Committee hears testimony on funding increase for Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership; bill laid on table

Committee members heard testimony in support of Senate File 543, a bill to increase the amount allotted to the statewide Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership (MFRP) by $30 from dissolution filing fees and $30 from each marriage license filing fee. Senator Westland introduced the item and called two testifiers who described the program’s services and outcomes. After testimony and brief discussion, the committee laid the bill on the table.

Jean Keenan, testifying for the program, described MFRP (also federally known as the Displaced Homemaker Program) as a 45-plus-year network of six regional providers that helps survivors of domestic violence and others re-enter the workforce. "The goal of the statewide Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership or MFRP is to help participants achieve lasting self sufficiency by interrupting the downward spiral often faced by participants after the loss of a family's primary wage earner," Keenan said. She told members the program had not seen an inflationary adjustment in more than 20 years and that the requested fee adjustments would not increase the overall filing fee paid by applicants.

Kimberly Pilgrim delivered a personal account on behalf of a participant, recounting how the program helped a former homemaker gain skills, complete a college program with honors and obtain full-time employment after her spouse abandoned the family. "I was very afraid but I drove to the office... With individual career planning, I decided to graduate from college with honors... I would have not made it without this program," Pilgrim quoted the participant saying.

Keenan provided program statistics to the committee: 73 percent of participants are survivors of domestic violence; 28 percent enter the program unhoused; 71 percent have dependents; 75 percent of participants with a child support order do not receive the ordered support; participants who exit employed obtained an average wage of about $20.38 per hour; and 97 percent of program participants complete the program's goals. Keenan said the most recent return-on-investment calculation showed approximately $26.89 returned per $1 invested by the state.

Senator Limmer and other members expressed support and noted prior efforts to secure funding. Senator Umu Verbaten said she is working on several avenues for crime victim services and offered support to coordinate without pitting programs against each other. With no further public testimony or questions, committee members laid Senate File 543 on the table for further work and coordination with related bills and funding proposals.

No committee vote on the merits occurred in this hearing; the committee’s action recorded in the minutes is "laid on the table."