Yesterday Governor Dayton signed the omnibus Health & Human Services (HHS) Finance bill, making it Chapter 108 in the 2013 Session Laws. The main point of this bill was to establish the HHS budget, but there are also policy changes that will impact child welfare.

One big change from earlier versions of the bill is the inclusion of Northstar Care for Children as Article 17 of the bill, or Minn. Stat. 256N; this is Minnesota Department of Human Services’ program that would equalize payments for foster care, relative guardian assistance, and adoption assistance. The inclusion of Northstar Care for Children occurred on Friday, May 17, as part of the conference committee’s report. Read my earlier post to learn more about Northstar Care for Children.

What follows below is an overview of Article 3, which focuses on children, youth, and families.

Article 3: Safe and healthy development of children, youth, and families

A large chunk of this article focuses on child care and modifications to child care assistance and the Basic Sliding Fee programs.

Child Care Providers & Centers

  • Child care providers and centers who receive high ratings on Parent Aware, Minnesota’s quality rating system, will receive additional funds, and they will also receive weekly maximum rates for children attending care whose parents receive child care assistance.
  • More direction is given for not only child care providers and centers, but also for licensed child foster care providers, concerning safe sleep practices and prevention of sudden unexpected infant death and abusive head trauma (formerly shaken baby syndrome); these include training requirements.
  • Behavior guidance training (i.e. “training in the understanding of the functions of child behavior and strategies for managing challenging situations”) is now required annually for family child care providers, first aid/CPR training every two years, and “supervising for safety” training prior to initial licensure and before caring for children.

Child Care Assistance & Basic Sliding Fee

  • There is a greater emphasis on providing child care assistance to student parents who are not on the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP).
  • Absent days for children whose parents receive child care assistance are to be restored, from 10 full-day absent days to 25, or 10 consecutive full-day absent days. Exemptions are given to children with documented medical conditions and to children who have siblings or parents who live with them who have documented medical conditions.
  • Families who have been found guilty of wrongfully obtaining child care assistance are now disqualified for one year for the first offense, two for the second, and permanently for the third.

Additionally, modifications have been made to other income support programs that may impact children and families involved in the child welfare system.

Medical assistance

  • Adjusted gross income rate differentials for monthly co-pays begin at 275 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, rather than 100 percent as it has been.

Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP)

  • Housing assistance grants will be made available to families on MFIP beginning July 1, 2015, with certain exceptions. These grants will not count towards available income.
  • The work participation cash benefits program will be suspended effective December 1, 2014. This program currently provides $25/month to eligible employed individuals who have exited the diversionary work program or MFIP.
  • The Minnesota Department of Human Services has been authorized to pursue TANF demonstration projects or waivers of TANF requirements in order to “build a more results-oriented
    [MFIP] to better meet the needs of Minnesota families.”
  • The family cap for MFIP has been repealed as well, effective January 1, 2015.

The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act has been renamed the Homeless Youth Act and makes available grants to providers who serve homeless youth and youth at risk of homelessness. Additionally, there is a particular focus on reducing youth homelessness, and Section 45 requires the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness to make recommendations to do just that by December 1, 2014.

There are also modifications to statutes pertaining to children and youth who have been sexually exploited: the terms “delinquent child” and “juvenile petty offender” are no longer applicable to youth ages 16 to 18 who have been sexually exploited. Rather, these youth are considered sexually exploited youth and fall under “child in need of protection or services.” As such, the statute governing “juvenile prostitution” has been repealed.