2007 Minnesota Statutes

256F.13 FAMILY SERVICES COLLABORATIVE.
    Subdivision 1. Federal revenue enhancement. (a) Duties of commissioner of human
services. The commissioner of human services may enter into an agreement with one or more
family services collaboratives to enhance federal reimbursement under title IV-E of the Social
Security Act and federal administrative reimbursement under title XIX of the Social Security Act.
The commissioner may contract with the Department of Education for purposes of transferring
the federal reimbursement to the commissioner of education to be distributed to the collaboratives
according to clause (2). The commissioner shall have the following authority and responsibilities
regarding family services collaboratives:
(1) the commissioner shall submit amendments to state plans and seek waivers as necessary
to implement the provisions of this section;
(2) the commissioner shall pay the federal reimbursement earned under this subdivision to
each collaborative based on their earnings. Payments to collaboratives for expenditures under this
subdivision will only be made of federal earnings from services provided by the collaborative;
(3) the commissioner shall review expenditures of family services collaboratives using
reports specified in the agreement with the collaborative to ensure that the base level of
expenditures is continued and new federal reimbursement is used to expand education, social,
health, or health-related services to young children and their families;
(4) the commissioner may reduce, suspend, or eliminate a family services collaborative's
obligations to continue the base level of expenditures or expansion of services if the commissioner
determines that one or more of the following conditions apply:
(i) imposition of levy limits that significantly reduce available funds for social, health, or
health-related services to families and children;
(ii) reduction in the net tax capacity of the taxable property eligible to be taxed by the lead
county or subcontractor that significantly reduces available funds for education, social, health, or
health-related services to families and children;
(iii) reduction in the number of children under age 19 in the county, collaborative service
delivery area, subcontractor's district, or catchment area when compared to the number in the base
year using the most recent data provided by the State Demographer's Office; or
(iv) termination of the federal revenue earned under the family services collaborative
agreement;
(5) the commissioner shall not use the federal reimbursement earned under this subdivision
in determining the allocation or distribution of other funds to counties or collaboratives;
(6) the commissioner may suspend, reduce, or terminate the federal reimbursement to a
provider that does not meet the reporting or other requirements of this subdivision;
(7) the commissioner shall recover from the family services collaborative any federal
fiscal disallowances or sanctions for audit exceptions directly attributable to the family
services collaborative's actions in the integrated fund, or the proportional share if federal fiscal
disallowances or sanctions are based on a statewide random sample; and
(8) the commissioner shall establish criteria for the family services collaborative for the
accounting and financial management system that will support claims for federal reimbursement.
(b) Family services collaborative responsibilities. The family services collaborative shall
have the following authority and responsibilities regarding federal revenue enhancement:
(1) the family services collaborative shall be the party with which the commissioner
contracts. A lead county shall be designated as the fiscal agency for reporting, claiming, and
receiving payments;
(2) the family services collaboratives may enter into subcontracts with other counties, school
districts, special education cooperatives, municipalities, and other public and nonprofit entities for
purposes of identifying and claiming eligible expenditures to enhance federal reimbursement, or
to expand education, social, health, or health-related services to families and children;
(3) the family services collaborative must continue the base level of expenditures for
education, social, health, or health-related services to families and children from any state, county,
federal, or other public or private funding source which, in the absence of the new federal
reimbursement earned under this subdivision, would have been available for those services,
except as provided in subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (4). The base year for purposes of this
subdivision shall be the four-quarter calendar year ending at least two calendar quarters before the
first calendar quarter in which the new federal reimbursement is earned;
(4) the family services collaborative must use all new federal reimbursement resulting
from federal revenue enhancement to expand expenditures for education, social, health, or
health-related services to families and children beyond the base level, except as provided in
subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (4);
(5) the family services collaborative must ensure that expenditures submitted for federal
reimbursement are not made from federal funds or funds used to match other federal funds.
Notwithstanding section 256B.19, subdivision 1, for the purposes of family services collaborative
expenditures under agreement with the department, the nonfederal share of costs shall be provided
by the family services collaborative from sources other than federal funds or funds used to match
other federal funds;
(6) the family services collaborative must develop and maintain an accounting and financial
management system adequate to support all claims for federal reimbursement, including a clear
audit trail and any provisions specified in the agreement; and
(7) the family services collaborative shall submit an annual report to the commissioner as
specified in the agreement.
    Subd. 2. Agreements with family services collaboratives. At a minimum, the agreement
between the commissioner and the family services collaborative shall include the following
provisions:
(1) specific documentation of the expenditures eligible for federal reimbursement;
(2) the process for developing and submitting claims to the commissioner;
(3) specific identification of the education, social, health, or health-related services to
families and children which are to be expanded with the federal reimbursement;
(4) reporting and review procedures ensuring that the family services collaborative must
continue the base level of expenditures for the education, social, health, or health-related services
for families and children as specified in subdivision 2, clause (3);
(5) reporting and review procedures to ensure that federal revenue earned under this section
is spent specifically to expand education, social, health, or health-related services for families and
children as specified in subdivision 2, clause (4);
(6) the period of time, not to exceed three years, governing the terms of the agreement and
provisions for amendments to, and renewal of the agreement; and
(7) an annual report prepared by the family services collaborative.
    Subd. 3. Waiver of rule requirements. (a) Requesting waivers of state or federal rules.
Local family services collaboratives, including collaboratives in Becker, Cass, and Ramsey
Counties, shall be encouraged to seek waivers of state or federal rules, as necessary to carry out
the purposes of this section.
(b) Waiver of state rules. In order to receive a waiver of the requirements of any state rule,
the collaborative shall submit a request for a variance to the appropriate commissioner. The
request shall contain assurances that the waiver will not affect client entitlements to services, will
not abridge any rights guaranteed to the client by state or federal law, and will not jeopardize the
health or safety of the client. The commissioner shall grant or deny all waiver requests within
30 days of receiving those requests, by notice to the collaborative and published notice in the
State Register.
(c) Waiver of federal rules. A local collaborative seeking a waiver from a federal rule shall
submit a request, in writing, to the appropriate commissioner who shall submit the waiver request
to the relevant policy committees of the legislature. If the legislative committees approve the
request, they shall direct the appropriate state agency to make a reasonable effort to negotiate a
waiver of the federal rule. If the legislative committees deny the request for a waiver, they shall
jointly notify the local collaborative of the reason for denying the waiver. If a waiver request is
approved for submission to federal authorities, the commissioner shall submit all necessary
materials to the appropriate federal authorities. The commissioner shall notify the collaborative
and the legislative committees of the outcome of the federal waiver request. In every instance
in which a federal waiver is granted, the commissioner shall publish notice of receipt of the
waiver in the State Register.
History: 1Sp1993 c 1 art 3 s 29; 1Sp1993 c 6 s 40; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 6; 1999 c 159 s 74;
2002 c 277 s 27; 2003 c 130 s 12