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Senators consider higher supplemental housing support rate for Welcome Manor family treatment center
Summary
Senate File 1139 would allow county negotiators to set a supplemental rate up to $750 per month for up to 20 beds at Welcome Manor, a family residential treatment facility serving pregnant and parenting women; sponsors laid the bill over for possible inclusion.
Senators heard testimony on March 5 for Senate File 1139, a bill to permit county agencies to negotiate a supplemental residential housing support rate of up to $750 per month for up to 20 beds at Welcome Manor Family Services, a Blue Earth County residential treatment facility that serves pregnant and parenting women.
Senator France introduced the bill and said the facility treats “up to 20 women at a time” and allows clients to bring their children. She asked Karen Clabundi, director of Welcome Manor Family Services, to describe the program to the committee. Clabundi said Welcome Manor provides short‑term addiction treatment for women and can accommodate children through an on‑site day care; the facility serves about 50 women and 220 children in a year and said it can provide services to 53 women at any given time.
Clabundi told senators that 87 percent of the women entering the program have a known co‑occurring mental health disorder and that only about 49 percent arrive from stable housing. She said the average length of stay is about 3.5 months for women with children and roughly 60 days for women without children, and described a recent client, “Lisa,” who was discharged when funding ran out and later relapsed and sought to return to the program.
The bill text presented to the committee would permit a county agency to negotiate a supplemental rate not to exceed $750 per month for up to 20 beds; Senator France said $750 may not be large but “that might save a life.” Committee members asked whether Welcome Manor’s programming is faith‑based given the facility’s recent acquisition by Minnesota Adult & Teen Challenge. Clabundi said Welcome Manor remains licensed as Welcome Manor Family Services and that its family‑focused programming is not faith‑based; she said clients may opt into a faith‑based track but participation is not required.
Support and next steps: Senators spoke in favor of sustaining high‑quality providers that serve statewide needs, noting that facilities often serve clients from across Minnesota and not only from their host county. After discussion, the committee laid the bill over for possible inclusion in omnibus language or future funding decisions.
