DECEMBER 2022

News from DHS archive

Register now for summit on substance use disorder system

Registration is open for the upcoming SUD Shared Solutions Summit – a collaborative effort where participants will begin work on a three-to-five-year strategic action plan to improve Minnesota's substance use disorder treatment system. The summit will take place at the Elmer L. Andersen Human Services Building in St. Paul on Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 10-11. A virtual option will be offered for those who cannot attend in person. The summit will include keynote speakers and a selection of interactive breakout sessions. A preliminary agenda (PDF) is available. Sessions will focus on key themes identified during listening sessions hosted by summit organizers in October. A Coordinated, Holistic, Integrated Continuum of Care Prevention and Education Cultural Engagement and Responsiveness Funding and Workforce Law, Policy and the Criminal Justice System Register Learn more and register online at mn.gov/dhs/sud-summit. The event is free to attend and open to the public, stakeholders and partners. ASL interpreters and CART services will be provided.

New child support guidelines in effect Jan. 1

New child support guidelines, effective Jan. 1, 2023, will improve parity between parents and make it easier for them to support their families.

While the updated guidelines will affect everyone who gets or modifies a court order for child support, the changes will likely have the most impact on families with lower incomes and families that include either parent’s child but not a child both parents had together.

The 2021 legislation to change the guidelines was based on recommendations from the Minnesota Child Support Task Force to remedy known issues and increase fairness to parents, resulting in child support orders more tailored for individual situations.

“These new child support guidelines better reflect the current costs to raise children and will result in child support orders that are more consistent for similarly-situated families,” said Assistant Commissioner Tikki Brown. “More than two years of dedicated work by the parents, legislators and child support professionals serving on the task force made this happen.”

More information is in a department news release.

New funding to increase access to affordable child care statewide

Earlier this month, Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead joined Governor Tim Walz and Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Steve Grove to announce nearly $2.5 million in grants awarded to 17 child care organizations representing communities throughout Minnesota.

“These grants reach communities across our state to help increase child care access and ensure families and our youngest Minnesotans receive the care and early education they deserve,” said Governor Walz.

Program funds will be used for child care business startups or expansions, training, facility modifications, direct subsidies or incentives to retain employees, or improvements required for licensing, and assistance with licensing and other regulatory requirements.

More information is in a news release from the Governor's Office.

In social media: HHS Worker Day

Today we join Governor Tim Walz in honoring all the dedicated people working in health and human services across our state. 🙌 #HHSWorkerDay mn.gov/governor/news/proclamations.jsp

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Accessible formats

For accessible formats of this publication, write to dhs.communications@state.mn.us, or call 651-431-2000 or use your preferred relay service.

Organizations invited to apply for new home care grants

Organizations looking to expand their capacity to provide services to older adults and people with disabilities have a new opportunity to support, expand or enhance their work.

Grants of $100,000-$250,000 are available from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to organizations serving, or looking to serve, home and community-based services (HCBS) to rural and under-served communities. 

The provider capacity grant program is intended to increase the number of service providers throughout Minnesota and the number providing culturally specific services, including organizations serving people with complex needs, the LGBTQ+ community and providing language supports and culturally specific services. 

Applications will be accepted through Jan. 17. More information is available at mn.gov/dhs/grants-equity-access-research/. 

Technology grants to benefit older adults and people with disabilities

Older Minnesotans and Minnesotans with disabilities are in line for technology and assistance to improve their ability to live independently, access services and stay connected. 

A $4 million round of state grants will go to 12 organizations to support technology that can help people keep medical appointments, manage their front doors, connect with home and community-based services and combat social isolation.

Nearly 600,000 Minnesotans live with a disability, and more than 950,000 are 65 or older. Together, these two groups account for more than a quarter of the state’s population. 

Although research finds that people with disabilities and people over 65 are much less likely to use the internet, the COVID-19 pandemic showed how devices, apps and internet access can support people to live independently.

“Many of us take for granted how much we rely on technology to conduct the business of daily life,” said Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead. “These grants will improve access and lower tech barriers for Minnesotans with disabilities and older Minnesotans.”

A list of grant recipients is in a department news release.

In the news

Minnesota opioid treatment clinics overwhelmed as needs rise, staffs shrink: Several of the state’s 16 opioid treatment clinics say they’ve struggled this year to hire and retain licensed drug counselors. It's an issue that state agencies are working to address. Learn more in an MPR story.

Stay current, stay covered: Minnesota residents enrolled in Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare are urged to update their contact information to help prevent any possible gaps in health care coverage. Learn more in a Fergus Falls Daily Journal article.

Threats to our children’s mental health are on the rise: Dr. Nathan Chomilo, Minnesota's Medicaid Medical Director, writes in the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder this month about the challenges today's youth grapple with, what pediatricians are doing, and what parents can do. 

Minnesota foster kids rediscover a lost sense of identity through ‘lifebooks’: Power of Story can now offer lifebook services to youth in Minnesota. Child protection workers across the state can refer young people to the organization. Counties pay for the cost for children in their foster care system. Learn more in a Sahan Journal story.