2006 Minnesota Statutes

256I.04 ELIGIBILITY FOR GROUP RESIDENTIAL HOUSING PAYMENT.
    Subdivision 1. Individual eligibility requirements. An individual is eligible for and entitled
to a group residential housing payment to be made on the individual's behalf if the county agency
has approved the individual's residence in a group residential housing setting and the individual
meets the requirements in paragraph (a) or (b).
(a) The individual is aged, blind, or is over 18 years of age and disabled as determined
under the criteria used by the title II program of the Social Security Act, and meets the resource
restrictions and standards of the supplemental security income program, and the individual's
countable income after deducting the (1) exclusions and disregards of the SSI program, (2) the
medical assistance personal needs allowance under section 256B.35, and (3) an amount equal to
the income actually made available to a community spouse by an elderly waiver recipient under
the provisions of sections 256B.0575, paragraph (a), clause (4), and 256B.058, subdivision 2, is
less than the monthly rate specified in the county agency's agreement with the provider of group
residential housing in which the individual resides.
(b) The individual meets a category of eligibility under section 256D.05, subdivision 1,
paragraph (a), and the individual's resources are less than the standards specified by section
256D.08, and the individual's countable income as determined under sections 256D.01 to
256D.21, less the medical assistance personal needs allowance under section 256B.35 is less than
the monthly rate specified in the county agency's agreement with the provider of group residential
housing in which the individual resides.
    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.
    Subd. 1b. Optional state supplements to SSI. Group residential housing payments made
on behalf of persons eligible under subdivision 1, paragraph (a), are optional state supplements
to the SSI program.
    Subd. 1c. Interim assistance. Group residential housing payments made on behalf of
persons eligible under subdivision 1, paragraph (b), are considered interim assistance payments to
applicants for the federal SSI program.
    Subd. 2. Date of eligibility. An individual who has met the eligibility requirements of
subdivision 1, shall have a group residential housing payment made on the individual's behalf
from the first day of the month in which a signed application form is received by a county agency,
or the first day of the month in which all eligibility factors have been met, whichever is later.
    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;
(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;
(3) the establishment is registered under chapter 144D and provides three meals a day,
or is an establishment voluntarily registered under section 144D.025 as a supportive housing
establishment; or
(4) an establishment voluntarily registered under section 144D.025, other than a supportive
housing establishment under clause (3), is not eligible to provide group residential housing.
The requirements under clauses (1), (2), (3), and (4) do not apply to establishments exempt
from state licensure because they are located on Indian reservations and subject to tribal health
and safety requirements.
    Subd. 2b. Group residential housing agreements. Agreements between county agencies
and providers of group residential housing must be in writing and must specify the name
and address under which the establishment subject to the agreement does business and under
which the establishment, or service provider, if different from the group residential housing
establishment, is licensed by the Department of Health or the Department of Human Services;
the specific license or registration from the Department of Health or the Department of Human
Services held by the provider and the number of beds subject to that license; the address of the
location or locations at which group residential housing is provided under this agreement; the per
diem and monthly rates that are to be paid from group residential housing funds for each eligible
resident at each location; the number of beds at each location which are subject to the group
residential housing agreement; whether the license holder is a not-for-profit corporation under
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; and a statement that the agreement is subject to
the provisions of sections 256I.01 to 256I.06 and subject to any changes to those sections. Group
residential housing agreements may be terminated with or without cause by either the county or
the provider with two calendar months prior notice.
    Subd. 2c. Crisis shelters. Secure crisis shelters for battered women and their children
designated by the Minnesota Department of Corrections are not group residences under this
chapter.
    Subd. 3. Moratorium on the development of group residential housing beds. (a) County
agencies shall not enter into agreements for new group residential housing beds with total rates
in excess of the MSA equivalent rate except: (1) for group residential housing establishments
licensed under Minnesota Rules, parts 9525.0215 to 9525.0355, provided the facility is needed
to meet the census reduction targets for persons with developmental disabilities at regional
treatment centers; (2) to ensure compliance with the federal Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
alternative disposition plan requirements for inappropriately placed persons with developmental
disabilities or mental illness; (3) up to 80 beds in a single, specialized facility located in Hennepin
County that will provide housing for chronic inebriates who are repetitive users of detoxification
centers and are refused placement in emergency shelters because of their state of intoxication,
and planning for the specialized facility must have been initiated before July 1, 1991, in
anticipation of receiving a grant from the Housing Finance Agency under section 462A.05,
subdivision 20a , paragraph (b); (4) notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision 2a, for up to
190 supportive housing units in Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, or Ramsey County for homeless
adults with a mental illness, a history of substance abuse, or human immunodeficiency virus or
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. For purposes of this section, "homeless adult" means a
person who is living on the street or in a shelter or discharged from a regional treatment center,
community hospital, or residential treatment program and has no appropriate housing available
and lacks the resources and support necessary to access appropriate housing. At least 70 percent
of the supportive housing units must serve homeless adults with mental illness, substance abuse
problems, or human immunodeficiency virus or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome who are
about to be or, within the previous six months, has been discharged from a regional treatment
center, or a state-contracted psychiatric bed in a community hospital, or a residential mental health
or chemical dependency treatment program. If a person meets the requirements of subdivision
1, paragraph (a), and receives a federal or state housing subsidy, the group residential housing
rate for that person is limited to the supplementary rate under section 256I.05, subdivision 1a,
and is determined by subtracting the amount of the person's countable income that exceeds
the MSA equivalent rate from the group residential housing supplementary rate. A resident
in a demonstration project site who no longer participates in the demonstration program shall
retain eligibility for a group residential housing payment in an amount determined under section
256I.06, subdivision 8, using the MSA equivalent rate. Service funding under section 256I.05,
subdivision 1a , will end June 30, 1997, if federal matching funds are available and the services
can be provided through a managed care entity. If federal matching funds are not available, then
service funding will continue under section 256I.05, subdivision 1a; or (6) for group residential
housing beds in settings meeting the requirements of subdivision 2a, clauses (1) and (3), which
are used exclusively for recipients receiving home and community-based waiver services under
sections 256B.0915, 256B.092, subdivision 5, 256B.093, and 256B.49, and who resided in
a nursing facility for the six months immediately prior to the month of entry into the group
residential housing setting. The group residential housing rate for these beds must be set so
that the monthly group residential housing payment for an individual occupying the bed when
combined with the nonfederal share of services delivered under the waiver for that person does
not exceed the nonfederal share of the monthly medical assistance payment made for the person
to the nursing facility in which the person resided prior to entry into the group residential housing
establishment. The rate may not exceed the MSA equivalent rate plus $426.37 for any case.
(b) A county agency may enter into a group residential housing agreement for beds with
rates in excess of the MSA equivalent rate in addition to those currently covered under a group
residential housing agreement if the additional beds are only a replacement of beds with rates in
excess of the MSA equivalent rate which have been made available due to closure of a setting, a
change of licensure or certification which removes the beds from group residential housing
payment, or as a result of the downsizing of a group residential housing setting. The transfer of
available beds from one county to another can only occur by the agreement of both counties.
    Subd. 4. Rental assistance. For participants in the Minnesota supportive housing
demonstration program under subdivision 3, paragraph (a), clause (5), notwithstanding the
provisions of section 256I.06, subdivision 8, the amount of the group residential housing payment
for room and board must be calculated by subtracting 30 percent of the recipient's adjusted
income as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development for the
Section 8 program from the fair market rent established for the recipient's living unit by the
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. This payment shall be regarded as a
state housing subsidy for the purposes of subdivision 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of section
256I.06, subdivision 6, the recipient's countable income will only be adjusted when a change of
greater than $100 in a month occurs or upon annual redetermination of eligibility, whichever is
sooner. The commissioner is directed to study the feasibility of developing a rental assistance
program to serve persons traditionally served in group residential housing settings and report to
the legislature by February 15, 1999.
History: 1989 c 282 art 5 s 118; 1991 c 292 art 2 s 68; 1992 c 513 art 8 s 37; 1Sp1993 c 1
art 8 s 13-21; 1994 c 529 s 16,17; 1995 c 207 art 5 s 30,31; 1996 c 451 art 5 s 34-36; 1997 c 113
s 19; 1998 c 407 art 3 s 18-20; 1999 c 245 art 3 s 39; 2002 c 375 art 2 s 45; 1Sp2003 c 14 art
2 s 43; 2005 c 56 s 1; 2005 c 159 art 5 s 5