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Morrison County Health & Human Services reports roughly 10,700 monthly 'touch points', flags staffing and legislative pressures
Summary
Health & Human Services director Nate told the board the department manages about 106 employees, roughly 10,700 average monthly touch points across programs, and faces staff retirements and legislative changes that could affect workload and processing schedules.
Nate, presenting the Health & Human Services mid‑year/annual report on May 19, gave commissioners an overview of staffing, caseloads and program tracking tools used by the department.
He said the department employs 106 people with a combined long‑service record and that roughly one‑third of staff carry about 70 percent of institutional knowledge. Nate described a new data dashboard used to monitor intakes, ongoing services and calls; he said the office is averaging roughly 10,700 touch points per month across programs and manages more than 35 grants. "We're just really here to help people and specifically our most vulnerable residents," Nate said, describing the department’s mission and the use of analytics to spot trends.
The report noted modest reductions in staff turnover and anticipated retirements over the next five years that will require recruitment and training; Nate said some long‑term care eligibility positions take 10–12 months to train. He also summarized program highlights: law‑enforcement social workers averaged hundreds of touch points, opioid settlement funding has been distributed via RFP to regional providers, and housing‑support funds are being deployed through local partners such as Oasis and Habitat for Humanity.
Commissioners asked about how the department counts 'touch points' and whether those figures represent unique people or repeated service interactions. Nate clarified the metric is an ongoing service touch‑point count (individuals and contacts can be counted multiple times in a month) and agreed to provide clarifications on counts where needed. He also warned that HR1 legislative changes (more frequent recertifications) could increase workload and said the department is preparing by streamlining case workflows and technology integration.
The board thanked Nate for the data presentation and for work on the case‑management software rollout; no formal action was taken.
