Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Human Services Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves $90,000 drug court agreement, human services contracts and public health updates
Summary
The board approved a $90,000 one-year cooperative agreement for Adult Treatment Court probation services, multiple human services provider contracts including a Hearth Connections agreement, and heard public-health program updates on child and teen checkups, SHIP grants and prenatal services.
Blue Earth County commissioners approved a set of social services agreements and heard informational public-health updates at the June 24 meeting.
John (Community Corrections) asked the board to approve a cooperative agreement between Blue Earth County Community Corrections and the State of Minnesota (Fifth Judicial District) for fiscal year 2026 providing probation services to Adult Treatment Court clients. The agreement totals $90,000 for the year and expires June 30, 2026. Staff noted the $90,000 level is consistent with the past roughly 10 years but flagged that this cycle is a one-year agreement rather than the two-year agreements commonly used previously; commissioners and staff discussed potential future funding uncertainties and the agreement was approved by voice vote.
Human Services staff presented multiple action items: semi-independent living services contracts with listed providers for July 2025–June 2026 with 2% annual rate increases; a long-term (06/01/2025–05/31/2026) agreement with Hearth Connections supporting rental assistance, the homeless management information system and continuum-of-care activities (staff cited a 9.4% increase to $181,612 compared with the prior cycle); and an increased fraud-prevention/investigations contract to $125,000 per year to support staffing. The board approved these contract items and confirmed an administrative task-force appointment (Devin Mortwed) to the county mental health local advisory committee.
Public health staff provided informational updates on Child and Teen Checkup program trends (serving ages 0–21), outreach mailing changes and the effects of eligibility fluctuations following Medicaid unwinding; the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) awards and partners; and the First Steps prenatal/postpartum initiative focused on early pregnancy interventions to improve birth outcomes. Staff noted capacity and funding volatility but emphasized these programs’ community role.
Next steps: department staff will execute agreements, implement approved contracts and continue program outreach and reporting.
