Meeker County approves MOU to join regional Family First prevention grant led by Safe Generations

Meeker County commissioners voted Jan. 6 to approve a memorandum of understanding with Power of Partnership Inc. d/b/a Safe Generations to participate in a multi-county Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) prevention partnership. The memorandum authorizes the board chair to execute the agreement and records county support for Safe Generations to be the grant applicant and holder.

Health and Human Services Director Tina Schenk told the board the grant award would be about $800,000 per project and that the current proposal would span 18 counties in southwest Minnesota. The program emphasizes family-driven safety network planning and prevention services intended to reduce out-of-home placements. Schenk said Meeker County has used similar methods with measurable outcomes locally: in 2025 the county had two entries into placement and nine children in placement total, compared with 2019’s 36 entries and 71 children. She noted no reentries into foster care since 2023 and said the county’s experience is part of the rationale for proposing a regional model.

Schenk explained that Safe Generations would serve as the grant holder (not the county) and that the county’s financial commitment would be limited primarily to staff time for training, with modest travel or overnight costs possible. If a state requirement requires a fiscal host, Schenk said a fiscal host might take a negotiated administrative percentage (she cited 3–5 percent as typical). She also described a new Medicaid-adjacent reimbursement process for certain motivational-interviewing services billed in 15-minute increments that could support the project’s sustainability.

Commissioners discussed data-sharing and SSIS (the state system), the need for buy-in from partner agencies (county attorney, sheriff, schools), and the value of cohort-based training and implementation support. The board approved the MOU on a motion and voice vote.

Schenk said the county would participate in training cohorts and implementation support if the regional application is funded and would not be the grant holder; she called the opportunity a chance to expand a practice that has already reduced placements locally.