1999 Minnesota Statutes

     145A.16 Universally offered home visiting programs for 
  infant care. 

    Subdivision 1.    Establishment.  The commissioner shall 
 establish a grant program to fund universally offered home 
 visiting programs designed to serve all live births in 
 designated geographic areas.  The commissioner shall designate 
 the geographic area to be served by each program.  At least one 
 program must provide home visiting services to families within 
 the seven-county metropolitan area, and at least one program 
 must provide home visiting services to families outside the 
 metropolitan area.  The purpose of the program is to strengthen 
 families and to promote positive parenting and healthy child 
 development.  

    Subd. 2.    Steering committee.  The commissioner shall 
 establish an ad hoc steering committee to develop and implement 
 a comprehensive plan for the universally offered home visiting 
 programs.  The members of the ad hoc steering committee shall 
 include, at a minimum, representatives of local public health 
 departments, public health nurses, other health care providers, 
 paraprofessionals, community-based family workers, 
 representatives of the state councils of color, representatives 
 of health insurance plans, and other individuals with expertise 
 in the field of home visiting, early childhood health and 
 development, and child abuse prevention.  

    Subd. 3.    Program requirements.  The commissioner 
 shall award grants using a request for proposal system.  
 Existing home visiting programs or a family services 
 collaborative established under section 256F.13 may apply for 
 the grants.  Health information and assessment, counseling, 
 social support, educational services, and referral to community 
 resources must be offered to all families, regardless of need or 
 risk, beginning prenatally or as soon after birth as possible, 
 and continuing as needed.  Each program applying for a grant 
 must have access to adequate community resources to complement 
 the home visiting services and must be designed to: 

    (1) identify all newborn infants within the geographic area 
 served by the program.  Identification may be made prenatally or 
 at the time of birth; 

    (2) offer a home visit by a trained home visitor.  The 
 offer of a home visit must be made in a way that guarantees that 
 the existence of the pregnancy is not revealed to any other 
 individual without the written consent of the pregnant female.  
 If home visiting is accepted, the first visit must occur 
 prenatally or as soon after birth as possible and must include a 
 public health nursing assessment by a public health nurse; 

    (3) offer, at a minimum, information on infant care, child 
 growth and development, positive parenting, the prevention of 
 disease and exposure to environmental hazards, and support 
 services available in the community; 

    (4) provide information on and referral to health care 
 services, if needed, including information on health care 
 coverage for which the individual or family may be eligible and 
 information on family planning, pediatric preventive services, 
 immunizations, and developmental assessments, and information on 
 the availability of public assistance programs as appropriate; 

    (5) recruit home visit workers who will represent, to the 
 extent possible, all the races, cultures, and languages spoken 
 by eligible families in the designated geographic areas; and 

    (6) train and supervise home visitors in accordance with 
 the requirements established under subdivision 5.  

    Subd. 4.    Coordination.  To minimize duplication, a 
 program receiving a grant must establish a coalition that 
 includes parents, health care providers who provide services to 
 families with young children in the service area, and 
 representatives of local schools, governmental and nonprofit 
 agencies, community-based organizations, health insurance plans, 
 and local hospitals.  A program may use a family services 
 collaborative as the coalition if a collaborative is established 
 in the area served by the program.  The coalition must designate 
 the roles of all provider agencies, family identification 
 methods, referral mechanisms, and payment responsibilities 
 appropriate for the existing systems in the program's service 
 area.  The coalition must also coordinate with other programs 
 offered by school boards under section 124D.13, subdivision 4, 
 and programs offered under section 145A.15.  

    Subd. 5.    Training.  The commissioner shall establish 
 training requirements for home visitors and minimum requirements 
 for supervision by a public health nurse.  The requirements for 
 nurses must be consistent with chapter 148.  Training must 
 include child development, positive parenting techniques, and 
 diverse cultural practices in child rearing and family systems.  
 A program may use grant money to train home visitors. 

    Subd. 6.    Evaluation.  (a) The commissioner shall 
 evaluate the effectiveness of the home visiting programs, taking 
 into consideration the following goals:  

    (1) appropriate child growth, development, and access to 
 health care; 

    (2) appropriate utilization of preventive health care and 
 medical care for acute illnesses; 

    (3) lower rates of substantiated child abuse and neglect; 

    (4) up-to-date immunizations; 

    (5) a reduction in unintended pregnancies; 

    (6) increasing families' understanding of lead poisoning 
 prevention; 

    (7) lower rates of unintentional injuries; and 

    (8) fewer hospitalizations and emergency room visits.  

    (b) The commissioner shall compare overall outcomes of 
 universally offered home visiting programs with targeted home 
 visiting programs and report the findings to the legislature.  
 The report must also include information on how home visiting 
 programs will coordinate activities and preventive services 
 provided by health plans and other organizations. 

    (c) The commissioner shall report to the legislature by 
 February 15, 1998, on the comprehensive plan for the universally 
 offered home visiting programs and recommend any draft 
 legislation needed to implement the plan.  The commissioner 
 shall report to the legislature biennially beginning December 
 15, 2001, on the effectiveness of the universally offered home 
 visiting programs.  In the report due December 15, 2001, the 
 commissioner shall include recommendations on the feasibility 
 and cost of expanding the program statewide.  

    Subd. 7.    Technical assistance.  The commissioner 
 shall provide administrative and technical assistance to each 
 program, including assistance conducting short- and long-term 
 evaluations of the home visiting program required under 
 subdivision 6.  The commissioner may request research and 
 evaluation support from the University of Minnesota.  

    Subd. 8.    Matching funds.  The commissioner and the 
 grant programs shall seek to supplement any state funding with 
 private and other nonstate funding sources, including other 
 grants and insurance coverage for services provided.  Program 
 funding may be used only to supplement, not to replace, existing 
 funds being used for home visiting.  

    Subd. 9.    Payment for home visiting services.  Any 
 health plan that provides services to families or individuals 
 enrolled in medical assistance, general assistance medical care, 
 or the MinnesotaCare program must contract with the programs 
 receiving grants under this section and the programs established 
 under section 145A.15 that are providing home visiting services 
 in the area served by the health plan to provide home visiting 
 services covered under medical assistance, general assistance 
 medical care, or the MinnesotaCare program to their enrollees.  
 A health plan may require a home visiting program to comply with 
 the health plan's requirements on the same basis as the health 
 plan's other participating providers. 

    HIST: 1997 c 203 art 2 s 16; 1998 c 397 art 11 s 3