Minnesota health officials brief House panel on Safe Harbor network; bill would send evaluation reports to public safety committees

Caroline Palmer, interim supervisor of the Violence Prevention Programs Unit at the Minnesota Department of Health, told the House Public Safety Committee on Feb. 12 that Minnesota's Safe Harbor program has grown into an "extensive network" that connects state agencies and nonprofit partners to provide services for sexually exploited youth.

Palmer said Safe Harbor was created by a 2011 law that treats sexually exploited youth under age 18 as victims rather than criminal defendants and established a "no wrong door" approach so youth could find help through multiple systems. "We currently have 9 programs and 2 tribal nations supporting regional navigators who act as the first points of contact throughout the state," she said. "Between April 2021 through March 2023 approximately 1,500 youth were enrolled in Safe Harbor programs. The average age of enrollment was 18." She also said 95% of youth survey respondents reported satisfaction with the organization that helped them and 80% were satisfied with the services received.

Palmer outlined the program's funding and partners: MDH manages regional navigator and supportive-services grants and holds a federal Office for Victims of Crime grant that supports a victim advocate at the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; the Department of Human Services funds shelter, housing and outreach grantees; and partners include the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Office and the attorney general's office. She said MDH and other state agencies are participating in research grants and curriculum evaluation projects and maintain a training for hotels and lodging required by state law.

Representative Luke Repinski introduced House File 129, which the committee moved to re-refer to the Health Finance and Policy Committee. Repinski said the bill simply requires the MDH's statutorily required biennial Safe Harbor evaluation to be delivered to the House and Senate public safety and health committees in addition to the commissioner of health. "Protecting children from human trafficking is important to all of us here," Repinski said. The committee approved the re-referral on a voice vote.

Palmer said MDH is preparing a strategic plan for Safe Harbor this spring to guide future work and strengthen survivor leadership and workforce supports. She told members the program has received the federal grant three times and that recent projects include a training focused on the overlap of human trafficking and substance use delivered last fall and participation in multi-year research grants.

The committee reserved HF129 for re-referral; members asked no substantive policy questions about the contents of the evaluation report requirement. MDH staff described the program and its data-gathering methods but emphasized they provided technical assistance, not an executive-branch position on HF129.