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In September 2021, Minnesota Department of Human Services (department) announced the statewide Qualified Individual (QI) pilot program. The program provides county and tribal social service agencies with trained and certified QI’s to complete Qualified Residencial Treatment Program (QRTP) assessments when an agency recommends placing children in facilities certified as QRTP. The program allows agencies to meet Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) requirements while encouraging them to develop their own QI programs. Department-contracted QI’s have completed 245 QRTP assessments in the past 18 months.
Limited number of available state sponsored QI’s
Though the department has recruited, trained and certified a group of QI’s, there is limited capacity to accept and complete all QRTP assessments requested by agencies. With help from local agencies, the department is seeking to increase the availability of QI’s.
Department efforts
To increase the number of trained and certified statewide QIs available through the department’s program, and after consultation with Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators (MACSSA), the department offered local agency-contracted QI’s the opportunity to join the department-contracted statewide QI program. Details of this offer are as follows:
- Contracts with the department will not supplant existing QI contracts with local agencies and, if a QI chooses to contract with the department, establishing this contract will not affect existing agreements and local procedures.
- Agencies with contracted QI’s will continue to be responsible for compensating time spent on QRTP assessments for their respective agency. The department is aware that some local agencies have connected with other agencies to use their contracted QI when a QI is not available. The department will only reimburse QI’s for time on assessments assigned by the department. Please note, the department does not assign statewide QI’s for counties who have local contracts with QI’s or employees approved under a federal waiver.
Local agency efforts
The department encourages agencies to develop local QI programs in parallel with the department’s program. While the department seeks to increase the number of available QI’s, there are advantages to having a locally-contracted QI’s, such as:
- worker familiarity with local QI’s, allowing for quicker communication and assessment turn-around; and
- QI familiarity with local agency services.
The department continues to provide two-day QI training through the Child Welfare Training Academy. To register, agencies can email the name and contact information of a QI recruit to ffpsa.qualifiedindividual.dhs@state.mn.us. Individuals interested in becoming a state-contracted QI can be referred to the QI program webpage for more information.
Qualified individual, contact ffpsa.qualifiedindividual.dhs@state.mn.us
Residential services, contact csp.fostercare@state.mn.us.
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