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252.32 Family support program.

Subdivision 1. Program established. In accordance with state policy established in section 256F.01 that all children are entitled to live in families that offer safe, nurturing, permanent relationships, and that public services be directed toward preventing the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and because many families who have children with mental retardation or related conditions have special needs and expenses that other families do not have, the commissioner of human services shall establish a program to assist families who have dependents with mental retardation or related conditions living in their home. The program shall make support grants available to the families.

Subd. 1a. Support grants. (a) Provision of support grants must be limited to families who require support and whose dependents are under the age of 22 and who have mental retardation or who have a related condition and who have been determined by a screening team established under section 256B.092 to be at risk of institutionalization. Families who are receiving home and community-based waivered services for persons with mental retardation or related conditions are not eligible for support grants. Families whose annual adjusted gross income is $60,000 or more are not eligible for support grants except in cases where extreme hardship is demonstrated. Beginning in state fiscal year 1994, the commissioner shall adjust the income ceiling annually to reflect the projected change in the average value in the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics consumer price index (all urban) for that year.

(b) Support grants may be made available as monthly subsidy grants and lump sum grants.

(c) Support grants may be issued in the form of cash, voucher, and direct county payment to a vendor.

(d) Applications for the support grant shall be made by the legal guardian to the county social service agency. The application shall specify the needs of the families, the form of the grant requested by the families, and that the families have agreed to use the support grant for items and services within the designated reimbursable expense categories and recommendations of the county.

(e) Families who were receiving subsidies on the date of implementation of the $60,000 income limit in paragraph (a) continue to be eligible for a family support grant until December 31, 1991, if all other eligibility criteria are met. After December 31, 1991, these families are eligible for a grant in the amount of one-half the grant they would otherwise receive, for as long as they remain eligible under other eligibility criteria.

Subd. 2. Individual service plan. Before a support grant is issued, an individual service plan for the dependent as required by section 256E.08 and the rules adopted thereunder, or an individual service plan as requested by the family and defined in 256B.092, shall be developed by the county social service agency and agreed upon by the parents. A transitional plan shall be developed for the dependent when the dependent turns age 17 in order to assure an orderly transition to other services when the family terminates services from this program and to assure that an application is made for supplemental security income and other benefits.

Subd. 3. Amount of support grant; use. Support grant amounts shall be determined by the county social service agency. Each service and item purchased with a support grant must:

(1) be over and above the normal costs of caring for the dependent if the dependent did not have a disability;

(2) be directly attributable to the dependent's disabling condition; and

(3) enable the family to delay or prevent the out-of-home placement of the dependent.

The design and delivery of services and items purchased under this section must suit the dependent's chronological age and be provided in the least restrictive environment possible, consistent with the needs identified in the individual service plan.

Items and services purchased with support grants must be those for which there are no other public or private funds available to the family. Fees assessed to parents for health or human services that are funded by federal, state, or county dollars are not reimbursable through this program.

The maximum monthly amount shall be $250 per eligible dependent, or $3,000 per eligible dependent per state fiscal year, within the limits of available funds. The county social service agency may consider the dependent's supplemental security income in determining the amount of the support grant. The county social service agency may exceed $3,000 per state fiscal year per eligible dependent for emergency circumstances in cases where exceptional resources of the family are required to meet the health, welfare-safety needs of the child. The county social service agency may set aside up to five percent of its allocation to fund emergency situations.

Effective July 1, 1997, county social service agencies shall continue to provide funds to families receiving state grants on June 30, 1997, if eligibility criteria continue to be met. Any adjustments to their monthly grant amount must be based on the needs of the family and funding availability.

Subd. 3a. Reports and allocations. (a) The commissioner shall specify requirements for quarterly fiscal and annual program reports according to section 256.01, subdivision 2, paragraph (17). Program reports shall include data which will enable the commissioner to evaluate program effectiveness and to audit compliance. The commissioner shall reimburse county costs on a quarterly basis.

(b) The commissioner shall allocate state funds made available under this section to county social service agencies on a calendar year basis. The commissioner shall allocate to each county first in amounts equal to each county's guaranteed floor as described in clause (1), and second, any remaining funds will be allocated to county agencies to support children in their family homes.

(1) Each county's guaranteed floor shall be calculated as follows:

(i) 95 percent of the county's allocation received in the preceding calendar year;

(ii) when the amount of funds available for allocation is less than the amount available in the preceding year, each county's previous year allocation shall be reduced in proportion to the reduction in statewide funding, for the purpose of establishing the guaranteed floor.

(2) The commissioner shall regularly review the use of family support fund allocations by county. The commissioner may reallocate unexpended or unencumbered money at any time to those counties that have a demonstrated need for additional funding.

(c) County allocations under this section will be adjusted for transfers that occur according to section 256.476 or when the county of financial responsibility changes according to chapter 256G for eligible recipients.

Subd. 3b. Federal funds. The commissioner and the counties shall make every reasonable effort to maximize the use of federal funds for family supports.

Subd. 3c. County board responsibilities. County boards receiving funds under this section shall:

(1) determine the needs of families for services in accordance with section 256B.092 or 256E.08 and any rules adopted under those sections;

(2) determine the eligibility of all persons proposed for program participation;

(3) approve a plan for items and services to be reimbursed and inform families of the county's approval decision;

(4) issue support grants directly to, or on behalf of, eligible families;

(5) inform recipients of their right to appeal under subdivision 3e;

(6) submit quarterly financial reports under subdivision 3b and indicate on the screening documents the annual grant level for each family, the families denied grants, and the families eligible but waiting for funding; and

(7) coordinate services with other programs offered by the county.

Subd. 3d. Appeals. The denial, suspension, or termination of services under this program may be appealed by a recipient or application under section 256.045, subdivision 3.

Subd. 4. Repealed, 1997 c 203 art 7 s 29

Subd. 5. Compliance. If a county board or grantee does not comply with this section, the commissioner may recover, suspend, or withhold payments.

HIST: 1983 c 312 art 1 s 22; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 58; 1985 c 21 s 40; 1986 c 414 s 4; 1987 c 333 s 22; 1991 c 292 art 6 s 39; 1993 c 339 s 8; 1997 c 203 art 7 s 10-14; 1999 c 245 art 4 s 15

Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes