Minnesota Legislature
HF 595
as introduced - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am
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A bill for an act
relating to health; establishing a newborn home visiting program and a home
visiting program; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in
Minnesota Statutes, chapter 145A.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1.
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[145A.18] UNIVERSAL NEWBORN VISITING PROGRAM.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Establishment. new text end
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The commissioner of health shall establish a
program to provide newborn visiting services to parents of newborns either at the hospital
or as soon after the birth as possible. Newborn visiting services must be performed by
existing service providers, whenever possible.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Program components. new text end
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(a) The universal newborn visiting program must
provide culturally competent services and information by trained staff who reflect the
demographics of the community, whenever possible.
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(b) The visits must include information in the following areas:
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(1) early childhood services;
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(2) local child care resource and referral network;
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(3) early Head Start and Head Start programs;
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(4) early childhood screening;
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(5) early childhood family education;
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(6) child care financial aid programs;
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(7) family literacy resources;
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(8) child abuse prevention;
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(9) infant care, child growth, and child development;
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(10) the WIC program;
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(11) immunization schedules and pediatric preventive care, including information on
environmental hazards;
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(12) public health nursing services; and
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(13) health care programs and other public assistance programs for which the
family may be eligible.
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(c) The program must provide any referrals, as needed, to community partners
and to additional resources available within the community, including early education
programs, health care services, support services, and other social services. The program
must also offer follow-up visits.
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(d) The program must provide parents the opportunity to opt out of participating
in the program.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Coordination. new text end
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(a) The universal newborn visiting program must
coordinate with hospitals, and must not impede or obstruct the provision of medical care.
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(b) Service providers must coordinate with community partners, including school
districts, local public health departments, early childhood family education programs,
health plans, and nonprofit agencies, to minimize duplication and to build on existing
services.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Evaluation and accountability. new text end
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The commissioner shall evaluate the
effectiveness of the newborn visiting program and report to the legislature biennially
beginning January 15, 2010. The evaluation must take into consideration the following:
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(1) parent satisfaction; and
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(2) number of referrals made.
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new text begin Subd. 5. new text end
new text begin Training. new text end
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The commissioner shall establish education and training
requirements for newborn visiting staff. These requirements must include:
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(1) a bachelor's degree in nursing, early childhood development, or related field;
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(2) experience in home visiting; and
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(3) experience in working with families from diverse cultural communities.
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new text begin Subd. 6. new text end
new text begin Distribution. new text end
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The commissioner shall distribute funds to community
health boards based on the average number of births in the past five years in each
community health board jurisdiction multiplied by the cost of providing newborn visiting
services. Community health boards shall provide the services directly or contract with
new or existing home visiting service providers to provide these services.
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Sec. 2.
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[145A.19] FAMILY HOME VISITING GRANT PROGRAM.
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new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end
new text begin Administration. new text end
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The commissioner of health shall establish a
grant program to award grants to programs that deliver early childhood home visitation
to low-income pregnant women and families of children from birth to age three
designed to foster healthy beginnings, promote school readiness, prevent child abuse
and neglect, promote positive parenting and resiliency in children, and promote family
health and economic sufficiency. Programs shall use partnerships, collaboration, and a
multidisciplinary team approach, utilizing the expertise of professionals from the fields of
nursing, social work, and early education. Programs receiving a grant under this section
must serve families at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty guidelines and other
families determined to be at risk, as defined in section 145A.17, subdivision 1, or as
determined by the commissioner. If a home visit is accepted, the first home visit must
begin prenatally, if possible, and must give priority for services to teen mothers and to the
lowest-income families.
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new text begin Subd. 2. new text end
new text begin Program components. new text end
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(a) Each program must meet the requirements in
section 145A.17, subdivision 3, and must offer information on:
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(1) the local child care resource and referral network;
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(2) early Head Start and Head Start programs;
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(3) early childhood screening;
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(4) early childhood family education;
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(5) early childhood special education;
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(6) child care financial aid programs;
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(7) family literacy resources;
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(8) child abuse prevention;
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(9) infant care, child growth, and child development;
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(10) the WIC program;
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(11) immunizations and pediatric preventive health care services, including
environmental hazards;
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(12) public health nurse services; and
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(13) health care programs and other public assistance programs for which the
family may be eligible.
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(b) The program must provide any referrals, as needed, to additional resources
available within the community served by the program, including early education
programs, health care services, mental health services, employment agencies, and social
services.
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(c) The program must offer center-based or group meetings at least once a month to
families identified with additional needs to:
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(1) further enhance the information, activities, and skill building addressed during
home visitation;
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(2) offer opportunities for families to meet with and support other families; and
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(3) offer infants and toddlers a safe, nurturing, and stimulating environment for
socialization and supervised play.
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new text begin Subd. 3. new text end
new text begin Training and technical assistance. new text end
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The commissioner shall provide
training and technical assistance directly or by contract to programs on:
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(1) effective methods of implementing parent education, conducting home visiting,
and promoting child development;
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(2) strategies for helping families with special needs and families coping with crisis;
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(3) recruiting, supervising, and retaining qualified staff;
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(4) increasing services to underserved populations;
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(5) positive parenting methods to help families respond to their children's needs
and behaviors;
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(6) implementation of ongoing program quality improvement and evaluation of
activities and outcomes; and
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(7) relevant issues on child welfare and protective services.
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new text begin Subd. 4. new text end
new text begin Evaluation and accountability. new text end
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The commissioner shall conduct biennial
evaluations beginning January 15, 2009, of the programs funded under this section using
the evaluation measures established in section 145A.17, subdivisions 6 and 7. The
commissioner of education shall assign an unduplicated MARRS number by the school
district to children participating in programs funded under this section.
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new text begin Subd. 5. new text end
new text begin Applications. new text end
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(a) Applicants must submit a plan to the commissioner
describing the multidisciplinary team visiting approach that will be utilized. At a
minimum, programs receiving grants must coordinate multidisciplinary visiting teams with
one or more of the following: local public health, early childhood family education, Head
Start, social workers, and community health workers to accomplish program requirements.
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(b) Applicants must demonstrate experience and ability in providing culturally
competent home visiting program components to eligible families.
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(c) Applications must be submitted on forms provided by the commissioner. The
application must include:
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(1) a description of the service community demographics;
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(2) a proposed work plan describing a coordination plan, which ensures
nonduplication of services for eligible families, and describing the strategies in place to
ensure that families at greatest risk receive appropriate services;
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(3) letters of intent from partnering agencies, organizations, and school districts;
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(4) a description of the supervision methods to be used; and
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(5) a description of the family identification process.
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new text begin Subd. 6. new text end
new text begin No supplanting of existing funds. new text end
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Funding available under this section
may only supplement, not replace, nonstate funds being used for home visiting services.
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Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATIONS.
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(a) $....... is appropriated for the biennium beginning July 1, 2007, from the
general fund to the commissioner of health for the universal newborn visiting program
in Minnesota Statutes, section 145A.18.
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(b) $....... is appropriated for the biennium beginning July 1, 2007, from the general
fund to the commissioner of health for the family home visiting grant program. The
commissioner may use five percent of the funds appropriated in each fiscal year to conduct
the ongoing evaluations required under Minnesota Statutes, section 145A.19, subdivision
4, and may use ten percent of the funds appropriated each fiscal year to provide training and
technical assistance as required under Minnesota Statutes, section 145A.19, subdivision 3.
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