Clay County accepts $795,620 in grants to launch family resource center; CAP LP to hire navigators

The Clay County Board of Commissioners on Jan. 21 voted to accept two grants totaling $795,620 to develop a family resource center that county social services staff say will connect families to services and reduce barriers to access.

Quinn, Social Service Director for Clay County, told the board the county has received a $108,320, two‑year award from the Sauer Family Foundation and a $687,300, three‑year award from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) for family‑centered, culturally responsive navigation services. Quinn said the two grants together will fund development and implementation of a family resource center and that the project is designed to be community driven.

The grants matter because they fund staff and community engagement needed to help families navigate services, Quinn said. Capital P (referred to in materials as CAP LP) will hire a family outreach coordinator and a family advisory board coordinator within 60 days of receipt of funds and will provide relationship‑based navigation services, Quinn said. Creating Community Consulting will oversee partner coordination, marketing, outreach and sustainability planning. Quinn told the board the project is built as a hub‑and‑spokes model rather than a single brick‑and‑mortar site: CAP LP will serve as a home base and partner sites such as REACH and the Moorhead Public Library will serve as “spokes.”

Commissioner Kravanoff moved to accept the Sauer Family Foundation award; Commissioner Ebinger seconded. The board voted aye and carried the motion. Later the board voted to accept the DHS Community Resource Center Grant after a motion from Commissioner Bair and a second from Commissioner Ebinger. The motions were recorded as approved by voice vote; no roll‑call tallies were provided.

Quinn said the grants are intended to cover development, staff hiring and community partnership costs and that the project is fully funded by the two grants. Quinn also said the county budget will see only a small administrative offset — about $14,000 estimated revenue over three years — and that the program’s operating costs are covered by the grants. The county will sign contracts with CAP LP and Creating Community Consulting after the board’s acceptance of the funds, Quinn said.

Board members who spoke praised the partnerships and said the hub‑and‑spokes design addresses earlier concerns about using county funds for a brick‑and‑mortar facility. Commissioner Kravanoff, who moved the Sauer Family Foundation motion, and other commissioners noted they and staff had adjusted the project plan in response to earlier questions.

The board voted to accept both grants and directed staff to proceed with the contracts and initial work plan steps described in the grant materials. Quinn said CAP LP had already posted the family outreach coordinator position and would begin recruitment upon contract execution.

Questions about long‑term operations, how the family advisory board will be sustained after grant funding ends, and the precise details of partner agreements were flagged for future updates to the board.