Governor Tim Walz granted DHS emergency temporary authority to change administrative and regulatory requirements for food assistance, home care, public health care and other state programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Updates for health care workers, license holders, county and tribal workers, grantees and other program administrators can be found on the department's website.
Commissioner Harpstead speaks at Homeless Day on the Hill. A record crowd, estimated at between 850 and 900 people, attended the March 11 kick-off event for Homeless Day on the Hill, at which DHS Commissioner Jodi Harpstead was among the featured speakers. Citing the Wilder Foundation’s 2018 Minnesota Homeless Study, she noted that nearly 6 in 10 adults experiencing homelessness have a physical, mental, cognitive or other health condition that limits their ability to work. “The good news is that our system of services is constantly evolving,” she said. “In August of this past year, Minnesota received federal approval of housing stabilization services as a basic Medicaid benefit. The benefit, which starts in July, will be available to seniors and people with disabilities who are homeless, living in institutions, or are at risk of becoming homeless or institutionalized.” The event, sponsored by the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, took place at Central Presbyterian Church in St. Paul.
 Foster youth make their voices heard at State Capitol. Current and former foster children and youth seized the opportunity to advocate for their rights by marching to the State Capitol on March 9 for the third annual Foster Child and Youth Day on the Hill. The event, which amplifies the voices of foster youth as they lobby for systemic improvements, is organized by the Minnesota Youth Leadership Council, and sponsored by DHS and the YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities. About 16,500 children were in foster care at some point in 2018. Learn more about foster care in this department fact sheet (PDF). Above: Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan (second from left) poses for a photo with Foster Child and Youth Day on the Hill participants.
More than 100 nursing homes across Minnesota have begun kicking off 36 projects to promote better care and quality of life for their residents. The projects, funded by the Minnesota Department of Human Services, range from efforts to improve mental health and social connections to reducing falls and infections. Read more in the department’s news release.
Many parents depend on child support payments to meet their children’s basic needs for food, clothing and health care. Yet every year, some of those payments go unclaimed, because parents don’t know that they are available. In 2019, employees in the DHS Child Support Division worked with counties to track down and notify parents who were missing out on that income. They started with a list of 865 families that had unclaimed funds. Of those, 241 have so far been able to recover more than $435,000 in child support payments. Read more in the department’s news release.
March was national Problem Gambling Awareness Month and a new study ― the first in 25 years ― reveals just how pervasive the problem is in Minnesota. “Gambling in Minnesota: A Study of Participation, Attitudes, and the Prevalence of Problem Gambling (PDF),” which DHS commissioned from Wilder Research, found that:
- 67% of adults participated in some type of gambling activity in the past year. The leading reasons people gamble are to “seek excitement or entertainment” and to “socialize with family or friends.”
- 3% of adults (more than 56,000 people) are problem gamblers. More than 217,000 adults may need treatment for problem gambling or be at risk.
- 27% of adults know someone whose gambling may be causing them financial difficulties, impacting their physical or emotional health, or damaging their personal, family or work relationships.
- 22% of Minnesotans have been negatively affected by the gambling behaviors of a friend, family member or coworker. Problem gambling is more prevalent among low-income households that can least afford it.
- 14% of all adults who ever thought they might have a gambling problem wanted help or thought about getting help in the past year.
For accessible formats of this publication or assistance with additional equal access to human services, write to dhs.communications@state.mn.us, call 651-431-2911, or use your preferred relay service.
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