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Pine County HHS reports decline in out-of-home placement costs but warns of costly new state active-efforts law
Summary
Becky Fossum, Pine County Health and Human Services director, told the board on May 20 that the county spent under $1 million on out-of-home placements in 2024—about $500,000 under the budgeted amount—but warned a new state law requiring “active efforts” for disproportionately represented children will create significant unfunded costs beginning in 2027.
Becky Fossum, director of Pine County Health and Human Services, told the board on May 20 that the county budgeted just over $1.3 million for out-of-home placement expenses in 2024 but expended under $1 million, leaving the department roughly $500,000 under budget across child protection, probation and children’s mental health placements.
“This is something that's really exciting for Pine County,” Fossum said, citing downward trends in out-of-home placement spending and what she described as stronger prevention and community-based services.
Fossum walked commissioners through trends: child-protection placements and probation placements generally trended down since 2019 (with a 2022 uptick), and children's mental-health placements remain the program most likely to produce “budget busters” because residential treatment can exceed $300 per day.
Fossum also emphasized tenure and staffing: a 2023 Minnesota DHS study, she said, reported an average child-protection worker tenure of 2½ years statewide, while Pine County’s average tenure is about eight years. “That’s a really sad statistic,” she said of the statewide number, and called Pine County’s staffing stability a strength for casework continuity.
The meeting centered on a recent state law the presentation called the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act (referred to in the meeting as MAPPA). Fossum said the law’s requirements — particularly an “active efforts” standard and extensive case-review and reporting obligations — will create significant, unfunded work for county social-services agencies when the law fully rolls out for counties like Pine on Jan. 1, 2027.
Active efforts, she said, “means a rigorous and concerted level of effort that we have to do as a health and human services agency throughout the life of a case.” Fossum gave local examples of what active efforts can require: arranging long-distance transportation for a parent (a case she said cost roughly $1,000), providing six months of rental assistance in one case and covering hotel and food costs for supervised visits.
“Active efforts is a very high bar. And truthfully, it's an expensive bar,” Fossum said.
She told commissioners that the statute’s annual, commissioner-driven definitions of “disproportionately represented children” make planning difficult because the state commissioner could alter which groups are covered each year. Fossum also warned that Pine County’s case-management system, SSIS, cannot easily produce the detailed data the law requires; the first reporting will begin in November 2028 with a first case-review report due in 2029, and Fossum said the county will likely need to hire a data specialist to comply.
Fossum presented local data she had pulled in mid-April: of approximately 33 children in out-of-home placements at that time, 14 were Native American and 12 of those 14 had cases in tribal court. She noted that tribal cases often remain open longer and are frequently led by tribal social services rather than county social services, and that tribal placements can affect Pine County’s counts because county finances remain responsible under the state–tribal funding arrangement.
Fossum advised the board to expect possible cost shifts from the state — including proposals affecting home- and community-based services and behavioral health — and said she had been asked to present the department’s budget earlier than usual so the board could consider possible impacts. “I would really encourage each of you to reach out to your legislators,” she said.
Board members asked clarifying questions about how active efforts differ from reasonable efforts and how tribal cases influence local data. Commissioners also expressed concern about staffing pressures and the difficulty of meeting rising documentation and reporting requirements.
No formal board action was taken at the meeting; Fossum said next steps include budget planning in 2026 and continued coordination with state and tribal partners about implementation and definitions.
