Bill Text: MN SF1117 | 2013-2014 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed
Bill Title: Minnesota family investment program (MFIP) change to Minnesota families and children assistance program (MFCAP); child care assistance and MFIP programs modification and appropriation
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-21 - Comm report: To pass as amended and re-refer to Finance [SF1117 Detail]
Download: Minnesota-2013-SF1117-Engrossed.html
1.2relating to human services; creating the Minnesota Families and Children
1.3Assistance Program Act; modifying the MFIP and child care assistance
1.4programs; providing directions to commissioner; instructing the revisor to change
1.5certain terminology; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2012,
1.6sections 16A.152, subdivision 2; 119B.05, subdivision 1; 256J.24, subdivision 5;
1.7repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256J.24, subdivision 6.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.9 Section 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.
1.10The legislature finds that:
1.11(1) seven out of ten MFIP recipients are children;
1.12(2) children receiving MFIP assistance are living in poverty;
1.13(3) current MFIP policies are pushing children and their families deeper into poverty;
1.14(4) almost half of Minnesota children receiving MFIP assistance are under the
1.15age of six;
1.16(5) 90 percent of brain development occurs during the first five years of a child's life;
1.17(6) research demonstrates that experiences affect the way a child's brain develops,
1.18and that adverse childhood experiences can produce toxic levels of stress and disrupt the
1.19architecture of a child's developing brain; and
1.20(7) 85 percent of teenage mothers currently receiving MFIP assistance received
1.21MFIP assistance as children.
1.22 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 16A.152, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
1.23 Subd. 2. Additional revenues; priority. (a) If on the basis of a forecast of general
1.24fund revenues and expenditures, the commissioner of management and budget determines
2.1that there will be a positive unrestricted budgetary general fund balance at the close of
2.2the biennium, the commissioner of management and budget must allocate money to the
2.3following accounts and purposes in priority order:
2.4 (1) the cash flow account established in subdivision 1 until that account reaches
2.5$350,000,000;
2.6 (2) the budget reserve account established in subdivision 1a until that account
2.7reaches $653,000,000;
2.8 (3) the amount necessary to increase the aid payment schedule for school district
2.9aids and credits payments in section127A.45 to not more than 90 percent rounded to the
2.10nearest tenth of a percent without exceeding the amount available and with any remaining
2.11funds deposited in the budget reserve;
2.12 (4) the amount necessary to restore all or a portion of the net aid reductions under
2.13section127A.441 and to reduce the property tax revenue recognition shift under section
2.14123B.75, subdivision 5
, by the same amount; and
2.15(5) the Minnesota Family Investment Program under chapter 256J or other
2.16TANF-eligible programs in an amount equal to the amount of federal TANF funds that
2.17have been used to refinance general fund expenditures since fiscal year 1997; and
2.18(5) (6) to the state airports fund, the amount necessary to restore the amount
2.19transferred from the state airports fund under Laws 2008, chapter 363, article 11, section
2.203, subdivision 5.
2.21 (b) The amounts necessary to meet the requirements of this section are appropriated
2.22from the general fund within two weeks after the forecast is released or, in the case of
2.23transfers under paragraph (a), clauses (3) and (4), as necessary to meet the appropriations
2.24schedules otherwise established in statute.
2.25 (c) The commissioner of management and budget shall certify the total dollar
2.26amount of the reductions under paragraph (a), clauses (3) and (4), to the commissioner of
2.27education. The commissioner of education shall increase the aid payment percentage and
2.28reduce the property tax shift percentage by these amounts and apply those reductions to
2.29the current fiscal year and thereafter.
2.30 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 119B.05, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.31 Subdivision 1. Eligible participants. Families eligible for child care assistance
2.32under the MFIP child care program are:
2.33 (1) MFIP participants who are employed or in job search and meet the requirements
2.34of section119B.10 ;
3.1 (2) persons who are members of transition year families under section119B.011,
3.2subdivision 20 , and meet the requirements of section
119B.10 ;
3.3 (3) families who are participating in employment orientation or job search, or
3.4other employment or training activities that are included in an approved employability
3.5development plan under section256J.95 ;
3.6 (4) MFIP families who are participating in work job search, job support,
3.7employment, or training activities as required in their employment plan, or in appeals,
3.8hearings, assessments, or orientations according to chapter 256J;
3.9 (5) MFIP families who are participating in social services activities under chapter
3.10256J as required in their employment plan approved according to chapter 256J;
3.11 (6) families who are participating in services or activities that are included in an
3.12approved family stabilization plan under section256J.575 ;
3.13(7) MFIP child-only cases under section 256J.88 may be authorized to receive up to
3.1420 hours of MFIP child care assistance per week as approved by the county, if the child is
3.15not enrolled in any other early childhood programming;
3.16(7) (8) families who are participating in programs as required in tribal contracts
3.17under section119B.02, subdivision 2 , or
256.01, subdivision 2 ; and
3.18(8) (9) families who are participating in the transition year extension under section
3.19119B.011, subdivision 20a
.
3.20 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256J.24, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
3.21 Subd. 5. MFIP transitional standard. The MFIP transitional standard is based
3.22on the number of persons in the assistance unit eligible for both food and cash assistance
3.23unless the restrictions in subdivision 6 on the birth of a child apply. The amount of the
3.24transitional standard is published annually by the Department of Human Services.
3.25 Sec. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSIONER; MFIP REPORTS.
3.26The commissioner of human services shall include information regarding the
3.27number of children and their ages: receiving MFIP; affected by sanctions; and in families
3.28exceeding the 60-month time limit in the Department of Human Services' MFIP monthly
3.29reports and trends reports and incorporate measures of child well-being into Department
3.30of Human Services county management reports and other annual reports, including
3.31information about MFIP children's participation in early childhood programs such as
3.32family home visiting, Early Head Start and Head Start, Part C Early Intervention, and
3.33their utilization of preventative health services, including well-child visits, to the extent
3.34possible. For purposes of this section, "child well-being" means a child's developmental
4.1progress relative to the child's age, including cognitive, physical, emotional, and social
4.2development as measured through developmental screening tools, school achievement,
4.3health status, and other relevant standardized measures of development.
4.4 Sec. 6. MFIP CHILD WELL-BEING PILOT PROJECT.
4.5 Subdivision 1. Establishment. The commissioner of human services shall
4.6establish and implement a pilot project in up to three counties to determine effective
4.7strategies to increase MFIP child well-being, especially to improve the school readiness
4.8of young children in families receiving MFIP by increasing their parents' knowledge
4.9of and access to information and opportunities for early childhood care and education.
4.10The commissioner shall develop the project in consultation with the commissioners of
4.11education, health, and the Housing Finance Agency.
4.12 Subd. 1a. Definition. "Child well-being" means a child's developmental progress
4.13relative to the child's age, including cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development
4.14as measured through developmental screening tools, school achievement, health status,
4.15and other relevant standardized measures of development.
4.16 Subd. 2. Pilot project goals. The goals of the pilot project are to:
4.17(1) determine effective strategies to help parents identify when they or their child
4.18may benefit from mental health or early childhood services, understand the importance of
4.19obtaining services for themselves and their child, and know where to go for services;
4.20(2) provide early childhood development information and resources to MFIP parents,
4.21including tools parents can use to track their child's development, resources used by other
4.22families in their communities to support their child's growth, and where to go if they have
4.23questions about their child's development;
4.24(3) determine the best strategies to ensure that MFIP parents can attend to their
4.25child's development and potential need for additional services, if indicated;
4.26(4) consider county staff training issues related to early childhood development
4.27and child well-being;
4.28(5) test various methods of providing information about child development,
4.29including the impact of trauma and poverty in early childhood, to county staff, community
4.30provider staff, and MFIP parents; and
4.31(6) maximize the use of existing resources.
4.32 Subd. 3. County application; participation. Counties may apply to the
4.33commissioner of human services to participate in the pilot project on the forms and
4.34according to the timelines established by the commissioner. The commissioner shall
4.35determine the county or counties that will participate in the pilot project based on the
5.1applications received by the commissioner. The commissioner shall provide technical
5.2assistance to participating counties, including advice regarding medical assistance
5.3reimbursement for certain screening and assessment activities under the child and teen
5.4check-up program.
5.5 Subd. 4. Services. (a) Services provided under the pilot project shall include, but
5.6are not limited to, providing parents access to:
5.7(1) information regarding healthy child development;
5.8(2) resources to support parenting; and
5.9(3) specialized resources to prevent or mitigate developmental delays, including
5.10family home visiting, Part C Early Intervention, mental health services provided by a
5.11professional with training in children's mental health, child care, and Early Head Start
5.12or Head Start.
5.13(b) Families must begin receiving services under the pilot project no later than
5.14July 1, 2014.
5.15 Subd. 5. Parental participation. Caregivers participating in the pilot projects
5.16must be allowed to include participation in an approved early childhood program as an
5.17approved activity in their employment plans. These activity hours shall count toward the
5.18total hourly requirements in the caregivers' employment plan.
5.19 Subd. 6. Report and recommendations. The commissioner of human services
5.20shall report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health and human services
5.21policy and finance by January 15, 2017, information on pilot project participants as
5.22compared to participants in the general MFIP program, including information on child
5.23outcomes, children's school readiness, parent satisfaction, and parental ability to receive
5.24services or other information through the referrals provided by the county or other staff.
5.25The commissioner shall also provide recommendations to the legislative committees with
5.26jurisdiction over health and human services policy and finance to improve MFIP child
5.27well-being outcomes and to expand the project statewide if the results of the project
5.28indicate project participants achieved better outcomes. Child outcomes must be the
5.29primary factor for determining project effectiveness.
5.30 Subd. 7. Expiration. This section expires June 30, 2016.
5.31 Sec. 7. DIRECTION TO COMMISSIONER.
5.32By February 1, 2014, the commissioner of management and budget shall report
5.33to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over early childhood care and education
5.34policy and finance on issues associated with incorporating long-term costs and benefits of
6.1investments or disinvestments in early childhood programs into state budget estimates,
6.2including fiscal notes.
6.3 Sec. 8. APPROPRIATION.
6.4$....... is appropriated for the biennium beginning July 1, 2013, from the general
6.5fund to the commissioner of human services for the MFIP child well-being project under
6.6section 7.
6.7 Sec. 9. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.
6.8In Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules, the revisor of statutes shall substitute
6.9the terms "Minnesota Families and Children Assistance Program" for "Minnesota Family
6.10Investment Program" and "MFCAP" for "MFIP" wherever they appear.
6.11 Sec. 10. REPEALER.
6.12Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256J.24, subdivision 6, is repealed.
1.3Assistance Program Act; modifying the MFIP and child care assistance
1.4programs; providing directions to commissioner; instructing the revisor to change
1.5certain terminology; appropriating money;amending Minnesota Statutes 2012,
1.6sections 16A.152, subdivision 2; 119B.05, subdivision 1; 256J.24, subdivision 5;
1.7repealing Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256J.24, subdivision 6.
1.8BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.9 Section 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS.
1.10The legislature finds that:
1.11(1) seven out of ten MFIP recipients are children;
1.12(2) children receiving MFIP assistance are living in poverty;
1.13(3) current MFIP policies are pushing children and their families deeper into poverty;
1.14(4) almost half of Minnesota children receiving MFIP assistance are under the
1.15age of six;
1.16(5) 90 percent of brain development occurs during the first five years of a child's life;
1.17(6) research demonstrates that experiences affect the way a child's brain develops,
1.18and that adverse childhood experiences can produce toxic levels of stress and disrupt the
1.19architecture of a child's developing brain; and
1.20(7) 85 percent of teenage mothers currently receiving MFIP assistance received
1.21MFIP assistance as children.
1.22 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 16A.152, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
1.23 Subd. 2. Additional revenues; priority. (a) If on the basis of a forecast of general
1.24fund revenues and expenditures, the commissioner of management and budget determines
2.1that there will be a positive unrestricted budgetary general fund balance at the close of
2.2the biennium, the commissioner of management and budget must allocate money to the
2.3following accounts and purposes in priority order:
2.4 (1) the cash flow account established in subdivision 1 until that account reaches
2.5$350,000,000;
2.6 (2) the budget reserve account established in subdivision 1a until that account
2.7reaches $653,000,000;
2.8 (3) the amount necessary to increase the aid payment schedule for school district
2.9aids and credits payments in section
2.10nearest tenth of a percent without exceeding the amount available and with any remaining
2.11funds deposited in the budget reserve;
2.12 (4) the amount necessary to restore all or a portion of the net aid reductions under
2.13section
2.15(5) the Minnesota Family Investment Program under chapter 256J or other
2.16TANF-eligible programs in an amount equal to the amount of federal TANF funds that
2.17have been used to refinance general fund expenditures since fiscal year 1997; and
2.18
2.19transferred from the state airports fund under Laws 2008, chapter 363, article 11, section
2.203, subdivision 5.
2.21 (b) The amounts necessary to meet the requirements of this section are appropriated
2.22from the general fund within two weeks after the forecast is released or, in the case of
2.23transfers under paragraph (a), clauses (3) and (4), as necessary to meet the appropriations
2.24schedules otherwise established in statute.
2.25 (c) The commissioner of management and budget shall certify the total dollar
2.26amount of the reductions under paragraph (a), clauses (3) and (4), to the commissioner of
2.27education. The commissioner of education shall increase the aid payment percentage and
2.28reduce the property tax shift percentage by these amounts and apply those reductions to
2.29the current fiscal year and thereafter.
2.30 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 119B.05, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
2.31 Subdivision 1. Eligible participants. Families eligible for child care assistance
2.32under the MFIP child care program are:
2.33 (1) MFIP participants who are employed or in job search and meet the requirements
2.34of section
3.1 (2) persons who are members of transition year families under section
3.2subdivision 20
3.3 (3) families who are participating in employment orientation or job search, or
3.4other employment or training activities that are included in an approved employability
3.5development plan under section
3.6 (4) MFIP families who are participating in work job search, job support,
3.7employment, or training activities as required in their employment plan, or in appeals,
3.8hearings, assessments, or orientations according to chapter 256J;
3.9 (5) MFIP families who are participating in social services activities under chapter
3.10256J as required in their employment plan approved according to chapter 256J;
3.11 (6) families who are participating in services or activities that are included in an
3.12approved family stabilization plan under section
3.13(7) MFIP child-only cases under section 256J.88 may be authorized to receive up to
3.1420 hours of MFIP child care assistance per week as approved by the county, if the child is
3.15not enrolled in any other early childhood programming;
3.16
3.17under section
3.18
3.20 Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256J.24, subdivision 5, is amended to read:
3.21 Subd. 5. MFIP transitional standard. The MFIP transitional standard is based
3.22on the number of persons in the assistance unit eligible for both food and cash assistance
3.23
3.24transitional standard is published annually by the Department of Human Services.
3.25 Sec. 5. DUTIES OF THE COMMISSIONER; MFIP REPORTS.
3.26The commissioner of human services shall include information regarding the
3.27number of children and their ages: receiving MFIP; affected by sanctions; and in families
3.28exceeding the 60-month time limit in the Department of Human Services' MFIP monthly
3.29reports and trends reports and incorporate measures of child well-being into Department
3.30of Human Services county management reports and other annual reports, including
3.31information about MFIP children's participation in early childhood programs such as
3.32family home visiting, Early Head Start and Head Start, Part C Early Intervention, and
3.33their utilization of preventative health services, including well-child visits, to the extent
3.34possible. For purposes of this section, "child well-being" means a child's developmental
4.1progress relative to the child's age, including cognitive, physical, emotional, and social
4.2development as measured through developmental screening tools, school achievement,
4.3health status, and other relevant standardized measures of development.
4.4 Sec. 6. MFIP CHILD WELL-BEING PILOT PROJECT.
4.5 Subdivision 1. Establishment. The commissioner of human services shall
4.6establish and implement a pilot project in up to three counties to determine effective
4.7strategies to increase MFIP child well-being, especially to improve the school readiness
4.8of young children in families receiving MFIP by increasing their parents' knowledge
4.9of and access to information and opportunities for early childhood care and education.
4.10The commissioner shall develop the project in consultation with the commissioners of
4.11education, health, and the Housing Finance Agency.
4.12 Subd. 1a. Definition. "Child well-being" means a child's developmental progress
4.13relative to the child's age, including cognitive, physical, emotional, and social development
4.14as measured through developmental screening tools, school achievement, health status,
4.15and other relevant standardized measures of development.
4.16 Subd. 2. Pilot project goals. The goals of the pilot project are to:
4.17(1) determine effective strategies to help parents identify when they or their child
4.18may benefit from mental health or early childhood services, understand the importance of
4.19obtaining services for themselves and their child, and know where to go for services;
4.20(2) provide early childhood development information and resources to MFIP parents,
4.21including tools parents can use to track their child's development, resources used by other
4.22families in their communities to support their child's growth, and where to go if they have
4.23questions about their child's development;
4.24(3) determine the best strategies to ensure that MFIP parents can attend to their
4.25child's development and potential need for additional services, if indicated;
4.26(4) consider county staff training issues related to early childhood development
4.27and child well-being;
4.28(5) test various methods of providing information about child development,
4.29including the impact of trauma and poverty in early childhood, to county staff, community
4.30provider staff, and MFIP parents; and
4.31(6) maximize the use of existing resources.
4.32 Subd. 3. County application; participation. Counties may apply to the
4.33commissioner of human services to participate in the pilot project on the forms and
4.34according to the timelines established by the commissioner. The commissioner shall
4.35determine the county or counties that will participate in the pilot project based on the
5.1applications received by the commissioner. The commissioner shall provide technical
5.2assistance to participating counties, including advice regarding medical assistance
5.3reimbursement for certain screening and assessment activities under the child and teen
5.4check-up program.
5.5 Subd. 4. Services. (a) Services provided under the pilot project shall include, but
5.6are not limited to, providing parents access to:
5.7(1) information regarding healthy child development;
5.8(2) resources to support parenting; and
5.9(3) specialized resources to prevent or mitigate developmental delays, including
5.10family home visiting, Part C Early Intervention, mental health services provided by a
5.11professional with training in children's mental health, child care, and Early Head Start
5.12or Head Start.
5.13(b) Families must begin receiving services under the pilot project no later than
5.14July 1, 2014.
5.15 Subd. 5. Parental participation. Caregivers participating in the pilot projects
5.16must be allowed to include participation in an approved early childhood program as an
5.17approved activity in their employment plans. These activity hours shall count toward the
5.18total hourly requirements in the caregivers' employment plan.
5.19 Subd. 6. Report and recommendations. The commissioner of human services
5.20shall report to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health and human services
5.21policy and finance by January 15, 2017, information on pilot project participants as
5.22compared to participants in the general MFIP program, including information on child
5.23outcomes, children's school readiness, parent satisfaction, and parental ability to receive
5.24services or other information through the referrals provided by the county or other staff.
5.25The commissioner shall also provide recommendations to the legislative committees with
5.26jurisdiction over health and human services policy and finance to improve MFIP child
5.27well-being outcomes and to expand the project statewide if the results of the project
5.28indicate project participants achieved better outcomes. Child outcomes must be the
5.29primary factor for determining project effectiveness.
5.30 Subd. 7. Expiration. This section expires June 30, 2016.
5.31 Sec. 7. DIRECTION TO COMMISSIONER.
5.32By February 1, 2014, the commissioner of management and budget shall report
5.33to the legislative committees with jurisdiction over early childhood care and education
5.34policy and finance on issues associated with incorporating long-term costs and benefits of
6.1investments or disinvestments in early childhood programs into state budget estimates,
6.2including fiscal notes.
6.3 Sec. 8. APPROPRIATION.
6.4$....... is appropriated for the biennium beginning July 1, 2013, from the general
6.5fund to the commissioner of human services for the MFIP child well-being project under
6.6section 7.
6.7 Sec. 9. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.
6.8In Minnesota Statutes and Minnesota Rules, the revisor of statutes shall substitute
6.9the terms "Minnesota Families and Children Assistance Program" for "Minnesota Family
6.10Investment Program" and "MFCAP" for "MFIP" wherever they appear.
6.11 Sec. 10. REPEALER.
6.12Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256J.24, subdivision 6, is repealed.
