Rice County renews foster-transportation agreements and approves Parent Coach contract

Rice County Social Services presented two items Sept. 9: annual renewals of foster transportation purchase-of-service agreements and a purchase-of-service agreement with Parent Coach Connection for in-home parent coaching.

Chris Salmon said state and federal rules — including the Every Student Succeeds Act and Minnesota statute cited in the presentation — require that youth placed in foster care remain enrolled in their school of origin unless a change is in the child’s best interest and that districts and child-welfare agencies coordinate transportation. "These agreements outline the developed procedure and plan for providing and funding this," Salmon said. Salmon reported Rice County had no additional costs in 2024 and asked the board to approve annual renewals; the board voted to approve them.

On the Parent Coach request, Salmon asked the board to approve a contract with Lisa Krause of Parent Coach Connection to provide in‑home parent coaching to families tied to child-protection case plans. Salmon described the service as "a structured strength based process" that is evidence-informed and used for crisis intervention strategies; he noted parent coaching is not a billable service and will be paid from already-budgeted child and family services funds. Commissioners asked whether county staff could provide the service, how referrals work (Salmon said referrals are part of a case plan), and whether data supports the program; Salmon said he would return with statistics at a later time. The board approved the Parent Coach contract by voice vote.