HHS director warns new state law will create costly "active efforts" workload for county child services
Becky Fossman told commissioners Pine County spent under $1,000,000 on out-of-home placements in 2024 and was under budget by over $500,000; she warned the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act (MASPA) will require costly 'active efforts', new case reviews and data reporting, and likely a data specialist and ramp-up in 2026 ahead of the 2027 compliance date.
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Becky Fossman, director of Pine County Health & Human Services, presented the 2024 out-of-home placement summary and a child protection update, reporting the county budgeted a little over $1,300,000 for placements but expended under $1,000,000 in 2024 and was "under budget by over $500,000." Fossman described downward trends since 2019 in child-protection and probation placement costs and credited in-county preventive programs and lower caseload ratios for the improvement.
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