
3.23 	(6) recruit, train, and direct the use of volunteers to
3.24 	provide informal services and other appropriate support to
3.25 	senior citizens and their caregivers; and
3.26 	(7) provide coordination and management of formal and
3.27 	informal services to senior citizens and their families using
3.28 	less expensive alternatives.

3.29 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION.
 3.30 	$560,000 is appropriated from the general fund to the
3.31 	commissioner of human services, for the biennium ending June 30,
3.32 	2007, to increase base funding by $5,000 per year for
3.33 	living-at-home/block nurse programs and to establish five new
3.34 	living-at-home/block nurse programs, as provided under section 1.