Changes to SharePoint website 

You may notice some changes to the CYSHN LPH Partner Resources SharePoint website. We collected feedback from local public health about the content of these pages, removed outdated information, and reorganized pages to help you find what you are looking for more efficiently. As a reminder, materials for children and youth with special health needs (CYSHN) condition follow-up are now available on our local public health partner resources webpage. Follow Along Program materials are still available on the SharePoint website.  

MEDSS documentation reminder 

If you do not intend to follow-up on a non-reimbursable event and would like to remove the event from your workflow in MEDSS, please enter a “Date of assessment or final contact attempt” (you can use the current date if you wish), check the “Submit to MDH” box and “Save.” For non-reimbursable events, you don’t need to enter “Date of first contact attempt” or “Parent/Guardian Contact” (even though they have red asterisks). 

Family feedback opportunities 

The longitudinal follow-up unit is working on two projects seeking feedback from families. Families who have had a child diagnosed with congenital CMV since screening began in February 2023 were mailed a letter inviting them to fill out a survey. Families with a child identified with hearing loss, or diagnosed with sickle cell disease or congenital hypothyroidism, who met certain criteria, were mailed a letter inviting them to participate in a focus group or interview.  

All participants in these two quality improvement projects will receive a gift card. Please encourage families to participate in these opportunities if they are eligible. If families have questions, they can reach out to health.cyshn@state.mn.us.

We invite you to join the Minnesota Pediatric Care Coordination: Community of Practice – a statewide group that brings together professionals who provide care coordination for children and youth with special health needs and disabilities. 

The community includes an online collaboration platform where you can connect with peers; share resources; and join webinars and other continuing education opportunities. The next pediatric care coordination-hosted webinar will be in November and will focus on trauma-informed practices for care coordinators responding to community violence. 

If you have any questions about the community of practice, email health.cyshn@state.mn.us with “pediatric care coordination” in the subject line.

Electronic screening pilot 

The first phase of piloting electronic screening will happen from Nov. - Dec. 2025. The purpose of this phase of the pilot is to test: 

• The user experience of completing electronic developmental and social-emotional screening using the Family Access page available through ASQ Online.
• The user experience of screening management (e.g. setting up screening preferences, accepting ASQs, creating child and caregiver profiles, scoring screens, sending reminders to screen) within ASQ Online. 

This phase of the pilot will not test the process of follow-up for ASQs. All data used in this phase will be fake. LPH staff from Crow Wing, Washington, and St. Louis counties are participating in this phase. More information about the results of the pilot and additional phases will be shared in the coming months.

Redesign summative report 

As part of the Follow Along Program redesign, MDH contracted with Management Analysis and Development from Minnesota Management and Budget to gather insights from community connectors, the community engagement team, and CYSHN staff. A final summative report (PDF) of their work is available on the Follow Along Program Redesign webpage.

Oct. 9 and 10 – Toxic Free Kids focus groups

Oct. 10 – Language & Learning session one 

On Friday, Oct. 10 at noon, receive an introduction to language acquisition (definition, factors, support available) from Dr. Onudeah Nicolaraski, early childhood Deaf and Hard of Hearing educator. Then, at 1:15 p.m., learn from Quinn Kelly, bilingual speech pathologist, as she discusses how Augmentative and Alternative Communication can be used to support Deaf and Hard of Hearing students' American Sign Language acquisition and expression. 

This series is hosted by BrightWorks and the Minnesota Department of Education. To register, visit BrightWorks Learning Stream and use code MNDHH for free registration for Minnesota professionals.

Nov. 13 – CYSHN condition follow-up virtual community of practice 

The next community of practice meeting for CYSHN condition follow-up program contacts is Thursday, Nov. 13 from 9 - 10:30 a.m. The purpose of these meetings is to provide routine opportunities for LPH nurses who provide follow-up for children referred by CYSHN programs (Birth Defects, EHDI, Heritable Conditions, cCMV) to learn condition-specific information and discuss nursing practice. The meeting will include a presentation about Sickle Cell Disease from Rae Blaylark from the Sickle Cell Foundation of Minnesota and Amanda Maresh from the CYSHN Longitudinal Follow-up unit at MDH. We will be offering one contact hour of continuing education for attending. This meeting will not be recorded. 

All current CYSHN condition follow-up local public health nurses are welcome to attend. Please register for this virtual, optional meeting. If you have any questions you would like to submit in advance, email them to health.cyshn@state.mn.us with “local public health” in the subject line.  

New resource on acetaminophen use in pregnancy 

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is commonly used and considered safe for treating pain or fever during pregnancy. In response to recent news regarding acetaminophen related to autism, our partners in the maternal and child health section at MDH have added a new resource about acetaminophen use during pregnancy, including links to information from trusted health organizations, to help pregnant people make informed decisions about their care. In addition, the MDH autism webpage has been updated with general information for families and communities, and now highlights the Minnesota autism resource portal, the state's joint, multi-agency website for autism information and resources. We encourage you to explore these pages and share them with anyone who may find them useful. 

Update on Medicaid/Medical Assistance changes 

In a recent GovDelivery update, the Minnesota Department of Human Services shared upcoming changes to Medicaid, known in Minnesota as Medical Assistance (MA). While people who qualify based on disability, age, pregnancy, or as children will not see changes, others ages 21–64 may be affected beginning in 2026–2028. Key updates include new eligibility rules, work requirements, six-month renewals, and future cost sharing.  

No action is needed at this time. Local public health staff can help community members by reminding them to keep their contact information up to date and watch for renewal forms in the mail. 

Treat People Like People campaign 

Inspiring Partners to Strengthen Public Health toolkit 

The messaging toolkit: Inspiring Partners to Strengthen Public Health in Minnesota can help anyone communicate effectively and efficiently about the role and value of public health: what public health is, what public health does, and why we need a more seamless, responsive, and publicly-supported governmental public health system.

Tips for talking with children about tragedies 

The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages parents, teachers, child care providers, and others who work closely with children to learn from their guide to help children cope and adjust after a disaster. This guide helps filter information about a tragedy and present it in a way that a child can understand, adjust to, and handle in a healthy way. Families who need support with discussing tragedies and other traumatic events with their children can find additional helpful information on the conversation and support webpage from the Coalition to Support Grieving Students.

Condition Follow-up 

Complete nursing follow-up documentation in MEDSS by the end of the quarter after the one in which the referral was made. For example, if the date the event was sent to local public health is July 15 (in quarter 3), the follow-up documentation should be submitted by Dec. 31 (the end of quarter 4).  

Invoice letters are sent to local public health by MDH in the month following the end of the quarter in which documentation was submitted, or training was completed. So, in the example, the invoice letter would be sent to local public health some time before Jan. 31 (the month following the end of quarter 4). 

Follow Along Program 

Follow Along Program semi-annual data reports are due every 6 months. Data for quarters 1 and 2 are due annually on July 31. Data for quarters 3 and 4 are due annually on January 31. Invoices for quarters 1 and 2 are due each year on August 20. Invoices for quarters 3 and 4 are due each year on February 20. Semi-annual data reports must be received prior to the invoice being paid. 

About the CYSHN newsletter 

Children and Youth with Special Health Needs (CYSHN) section staff at MDH work together to champion the health and well-being of people living in Minnesota with special health needs and disabilities, from the earliest states of life through transition to adulthood. 

As the Child and Family Health Division works to coordinate and collaborate on communication, this newsletter may evolve to include a broader focus, but the following CYSHN programs are the primary focus: Birth Defects; Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI); Heritable Conditions (HC); Congenital Cytomegalovirus (cCMV); Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD); Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS); and the Follow Along Program (FAP).