[0:00] CHARLIE PETERS: Let's start with the Pledge of Allegiance.

[0:03] ALL: I pledge allegiance to the flag

[0:05] of the United States of America, and to the Republic

[0:09] for which it stands.

[0:10] One nation under God, indivisible,

[0:13] with liberty and justice for all.

[0:15]

[0:20] CHARLIE PETERS: As the county board proceeds with today's

[0:23] agenda, we will provide an opportunity for public comment

[0:27] regarding agenda items following each presentation and prior

[0:31] to county board action.

[0:33] Additional comments will not be heard

[0:36] for items that have already completed

[0:37] a public hearing process.

[0:39] We ask that you fill out a public comment card in advance

[0:43] and submit it to Suzy so that we can address each person in turn.

[0:49] If you have a question that arises during a presentation,

[0:52] please complete the card and submit it to Suzy as soon as you

[0:55] are able.

[0:56] If you are participating online, indicate your desire

[1:00] to provide public comment in the chat box,

[1:03] along with identifying information for the record.

[1:07] So with that, we'll go on to roll call.

[1:09] FEMALE SPEAKER: Malecha.

[1:10] GALEN MALECHA: Yes.

[1:11] FEMALE SPEAKER: Hoisington.

[1:12] GERRY HOISINGTON: Here.

[1:12] FEMALE SPEAKER: Peters.

[1:13] CHARLIE PETERS: Here.

[1:14] FEMALE SPEAKER: Purfeerst.

[1:14] JIM PURFEERST: Here.

[1:15] FEMALE SPEAKER: Underdahl.

[1:16] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Here.

[1:18] CHARLIE PETERS: It's showing we're all here.

[1:20] We'll go to approval of the agenda.

[1:22] Any changes or additions?

[1:26] GALEN MALECHA: Motion to approve the agenda.

[1:29] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Second.

[1:31] CHARLIE PETERS: We have a motion by Commissioner Malecha.

[1:34] Second by Commissioner Underdahl.

[1:36] Any discussion?

[1:37] Seeing none.

[1:38] All those in favor, say "Aye."

[1:40] ALL: Aye.

[1:41] CHARLIE PETERS: That passes.

[1:42] Approval of the minutes from the August 11, 2026 meeting.

[1:47] JIM PURFEERST: Motion to approve.

[1:49] GERRY HOISINGTON: Second.

[1:51] CHARLIE PETERS: Motion by Commissioner Purfeerst.

[1:52] Second by Commissioner Hoisington.

[1:55] For the approval of the minutes, any discussion?

[1:59] All those in favor, say "Aye."

[2:01] ALL: Aye.

[2:02] CHARLIE PETERS: Both same signed.

[2:04] Minutes passed.

[2:05] First on the list is Sheriff's Office.

[2:08]

[2:18] MALE SPEAKER: Good morning, Commissioners, Mr. Chair.

[2:20] CHARLIE PETERS: Good morning.

[2:21] MALE SPEAKER: Just one order of business.

[2:24] Looking to get permission or seek your approval

[2:27] to enter into a contract to add a radio

[2:30] booster to the government services building.

[2:33] We do have a representative from Bechtel here.

[2:37] I have Alan from IT and my emergency manager and director,

[2:41] if you have any questions.

[2:42] But what we've noticed over the years

[2:45] is, especially since we started doing foot patrols when I became

[2:50] sheriff, and our radio reception inside this building thing

[2:54] is not very good, especially in the lower level.

[2:58] And given the fact there's 283 county employees who work out

[3:03] of this building, it's an area that we

[3:08] need to be able to communicate when something we have

[3:12] a critical incident that we need to operate inside this building.

[3:15] So I'm looking for your approval to enter that.

[3:20] And where's the money coming from?

[3:22] I do have some money in my budget this year.

[3:24] We did have $59,000 set aside for some other radio equipment.

[3:34] And that was purchased at the very end of last year.

[3:37] So I have that sitting there.

[3:38] And I do have extra money.

[3:40] So open for questions at this time.

[3:44] And if you'd like to ask Brian from Bechtel

[3:46] or anybody else any questions, they can come up.

[3:50] CHARLIE PETERS: I guess the one question I have is--

[3:53] we'll call it several.

[3:56] Does the contract include the wiring costs and the roof,

[4:01] if we got to go through the roof,

[4:02] or is that Facilities doing all that?

[4:05] Or is it total install with that price?

[4:09] MALE SPEAKER: My radio keeps blinking out of range because I

[4:12] don't have any service.

[4:14] Ironic, right?

[4:15] JIM PURFEERST: No, I going to say, your radio's working good.

[4:18] MALE SPEAKER: My assumption is that it

[4:20] includes everything except maybe going through the roof.

[4:22] MALE SPEAKER: That's correct.

[4:23] MALE SPEAKER: Yeah, correct.

[4:24] CHARLIE PETERS: And Facilities will take care of that,

[4:27] I believe, so.

[4:29] And then the other question is, IT,

[4:31] I see they had to go into the IT room, correct?

[4:36] And work?

[4:38] MALE SPEAKER: We have to have the equipment somewhere.

[4:41] It's not really tied in with our IT systems.

[4:45] So we can provide them whatever that they

[4:48] need without any concern.

[4:50] CHARLIE PETERS: Perfect.

[4:51] Perfect.

[4:52] Any other questions?

[4:53]

[4:56] Commissioner Underdahl.

[4:57] STEVE UNDERDAHL: One.

[4:58] Do we have other county buildings

[5:00] that have the same issue?

[5:01] MALE SPEAKER: Yeah, so the courthouse

[5:03] has the same issue, which will need to be addressed.

[5:07] And I've spoken with Chris in Facilities,

[5:09] and they're going to budget for that for next year.

[5:14] The issue with-- well, I don't find it--

[5:17] I don't see it as important as this building

[5:19] because we have the checkpoint and we

[5:21] have staff that are in that lower

[5:25] level of the courthouse, which is the worst

[5:27] part for radio reception.

[5:29] But we have that manned with staff.

[5:32] And if something happens, everything's on camera, per se.

[5:37] And so that'll get addressed next year.

[5:40] And I don't see a huge cost savings in doing

[5:42] them both at the same time.

[5:45] But by doing one this year, it keeps

[5:47] that $80,000 off the levee.

[5:50] And then next year, it can be budgeted for.

[5:54] STEVE UNDERDAHL: And just to make a comment, because

[5:56] of my time when I was in city council,

[5:58] and particularly when 800 megahertz came into being,

[6:02] the tower's up--

[6:03] just so a lot of people understand it--

[6:04] a tower is up on the east side of Faribault, and with the bluff

[6:08] out there, most of downtown is shielded from the signal.

[6:12] So this is not a unique problem to our facilities.

[6:16] Actually, a lot of the downtown buildings,

[6:18] if law enforcement has to go into lower level of noise,

[6:21] they have no connectivity at all.

[6:24] MALE SPEAKER: And I know we've used

[6:26] Bechtel for our Public Safety Center when we built that.

[6:30] And I believe talking with the emergency manager director, Joe

[6:35] Johnson, that this is part of the fire code, Appendix P,

[6:41] to have this system put in.

[6:43] Now, given the fact that when this building was built,

[6:46] it probably wasn't part of it.

[6:47] But when we did the remodel, it probably

[6:49] should have been addressed.

[6:52] So it needs to get done.

[6:55] So I'm just asking for your approval.

[6:58] JIM PURFEERST: I have a question.

[7:00] After this is installed, what kind of range

[7:03] are you expecting to get with these radios?

[7:05] Are you going to be able to get on one of your portables

[7:07] and talk to a deputy up in Lonsdale, for an example,

[7:10] if you need help?

[7:11] MALE SPEAKER: We should be able to get on our radios

[7:13] and talk to anybody in the state.

[7:14] JIM PURFEERST: In the state.

[7:15] MALE SPEAKER: Yep.

[7:15] JIM PURFEERST: OK.

[7:17] GALEN MALECHA: Motion to approve.

[7:19] JIM PURFEERST: Second.

[7:21] CHARLIE PETERS: We have a motion by Commissioner Malecha,

[7:22] second by Commissioner Purfeerst for approval of the radio

[7:25] boosters.

[7:27] Any other discussion?

[7:29] All those in favor, say "Aye."

[7:31] ALL: Aye.

[7:31] CHARLIE PETERS: Both same sign.

[7:32] Motion passes.

[7:34] Thank you.

[7:34] MALE SPEAKER: Thank you.

[7:36] CHARLIE PETERS: Environmental Services, Julie.

[7:38]

[7:45] JULIE: Good morning.

[7:46] JIM PURFEERST: Good morning.

[7:47] GERRY HOISINGTON: Good morning.

[7:47] JULIE: To have a few items from the Planning Commission.

[7:49] The first item is from a request from the Towers, LLC,

[7:53] on behalf of landowner Don Stadler,

[7:55] for a conditional use permit to allow

[7:56] for a communication tower in Section 32 of Walcott Township.

[8:00] And the Planning Commission did recommend

[8:01] approval with eight conditions.

[8:04] JIM PURFEERST: Motion to approve with the eight conditions.

[8:07] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Second.

[8:08] CHARLIE PETERS: We have a motion by Commissioner Purfeerst,

[8:10] second by Commissioner Underdahl for approval of the Towers

[8:14] conditional use permit.

[8:16] Any discussion?

[8:18] Seeing none, all those in favor, say "Aye."

[8:21] ALL: Aye.

[8:23] CHARLIE PETERS: Against, same sign.

[8:25] Motion passes.

[8:27] JULIE: Next request is from Robert Gadicki

[8:29] for an interim use permit for aggregate mining

[8:31] operations for excavation of a pond in Section 28

[8:35] of Waukon Township.

[8:36] The Planning Commission did recommend

[8:37] approval with 11 conditions.

[8:41] GALEN MALECHA: Motion to approve.

[8:43] GERRY HOISINGTON: Second.

[8:46] CHARLIE PETERS: We have a motion by Commissioner Malecha,

[8:48] second by Commissioner Hoisington

[8:50] for the approval of the interim use permit for mining.

[8:55] Any discussion?

[8:58] All those in favor, say "Aye."

[9:00] ALL: Aye.

[9:01] CHARLIE PETERS: Opposed, same sign.

[9:02] Motion passes.

[9:04] JULIE: And then I have a request from Tom O'Mara,

[9:06] on behalf of landowner Paula Johnson,

[9:07] for a final plat to create two residential building lots.

[9:10] And this is in Section 8 of Wells Township.

[9:12] Planning staff is recommending approval with three conditions.

[9:15] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Move to approve.

[9:17] GALEN MALECHA: Second.

[9:19] CHARLIE PETERS: Motion by Commissioner Underdahl,

[9:21] second by Commissioner Malecha for approval of the final plat.

[9:25] Any discussion?

[9:28] All those in favor, say "Aye."

[9:29] ALL: Aye.

[9:30] CHARLIE PETERS: Opposed, same sign.

[9:31] Motion passes.

[9:34] JULIE: The next request is from Joe Franek for final plat

[9:36] to separate a lot from an existing home in Section 15

[9:39] of Wheatland Township, and the planning staff recommended

[9:42] approval with three conditions.

[9:46] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Move to approve.

[9:48] GERRY HOISINGTON: Second.

[9:49] CHARLIE PETERS: The motion by Commissioner Underdahl,

[9:51] a second by Commissioner Hoisington

[9:53] for approval of the final plat.

[9:55] Any discussion?

[9:57] Seeing none.

[9:58] All those in favor, say "Aye."

[9:59] ALL: Aye.

[10:00] CHARLIE PETERS: Opposed, same sign.

[10:01] Motion passes.

[10:02] FEMALE SPEAKER: Thank you.

[10:03] CHARLIE PETERS: Thank you.

[10:06] Next, we have Child and Family, Chris.

[10:11]

[10:16] CHRIS SAMMON: Good morning, Commissioners.

[10:18] CHARLIE PETERS: Good morning.

[10:18] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Morning.

[10:19] CHRIS SAMMON: I'm here with Supervisor Tina Johnston.

[10:21] She is the supervisor of a child support unit.

[10:23] And we'll be talking with you this morning about a new grant

[10:26] that we've been awarded.

[10:27] So, Rice County, on behalf of the Next Step multi-county

[10:31] partnership has been awarded a three-year grant

[10:33] to provide employment and training

[10:36] services to non-custodial parents

[10:39] with child support orders.

[10:41] This program provides opportunities for participants

[10:44] to build work skills and establish long-term employment

[10:48] and financial stability, and ability to meet their child

[10:51] support obligations.

[10:53] Funding for the program comes from the federal new generations

[10:57] employment services grant awarded

[10:59] to Minnesota late of 2024.

[11:02] The program has been in planning and developing

[11:05] for the last two years and is now ready to roll

[11:07] out to the counties.

[11:10] So Rice County has been awarded $24,615

[11:14] annually for three years, which will total $73,845.

[11:21] And this will be contracted to Workforce Development,

[11:23] Incorporated, WDI, which is our local employment

[11:27] services partner.

[11:28] The contract has been received from the child support division

[11:32] at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families,

[11:35] and has been reviewed by the Rice County attorney's office,

[11:38] and is ready for signature.

[11:41] With the board's approval, when the contract

[11:43] has been fully executed, a service agreement with Workforce

[11:48] Development, Incorporated, WDI, will be prepared, reviewed

[11:51] by the county attorney's office, and

[11:54] a service agreement will then be executed

[11:58] to implement the services.

[12:00] So no new positions will be needed for Rice County Social

[12:04] Services to administer the contract

[12:08] nor for the master service agreement with WDI.

[12:11] So with that, I'm going to pass it over to Tina,

[12:13] and she'll walk us through some slides.

[12:15]

[12:21] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Good morning, Commissioners.

[12:22] Again, that's Christina Johnston.

[12:24] And I am fortunate to have been invited

[12:27] to speak about the Next Generation Employment

[12:30] Services Demonstrative Grant.

[12:32] On this next slide, you'll see that this grant is

[12:36] a five-year federal grant awarded

[12:38] to Minnesota DCYF Child Support in late 2024,

[12:43] and it goes through 2029.

[12:45] Rice County is part of a multi-county partnership

[12:48] referred to in our region as Next Step, which

[12:53] stands for skills training and employment

[12:55] for non-custodial parents.

[12:58] Counties participating under this grant

[13:00] are Douglas, Grant, Pope, Rice, and Traverse,

[13:04] who utilize the same employment services agency.

[13:08] Additional counties participating

[13:10] are Sherburne, Hennepin, and White Earth County.

[13:14]

[13:17] Rice County will receive an annual award,

[13:19] as Chris stated, of $24,615 over a three-year period,

[13:24] totaling $73,845.

[13:30] This is a pass-through contract for services.

[13:34] Rice County partners with Workforce

[13:36] Development, Incorporated for employment services.

[13:41] We have a current contract for Minnesota

[13:43] Family Investment Program and a proven partnership.

[13:47] And again, there will be no new staff hired by Rice County

[13:50] to provide these grant services.

[13:54] My team will be serving an estimated 43

[13:56] noncustodial parents over three years,

[13:59] focusing on cases who have contempt orders,

[14:02] have exhausted unemployment, and have made partial payments.

[14:06] Roughly 279 of our clients are eligible for this program,

[14:12] and about 40% of those residents are residing in Rice County,

[14:16] rather.

[14:17]

[14:20] Under the Employment and Training Services Program,

[14:24] the things that are required would be case management, skills

[14:27] assessments, developing and executed employment,

[14:31] and training services plan, providing work supports as

[14:35] needed, monitoring participant progress,

[14:38] communicating regularly with the child support case

[14:41] manager, our office, and then the employment service provider

[14:45] is expected to provide job search assistance, job readiness

[14:49] training, job development and job placement services, job

[14:53] retention services, and work supports,

[14:56] such as transportation assistance.

[15:00] That's a little bit about this grant and the services

[15:05] that will be provided by our agency,

[15:07] and then extending into the employment services.

[15:10] Does anybody have any questions?

[15:13] CHARLIE PETERS: Commissioner Purfeerst.

[15:15] JIM PURFEERST: I read in there that

[15:16] the prevailing wage will kick in from the state

[15:19] after a $25,000 grant.

[15:22] Is that going to be within the realm of what we're doing

[15:24] here within our county then?

[15:25] Or where does this wage go to?

[15:28] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: I'm sorry, I guess I'm not understanding.

[15:30] What do you mean, wage?

[15:32] JIM PURFEERST: There's a prevailing

[15:33] wage clause in this thing.

[15:37] And it's on over $25,000, you have to follow their guidelines.

[15:42] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: For jobs received,

[15:44] are we speaking about participants in the program

[15:48] or are we speaking about staff?

[15:51] JIM PURFEERST: I was assuming that would be staff in there.

[15:53] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Staff, it's just a pass-through grant.

[15:57] So whatever staffing needs that the contracted services they

[16:01] would need, it would just be under that funded amount,

[16:04] the $23,000--

[16:07] I'm going to miss that number here-- $24,615.

[16:11] JIM PURFEERST: Yeah, and I was going

[16:13] to ask if that's-- in total, the grant is $73,000-something,

[16:16] but--

[16:17] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Over the next three years, yeah.

[16:18] JIM PURFEERST: It didn't clarify to me

[16:20] whether that was a yearly--

[16:22] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Yep, it'll be an annual.

[16:23] This one, this particular--

[16:25] JIM PURFEERST: But as far as following their guidelines

[16:27] for that prevailing wage--

[16:29] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Right.

[16:31] JIM PURFEERST: OK.

[16:32]

[16:37] CHARLIE PETERS: That one figure, 40%,

[16:40] live in Rice County out of all those other counties.

[16:43] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Not out of all the other counties.

[16:45] Out of the 279 participants.

[16:47] A unique thing about child support

[16:49] is that all our participants don't

[16:51] actually reside in Rice County.

[16:53] It's because it's established by jurisdiction

[16:55] through court order.

[16:57] So somebody could obtain a court order in Dakota County

[17:00] and one participant, a non-custodial parent or a payer,

[17:04] would live and reside in Dakota County,

[17:07] but maybe the custodial parent has moved down to Rice County.

[17:11] And we've maybe registered a court order here,

[17:14] but that participant still resides in Dakota County.

[17:17] They wouldn't be eligible for the workforce center

[17:19] to serve them, but I could direct them, in partnership,

[17:24] Hennepin County would agree to provide those services in kind.

[17:30] CHARLIE PETERS: OK, thank you.

[17:31] FEMALE SPEAKER: And if I could just

[17:32] add clarification on the prevailing wage question.

[17:34] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Thank you.

[17:34] FEMALE SPEAKER: 18.2 addresses prevailing

[17:36] wage, and that's for projects that include construction.

[17:38] This is just a services contract and not a construction contract.

[17:41] So that does not apply to what we're engaging in with WDI.

[17:45] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Thank you for the clarification.

[17:47] I wasn't exactly--

[17:49] CHARLIE PETERS: Any other questions?

[17:51] Comments?

[17:51]

[17:54] Seeing none, I'll entertain a motion

[17:55] for acceptance of the grant.

[18:00] GALEN MALECHA: Motion to approve.

[18:02] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Second.

[18:04] CHARLIE PETERS: Motion by Commissioner

[18:05] Malecha, second by Commissioner Underdahl for approval

[18:08] of the grant.

[18:10] Any discussion?

[18:13] Seeing none, all those in favor say, "aye."

[18:15] ALL: Aye.

[18:16] CHARLIE PETERS: Opposed, same sign.

[18:18] Grant approved.

[18:19] Thank you.

[18:20] CHRISTINA JOHNSTON: Thank you.

[18:21]

[18:24] CHARLIE PETERS: Next, we have Community Services, Rick.

[18:28] RICK: Good morning, Commissioners.

[18:29] CHARLIE PETERS: Good morning.

[18:30] JIM PURFEERST: Morning.

[18:32] RICK: Well, thank you.

[18:33] Thanks for the opportunity for Community Services

[18:35] to come up here and share some updates regarding

[18:38] the legislative changes that are going to have an impact,

[18:42] and share a little bit about our 2027 outlook.

[18:46] I have Chris Sammon, Mike Johnston, Megan Thomas,

[18:53] and Angela with me here today.

[18:55] So they'll share some updates from their divisions as well.

[19:00] But real quick, I just wanted to point

[19:02] out, in regards to our organizational structure--

[19:06] thanks, Sarah.

[19:09] We have 186 employees over the four departments,

[19:13] and that stayed pretty intact.

[19:14] We're not making any additional requests for 2027.

[19:20] We haven't made any requests or added any for 2026.

[19:25] We do have one position here, probably

[19:27] this fall, the Compass coordinator,

[19:30] but that is grant funded.

[19:32] And I just wanted to point that out,

[19:33] because what we're seeing here, with our caseloads and our work,

[19:39] the volume of our work is increasing.

[19:42] And with the cost shifts that are coming from the state,

[19:46] it puts us in that challenging position

[19:49] where we're kind of being asked to do more with less.

[19:52] But that's not a bad thing.

[19:55] There's a lot of opportunity that comes with that, too.

[19:58] And I think that's where we as an organization

[20:01] work closely together, also with our other county departments

[20:06] and external partners.

[20:08] And one of the things I thank you

[20:10] guys for your support, and also Sandy's work, and Facilities,

[20:16] Chris, Sam, and Nicole is the telematics.

[20:19] And one thing to share is that last year alone,

[20:25] between Community Corrections and Social Services,

[20:29] what we paid out in mileage was $282,000.

[20:35] $155,000 of that was in personal mileage.

[20:40] So we really want to shift and have more use of that motor pool

[20:44] than our personal mileage.

[20:45] And so this is one great way to seek an efficiency

[20:49] and help us through our budget and some of these changes.

[20:54] Another one we're looking at is into the use

[20:57] of AI, artificial intelligence.

[21:01] That technology some counties are using specifically

[21:05] in their Social Services departments

[21:08] to help field large volume of calls,

[21:12] and also take the calls for people applying

[21:15] for public assistance where then AI is reading the rights

[21:20] and responsibilities.

[21:22] And Mike Johnston and I kind of looked into that a bit,

[21:25] and I think we came up with--

[21:27] working with IT too-- that the volume of calls that

[21:31] we take in Social Services is a little

[21:34] around 35,000 for the year.

[21:38] And a lot of employee time is spent on reading the rights

[21:42] and responsibilities.

[21:44] So this is something we're looking at too.

[21:47] Reimbursements.

[21:49] I'll share real quick.

[21:51] That kind of regards our juvenile out-of-home placements.

[21:54] The per diem to place the juvenile

[21:56] has significantly increased just in the last five or six years.

[22:01] There's a great cost to these line items in our budget,

[22:07] whereas in the past, we usually did a good job

[22:10] staying under budget.

[22:12] We go over budget now in these areas,

[22:14] and we're having less placements.

[22:17] That's how much the impact these rising costs are.

[22:20] So one thing that we'll try to take a deep look into is,

[22:26] are we collecting everything we can from MA or even Title 4E

[22:32] to get some reimbursement back for the cost

[22:35] of these placements.

[22:37] And then finally, continue to focus on employee retention.

[22:42] There's a greater cost at continuing to hire, and onboard,

[22:47] and train new staff.

[22:48] So we're looking at that as well.

[22:51] So certainly, we have some challenges ahead of us.

[22:56] But there's good news too.

[22:58] So we're optimistic here.

[23:01] And we'll pass it over here to Chris Sammon

[23:04] to share some things from the Child

[23:05] and Family Services Division.

[23:08] Thank you.

[23:08] CHARLIE PETERS: Thank you.

[23:09]

[23:12] CHRIS SAMMON: Passing it to me first,

[23:13] because I'm the good news.

[23:14] [LAUGHS]

[23:16] I'll share with you that, and we spoke about this

[23:19] before, there's some special one-time money

[23:21] that's coming in 2027.

[23:23] There's a lot of work that will be done

[23:25] in the legislative session to try and build that out to being

[23:30] ongoing, because it's certainly going

[23:31] to be some additional areas that we'll need some resources.

[23:35] But we do have that one-time funding coming

[23:37] for the implementation of the Minnesota

[23:39] African-American Family Preservation Child

[23:42] Welfare Proportionality Act.

[23:45] We will be getting some guidance within the next couple of weeks

[23:49] that's promised to know which specific areas will be focused

[23:54] on with that Act for 2027.

[23:56] And it's written in there that every two years,

[24:01] the specific group that gets those services

[24:03] is determined based on the disproportionality

[24:06] across the state.

[24:07] So much more to come with that one.

[24:12] We were also awarded, as we spoke last week,

[24:14] about the Regional Child and Adolescent

[24:17] Mental Health Initiative grant.

[24:19] This is going to be building out some services in our child

[24:21] mental health area.

[24:24] And I can report that overall, the allocations

[24:27] and grants in my division have been fairly stable.

[24:32] Across the spectrum of them, we have a change

[24:37] of an increase of about $3,000.

[24:39] So some of them dipped a little, some went up a little.

[24:42] This is separate from that one time allocation of $129,000.

[24:47] So for the most part, the allocations in my area

[24:50] have been pretty stable.

[24:51] As Rick just alluded to, there is many mandated programming

[24:55] costs in the Child and Family Services area, especially

[24:58] with those out-of-home placements.

[25:00] And as he mentioned, we are serving fewer

[25:04] in out-of-home placement, and it's

[25:06] costing much more than we've been able to

[25:09] or that we have been budgeting in the past.

[25:12] This year we are coming in under budget,

[25:14] but in our area, that's one or two

[25:17] significant placements away from changing the story on that.

[25:20] So that's the good news.

[25:22] I'll hand it over now to my partners.

[25:25] CHARLIE PETERS: Thank you.

[25:26]

[25:31] Who's going to keep the good news coming?

[25:33] [LAUGHTER]

[25:35]

[25:39] MEGAN THOMAS: I thought I was last for a reason.

[25:41] So good morning, Commissioners.

[25:44] CHARLIE PETERS: Good morning.

[25:45] MEGAN THOMAS: Adult Services.

[25:46] Many of you have heard many of these impacts coming our way

[25:51] specifically to Adult Services.

[25:53] And I feel we have a pretty significant potential of things.

[25:57] We've got one legislative session ahead of us

[26:00] where MACSSA is working really diligently--

[26:03] actually, we're leaving for MACSSA this afternoon--

[26:06] to start grinding out our legislative priorities

[26:09] to address these things.

[26:10] So we'll start with the potential impact

[26:12] of long-term services and supports and those cost shifts.

[26:18] What initially appeared to be a potential, either 2% or 5%,

[26:22] hit to waivered residential services,

[26:25] is now looking to be a little bit different.

[26:28] DHS has put out some preliminary reports for each county,

[26:33] and MACSSA has shared that with us.

[26:35] We are still seeking some additional input

[26:38] from DHS on what this is going to look like.

[26:40] And so right now, what we're hearing

[26:44] is that counties are going to lie somewhere in the middle.

[26:47] And for us, that looks to be maybe at about 3.5% overarching.

[26:53] And the different categories of residential services,

[26:57] I should share with you, that get looked at

[26:59] has to do with waivered residential settings.

[27:03] So group homes, foster care, customized living,

[27:06] family residential services, and integrated community support.

[27:11] So general overview, in 2024, the Developmental Disabilities

[27:17] unit put out really more than $25 million in DD Services

[27:25] here in Rice County.

[27:26] And Cat Caddy NBI, the other waiver programming,

[27:30] put out about $20 million.

[27:33] So if 2028 looks to be at that 3.5% cost shift, what they're

[27:42] saying now a little bit more, and again, we're trying to get

[27:45] more specific in the weeds, is that's going

[27:48] to change every year if we get faced with that.

[27:50] And that's going to really depend.

[27:52] Our numbers fluctuate.

[27:53] We're not always consistent with case numbers.

[27:57] So we're hoping to get more guidance

[27:59] and get real about what those numbers are.

[28:02] But like I said, going into this legislative session,

[28:05] we're really hoping.

[28:07] Last year, there was an advisory task force

[28:09] that was mandated to be put together to look at these cost

[28:13] shifts and have a group of very well-rounded, talented people

[28:18] across the state that know this work inside

[28:20] and out to come together and try to come

[28:23] up with ways that counties can offset this and divert that.

[28:28] And in the 2026 session, DHS and the state of Minnesota

[28:31] did not accept any of those recommendations.

[28:34] And that's why I say we have one last ditch

[28:37] effort to make this happen so that we're not impacted

[28:40] with those cost shifts.

[28:43] We are serving at a more higher rate of increased complexities.

[28:49] You've heard me say that over and over and over again.

[28:53] The demand is unbelievable.

[28:56] And the people we're serving are just at an all-time high.

[29:00] And this has not stopped since COVID.

[29:03] And we're trying to serve those people with less resources.

[29:05] And I know you guys are hearing this all the time,

[29:08] but it's true, our providers are serving more termination notices

[29:12] on more of our complex individuals,

[29:14] which in turn makes the demand of case management,

[29:17] guardianship, having to try to find appropriate placement

[29:21] in an appropriate time frame.

[29:23] So that has really stressed staff out more than we've

[29:29] ever seen in the past.

[29:31] We've had an increased demand of programming changes.

[29:35] MnCHOICES has been one of our biggest ones.

[29:37] So that is kind of our launch into services

[29:42] and supports with MnCHOICES.

[29:44] They did a redesign, I've spoken about that

[29:46] in the past, where they rolled out with MnCHOICES 2.0.

[29:50] So they really gutted that platform and redid it.

[29:55] I wouldn't even say we're proficient in it

[29:59] because there still is always changes.

[30:02] There's still always problems with the platform.

[30:05] They ridded of PCA and now have implemented CFSS, which is

[30:12] more of a budget agency model.

[30:15] And so this in itself has created an increase in appeals,

[30:21] because well, DHS as MnCHOICES is more accurate in calculations

[30:28] and the number of hours people can

[30:31] receive for support in a day.

[30:35] It has significantly changed the outcome.

[30:38] So if somebody was receiving, let's say,

[30:40] eight hours of PCA in a day, now with CFSS,

[30:42] it might have dropped to five.

[30:44] And so that brings us right into an appeal, which individuals

[30:47] have the right to appeal.

[30:50] I will say this cautiously, our appeals judge

[30:53] don't really understand MnCHOICES and the process.

[30:56] And so that takes a lot of time and effort

[30:58] from our staff to work the appeals

[31:02] and prove that we're really just following the implementation

[31:06] of MnCHOICES and CFSS.

[31:07] And that's what the state has chose to roll out.

[31:11] CFSS alone, so if somebody accesses that service

[31:14] and they don't go on a waiver, that is

[31:16] managed by my MnCHOICES unit.

[31:19] They don't have case management.

[31:20] So essentially MnCHOICES is the case management for CFSS.

[31:25] Another piece to that is that it has created a constant turnover

[31:31] of staff having to adjust service agreements,

[31:35] authorization of services.

[31:37] One of the things that the state rolled out with CFSS

[31:40] was Consultative Services.

[31:42] We have lacked the number of providers

[31:44] to be able to work with families to lift those services up.

[31:48] So all of that work is dumped back onto the MnCHOICES unit,

[31:52] and those individuals doing those.

[31:56] Ironically, that is one of the LTSS Advisory Task Force

[32:02] recommendations is just to get rid of Consultative Services

[32:06] altogether.

[32:08] Which is fine because we're doing it anyways,

[32:10] but there's no reimbursement for that.

[32:12] I mean, there is, but it's not catching up with the actual work

[32:16] that they're doing.

[32:17] It is a lot higher demand to implement

[32:19] this support for individuals and families

[32:22] than what it pays out to be.

[32:26] The last one is Individualized Home Supports.

[32:29] So that is another change coming.

[32:31] We don't have a launch date for that yet.

[32:33] Individualized Home Supports is where

[32:37] people can receive services in their own homes

[32:42] and family homes.

[32:43] It can be with training, without training.

[32:46] With training just means that you're actively teaching

[32:50] somebody to develop a skill.

[32:52] Without training is that you're trying to maintain skills

[32:55] that people already have to achieve

[32:57] that level of independence.

[32:59] It can include family support.

[33:03] A person may have been built in with 16 hours of IHS

[33:08] to support them each day, and now they've

[33:11] put in service limits or parameters

[33:14] and they can't be any more.

[33:18] So let's say you have three hours of training with a staff.

[33:23] That's the limit of all you can have for training.

[33:26] And then you have to find other services to supplement

[33:29] the other 13 hours that they once

[33:32] received support in their home.

[33:34] So there's these rule changes, I think,

[33:37] to be cost effective with a budget at the state level.

[33:40] But the impacts that we're seeing

[33:42] down here on a real client level is problematic.

[33:46] And so if somebody needed 16 hours of support

[33:49] in their home to meet their needs,

[33:52] we can't give them that because we have service limitations now.

[33:55] So now staff are having to get real creative about what

[33:58] that looks like.

[34:00] Some of the suggestions from the state

[34:01] has been remote supervision or technology.

[34:04] And you and I both know, not every person with a disability

[34:08] can live in their home and be supervised by a camera.

[34:11] That's not realistic.

[34:14] The last thing that's impacted Adult

[34:16] Services potentially is our new state

[34:19] paid family and medical leave.

[34:21] We have a number of individuals that are out in and enjoying

[34:25] births and things that are beyond our life control,

[34:29] but when you have two people out of a six-person unit,

[34:32] the work just overwhelms staff.

[34:36] So I've spent the last couple of weeks in a number of unit

[34:40] meetings trying to get creative about what we can do to support

[34:43] people that are just really heightened emotionally

[34:46] with caseload coverages, and how can we

[34:49] get creative to support them and maintain

[34:52] morale and keep retention.

[34:55] We have some awesome staff downstairs.

[34:58] We have built some teams that are truly remarkable people.

[35:02] But when their caseload personally is 60

[35:05] and now they're having to cover 120 because their two coworkers

[35:10] are out on a leave, which again, is fine,

[35:13] it is what it is, it just makes that stress even more.

[35:17] So those are some of the things that we're kind of facing.

[35:21] And like I said, we're heading off to MACSSA.

[35:23] And we need your continued support at your platforms,

[35:27] and we'll continue working within MICA, MACSSA, and all

[35:31] of our legislators and positions that we have to try

[35:34] to steer some of the stuff off.

[35:37] One of the things--

[35:38] I'll go back to MnCHOICES really quick, because I failed to say

[35:41] is, and I spoke about this in the past, but as a reminder

[35:44] that there's sunsetting the social services time study.

[35:48] So the reimbursement for MnCHOICES.

[35:51] And they have had, and I've been a pleasure

[35:54] to be a part of that task force, to look at alternative ways

[35:57] to fund counties for MnCHOICES.

[36:01] Anywhere from flat rate reimbursements

[36:04] to a varying scale of percentages.

[36:09] And there has not been a reach to what that might look like.

[36:16] There is a potential of entertainment

[36:18] that appears to be coming our way to completely move MnCHOICES

[36:22] to the state level and no longer administered at the counties.

[36:25]

[36:28] I don't know that I can support that.

[36:30] I think that we hold ownership to the people that we work with,

[36:34] and we're invested in our community and the people

[36:37] that we serve.

[36:38] And some of these people we have been

[36:39] serving and seeing year after year after year after year.

[36:44] So that's a hard one to swallow.

[36:46] And hopefully we can get a little more clarification

[36:49] this week too on where that's coming from,

[36:51] but I wanted to share that with you as well.

[36:54] So do you have any questions for me?

[36:59] CHARLIE PETERS: Questions, Commissioners?

[37:02] Commissioner Underdahl.

[37:03] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Megan, just what I'm

[37:04] hearing with a lot of these is, there's program reductions,

[37:07] but I'm gathering that on the flip side,

[37:12] there's not a mandate for us to provide more than what

[37:15] the requirement is or is there?

[37:18] MEGAN THOMAS: All of these are mandated services.

[37:21] It's the work within the scope of these changes

[37:25] that is creating more work.

[37:26] So yes, the revenue is going down

[37:29] or potentially cost shifting from state to county,

[37:34] and sharing that responsibility where we're taking

[37:36] on more than the state is.

[37:39] So when they redesign MnCHOICES, that doubled the work in itself.

[37:44] When they got rid of PCA and implemented CFSS,

[37:47] that quadrupled the work in itself.

[37:50] So yeah, within these things, they're all mandated.

[37:55] They restructured things that counties

[37:58] are just bearing the brunt of all of it with no support.

[38:03] STEVE UNDERDAHL: OK.

[38:04] CHARLIE PETERS: Sarah, did you--

[38:05] FEMALE SPEAKER: Just circle back to LTSS for a moment,

[38:07] for the budget.

[38:08] So this can be policy discussion later on if you want it to be,

[38:12] but we did budget for half a year of the LTSS cost shift.

[38:18] What we did, just under 1% levy increase to account

[38:22] for that half a year.

[38:23] So then the following year, it would be another.

[38:26] If this goes as is--

[38:27] MEGAN THOMAS: Possibly 3 and 1/2, who knows.

[38:29] FEMALE SPEAKER: It would keep moving.

[38:32] But some counties are kind of hedging on

[38:37] that the legislature will do something next year

[38:39] and we won't have to take this on.

[38:41] So this is something that we have in our budget,

[38:44] but if we get close to December and you all

[38:47] feel through your discussions or things

[38:49] that you want to look at maybe not levying for it

[38:53] and seeing what happens, that is a policy decision.

[38:55] Right now we do have it in our budget

[38:57] because things have not indicated otherwise.

[38:59] And we won't know until legislative session next year.

[39:02] And so right now, this is in our budget.

[39:05] Some counties are not.

[39:06] So I want to make sure I was transparent about that.

[39:08] And that can be a policy decision before we set

[39:11] final in December with you all.

[39:12] CHARLIE PETERS: So am I correct?

[39:14] 1% it will add to our levy?

[39:17] FEMALE SPEAKER: Almost 1% for half a year.

[39:19] Correct.

[39:21] MEGAN THOMAS: Thank you.

[39:22] CHARLIE PETERS: Any other questions or comments?

[39:24] Go with Gerry first.

[39:26] GERRY HOISINGTON: Megan, how many adults are we serving now?

[39:29] Do you have any idea?

[39:30] MEGAN THOMAS: Close to 400 on the waiver.

[39:34] GERRY HOISINGTON: OK.

[39:35] And could you touch base a little bit more on,

[39:40] you said in-home services.

[39:42] What does that look like?

[39:43] I mean, how does that work?

[39:46] MEGAN THOMAS: Are you referring to the IHS, Gerry,

[39:49] the Individualized Home Supports, or just--

[39:51] GERRY HOISINGTON: You had mentioned that your hours

[39:53] were cut from three to--

[39:55] you had 16, now it cut to three.

[39:57] MEGAN THOMAS: So that could look like somebody

[40:00] is living at home with their mom and dad still,

[40:02] and they're on a waiver.

[40:03] And they were receiving in-home support.

[40:06] So a provider or maybe the family members

[40:09] themselves are delegating or receiving a number of hours

[40:14] during the day where they're using those training skills.

[40:17] So maybe you have somebody in that 18 to 21

[40:20] transitional phase, and you're working

[40:23] on budgeting, and money skills, and some of

[40:27] those independent life skills.

[40:29] That could fall under family with training.

[40:33] It could also compromise of, like,

[40:35] meal preparation and cooking.

[40:36] So some of those basic ADLs, or activities of daily living,

[40:41] that you and I already know how to do,

[40:43] hopefully, but people with disabilities

[40:46] don't always know how to do that.

[40:48] And so it could also mean where somebody

[40:52] is living independently in an apartment

[40:55] and being served by a provider.

[40:57] Laura Baker, for example.

[40:59] And we have an individual that's living in her own apartment

[41:03] independently and served by Laura Baker,

[41:06] had a high number of individualized home supports

[41:09] with training to maintain her there.

[41:11] So these service limits are impacting people

[41:14] at real time and real places.

[41:17] GERRY HOISINGTON: So when you actually have staff with them

[41:19] during that time, that's how it works?

[41:22] MEGAN THOMAS: Not everybody is able to be independent

[41:25] or home alone.

[41:26] You have some people that can, some people that can't.

[41:30] But it's how, yeah, we're working

[41:32] on either improving independent skills

[41:34] or maintaining independent skills.

[41:37] GERRY HOISINGTON: OK.

[41:38] Thanks for that clarification.

[41:39] MEGAN THOMAS: You bet.

[41:40] CHARLIE PETERS: Commissioner Malecha.

[41:41] GALEN MALECHA: Sure.

[41:42] So you kind of touched on it.

[41:43] So Individual Home Support, and you have Laura Baker

[41:48] that does family navigation.

[41:50] MEGAN THOMAS: Correct.

[41:51] They do.

[41:52] Yep.

[41:52] GALEN MALECHA: So how does that work?

[41:54] Just say, for example, you have an individual

[41:58] that was living on their own.

[42:00] So who pays?

[42:01] How does that get paid?

[42:02] How does that all work?

[42:04] MEGAN THOMAS: So my understanding

[42:05] is that the family navigation is,

[42:09] Laura Baker is billing families or individuals for that service.

[42:14] GALEN MALECHA: So it's a direct pay or is there a government--

[42:18] MEGAN THOMAS: I am not aware that it is an MA-funded service.

[42:22] I think they are charging families for that service.

[42:25] And so if they have a family, let's say,

[42:27] that relocates to Northfield from a northern county

[42:31] and they're seeking services for their loved one,

[42:35] they may seek out Laura Baker and do family navigation rather

[42:39] than coming to the county and essentially

[42:42] getting the same thing.

[42:43] We work pretty closely with the navigators,

[42:45] have had a couple meetings, and we are essentially

[42:49] doing the same stuff.

[42:52] But they are billing for that.

[42:57] I mean, we wouldn't be able to bill for it either.

[42:59] They're providing those recommendations,

[43:01] like establishing a school.

[43:05] Do they need an IEP?

[43:07] Do they need a waiver?

[43:08] We start with a MnCHOICES.

[43:09] So they help those families and people

[43:11] walk through that as well.

[43:13] GALEN MALECHA: So we don't bill for it,

[43:17] is that what you're saying?

[43:18] MEGAN THOMAS: No.

[43:18] If somebody walks into the county's front door and says,

[43:21] "I need help at home," it starts with our intake social worker

[43:25] to gather more feedback, and then we feed that

[43:28] to the appropriate department.

[43:29] And if it goes to MnCHOICES for referral,

[43:33] MnCHOICES puts them on the list and we complete the MnCHOICES.

[43:36] So yeah, those aren't billable services until we

[43:41] actually start doing the work.

[43:43] GALEN MALECHA: OK.

[43:47] CHARLIE PETERS: Any other comments?

[43:50] GERRY HOISINGTON: Charlie.

[43:52] CHARLIE PETERS: Commissioner Hoisington.

[43:53] GERRY HOISINGTON: Thank you.

[43:55] Well, this, Megan, might be more directed towards Rick.

[43:58] Rick, you gave us a number of how many yearly calls

[44:03] you get in social services.

[44:06] 35,000, is that--

[44:08] RICK: That is correct.

[44:09]

[44:12] Yeah, and that, I think, goes all to the front main line

[44:15] number that we checked.

[44:16] So that's where they get into the phone tree.

[44:20] But on the addition, 35,000 calls a year to the front main

[44:26] line, in addition to that, kind of what I was

[44:28] mentioning was potential use of AI,

[44:32] it's also these other points--

[44:34] FEMALE SPEAKER: Rick, can I have you go to the mic, please?

[44:37] Thank you.

[44:37]

[44:40] GERRY HOISINGTON: So excuse me, I just got a text

[44:43] from one of my constituents.

[44:44] Sherry, they said they couldn't listen.

[44:47] FEMALE SPEAKER: They couldn't hear.

[44:48] He wasn't at a speaker.

[44:50] RICK: That's my bad.

[44:50] I'll repeat it here.

[44:51] Yes, 35,000 calls come to the direct main line per year.

[44:56] And what I was mentioning earlier, in addition,

[44:59] if there was a potential use of AI,

[45:02] there's all these when a call does go through

[45:04] and it goes through income maintenance, that's

[45:06] where they read the rights and responsibilities for those

[45:09] applying for public assistance.

[45:11] But 35,000 calls is what we're looking at.

[45:16] Those are the ones that come through.

[45:18] We also have a very confusing phone tree where I

[45:21] think a lot of people give up.

[45:23] So if you call the main line, you

[45:25] might be on it for a while where it's like, for this,

[45:27] press 1, for this, press 2, and it kind of goes up

[45:31] to 10, instead of being able to just say,

[45:34] what are you looking for?

[45:36] So I guess what I'm getting to is 35,000

[45:39] is probably what we take.

[45:42] Yeah.

[45:42] GERRY HOISINGTON: That is a big number, in my humble opinion.

[45:47] RICK: It is.

[45:48]

[45:51] CHARLIE PETERS: Any other questions or comments?

[45:54] Well, thank you for the bad news.

[45:57] MEGAN THOMAS: I know.

[45:58] Thanks.

[45:59] Thank you.

[45:59]

[46:07] MALE SPEAKER: Good morning, Commissioners.

[46:08] CHARLIE PETERS: Good morning.

[46:09] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Good morning.

[46:10] MALE SPEAKER: I'm going to give an overview of how

[46:12] federal and state legislation is potentially

[46:15] going to impact Rice County.

[46:17] Before I review some of the legislative impacts,

[46:20] I'm going to give a brief overview of Rice County

[46:23] administered programs, in particular, public assistance

[46:27] programs.

[46:28] Rice County determines eligibility and maintenance

[46:31] for approximately 10,000 cases, of which 7,000

[46:37] are medical assistance cases.

[46:39] And Rice County also administers approximately 2,000 SNAP cases.

[46:45] We also maintain and determine eligibility

[46:47] for TANF, MFIP family cash programs, adult cash programs,

[46:54] housing support, emergency assistance,

[46:56] and county burial assistance.

[46:59] The average caseload size for each financial eligibility

[47:02] worker is 280.

[47:06] There are several significant legislative changes that

[47:10] directly impact Rice County.

[47:13] HR 1, or the Reconciliation Act, or commonly

[47:16] known as the Big Beautiful Bill, was signed

[47:19] into law on July 4, 2025.

[47:23] The legislation shifted funding from the federal government

[47:26] to counties, the first of which is the increased cost

[47:30] to administer our SNAP program.

[47:33] In 2025, the federal government and the county administrative

[47:38] funding was split 50/50.

[47:41] Starting in the fourth quarter of this year,

[47:43] it shifted to 75% funding for the county and 25% funding

[47:48] for the federal government.

[47:52] In 2025, the county cost to administer

[47:55] the SNAP program was $725,000.

[47:59] The shift, starting in the fourth quarter of this year,

[48:02] will bring the 2026 total to $857,000,

[48:06] so approximately $150,000 increase

[48:09] just for this fourth quarter.

[48:12] In 2027, the county responsibility will be $1.2

[48:16] million, which is a $400,000 increase

[48:20] from '26 to '27 from federal funding shifted to the county.

[48:25]

[48:28] The second significant impact is the benefit cost

[48:32] share determined by a state error rate.

[48:34] Prior and including this year, the federal government

[48:38] funded 100% of all SNAP benefits issued.

[48:42] Starting in the fourth quarter of 2027,

[48:45] states will share a cost of funding actual benefits based

[48:50] on each state's error rate.

[48:53] Minnesota has decided to shift these costs to the counties.

[48:57] The current error rate for the state of Minnesota

[48:59] is approximately 13%.

[49:03] That 13% bracket puts us into a 15% county

[49:09] cost share for SNAP benefits.

[49:12] The projected impact for the fourth quarter

[49:15] for 2027 is $163,000 shift from the federal

[49:21] government to Rice County.

[49:24] There is some discussion that the state may split that error

[49:27] rate cost shift with the county's 50/50,

[49:30] but nothing definitive yet, except just discussions.

[49:34] The combined legislative impact for 2027

[49:38] is $563 shifted from the federal government to Rice County.

[49:45]

[49:49] Additional impact from legislative changes

[49:52] is the increased workload for financial eligibility workers.

[49:56] Legislation has introduced work requirements

[49:59] for certain individuals that receive medical assistance.

[50:03] This means that certain populations

[50:04] must meet a minimum work requirement

[50:06] to receive ongoing eligibility.

[50:09] The tracking and redetermine of eligibility

[50:12] will be a significant increase for the workers.

[50:15] In addition, legislation has also

[50:17] introduced six-month renewals for certain Medicaid recipients.

[50:22] This is a change from an annual renewal,

[50:25] and now it will be a six month, plus an annual renewal.

[50:29] These last two changes will significantly

[50:32] increase the volume of work at the same time

[50:35] with having all of the decrease funding.

[50:39] So those are the fairly significant legislative changes

[50:44] for Rice County.

[50:47] CHARLIE PETERS: Any questions?

[50:49] Comments?

[50:50] JIM PURFEERST: I have a question.

[50:52] CHARLIE PETERS: Commissioner Purfeerst.

[50:53] JIM PURFEERST: You were talking there's 2,000 SNAP cases.

[50:57] What's a case consist of?

[51:00] Is that a household or an individual?

[51:02] MALE SPEAKER: That's just an individual case.

[51:04] We serve approximately 4,000 total recipients,

[51:10] but just 2,000 cases.

[51:12] JIM PURFEERST: OK.

[51:13] Thank you.

[51:14]

[51:17] CHARLIE PETERS: Question for Sarah, actually.

[51:21] What's this levy effect?

[51:23] FEMALE SPEAKER: So for next year, 1% levy is a little

[51:27] over $400,000, like $430,000.

[51:30] So if you look at the cost shift, that's 1%.

[51:34] The SNAP error rate, that's just going to be under half a percent

[51:38] there.

[51:40] But we'll talk total, because they've done really,

[51:42] really good work, a lot of meetings, a lot of diving

[51:46] into reimbursements, looking at efficiencies,

[51:49] some of the one-time money coming in.

[51:51] So we'll sum up the total levy impact at the end.

[51:55] But you can see all these individual pieces

[51:58] put a lot of pressure on it.

[51:59] And as a department, they're coming in

[52:01] under what the total shifts are, including salary

[52:04] increases and things like that.

[52:06] So we'll sum that up at the end.

[52:07] But as part of a shift, we did have

[52:09] to figure out how to offset this somehow or put it on the levy.

[52:13] So again, around that $430,000, [INAUDIBLE] is 1% levy increase.

[52:20] CHARLIE PETERS: OK, thank you.

[52:21] Any other?

[52:22] Commissioner Hoisington.

[52:23] GERRY HOISINGTON: Yeah, I know you've clarified this for us

[52:28] before, but this error rate is, like, 13%,

[52:32] or whatever you said it was.

[52:33] But our error rate in Rice County is much lower in that.

[52:37] Is that correct?

[52:38] MALE SPEAKER: Correct.

[52:40] We receive error rates quarterly.

[52:44] And I believe Sarah and Rick are able to review those.

[52:47] But each time I have a discussion with Rick,

[52:49] and I said, we need to be careful about being

[52:54] excited about a 0% error rate.

[52:57] So oftentimes we have 0%.

[53:00] But with the 2,000 cases, in a year's time, they may review

[53:05] four to seven cases total.

[53:08] So it takes one error out of those cases

[53:11] to bring our error rate from 0% to 25%.

[53:15] For example, if they review four cases, what they're looking at

[53:19] is the total of benefits issued.

[53:22] So in this example, out of four cases, let's say

[53:25] we issued $1,000 in benefits.

[53:30] If they find an error in one of those cases

[53:33] for $250, that brings our error rate up to 25%,

[53:38] because it's the amount of benefits

[53:40] we issued with the error amount divided by the four cases.

[53:46] And so it could very easily jump from 0% to 25%.

[53:52] There's an example where an individual,

[53:56] when we determine eligibility for SNAP,

[53:58] we start with their income.

[54:00] And then we use certain deductions

[54:02] to get their income down, so they might

[54:04] be eligible for more benefits.

[54:07] One of which is we use a portion of rent

[54:10] as a deduction from their income.

[54:14] An individual was displaced from their home in February,

[54:19] and due to flood damage or it could be a fire

[54:23] or it could be mold damage, whatever it might be,

[54:25] they're displaced from their home

[54:27] and had to stay with family and friends.

[54:30] During that time, they were not required to pay rent

[54:33] for their landlord, but during this quality control review

[54:38] by the state, they determined that we were giving that rent

[54:43] deduction for that one month they were out of the house,

[54:46] but they weren't actually paying rent.

[54:48] So there's an error rate of $250.

[54:52] We were not aware of that.

[54:54] But even the individual, the recipient of SNAP,

[54:57] was required to report that to our agency,

[55:00] but never reported it.

[55:02] It still counts as an error for us.

[55:04] So that $250 could equate to a 25% error rate.

[55:11] And this has been scenarios that have occurred before.

[55:14]

[55:17] GERRY HOISINGTON: I guess I don't understand that math.

[55:21] I mean, how one incident would all of a sudden

[55:25] bring you from 0% to 25% error rate.

[55:29] I'm not clicking with that.

[55:30] MALE SPEAKER: Yeah, if there's $250

[55:32] of error out of $1,000, and there's four cases,

[55:37] it equates to 25%.

[55:42] If it were five cases in a $200 error rate over $1,000,

[55:49] it would be a 20% error rate.

[55:52] CHARLIE PETERS: So they just go off of the cases

[55:54] that they pull out.

[55:55] Yes.

[55:56] And not our total amount of cases, just the four or five

[56:01] that they pull.

[56:02] MALE SPEAKER: The interesting thing

[56:03] about Minnesota's error rate.

[56:05] So we've traditionally had a lower error rate

[56:10] than the rest of the country.

[56:12] In just the last couple of years, due to several factors,

[56:16] we're up to about a 13% error rate.

[56:19] A lot of that has to do with the technology

[56:22] that is in front of us.

[56:24] It's highly complex, it's outdated,

[56:28] and it increases error rate sometimes.

[56:32] GERRY HOISINGTON: So this 13% error

[56:34] rate is shared by all of our state, all of our counties?

[56:38] Is that how it works?

[56:39] MALE SPEAKER: Correct.

[56:39]

[56:44] CHARLIE PETERS: Any other questions?

[56:45] Comments?

[56:46]

[56:48] Thank you.

[56:49] MALE SPEAKER: Thank you.

[56:50]

[56:53] CHARLIE PETERS: Angela.

[56:54]

[56:58] ANGELA: Good morning, Commissioners.

[57:00] CHARLIE PETERS: Good morning.

[57:00] ANGELA: I don't know if it's better

[57:02] or worse to be the last one up.

[57:03] [LAUGHTER]

[57:05] GERRY HOISINGTON: Let's say better.

[57:07] JIM PURFEERST: Bring good news.

[57:08] ANGELA: I have really a mixed bag of positive and negative

[57:12] news to share.

[57:14] And if you've ever done any professional development work

[57:19] and read the book, Eat That Frog,

[57:21] that's where I'm going to start.

[57:22] The principle of that is, you tackle the hardest thing first.

[57:25] GALEN MALECHA: What's the name of the book?

[57:27] ANGELA: Eat That Frog.

[57:30] So in the Community Corrections world,

[57:33] we have mostly mandated services,

[57:36] but we also have a lot of trickle down effect of things

[57:40] that occur at the state level that impact those mandates

[57:44] that are not always as obvious as they may be in other places

[57:50] where you have a very obvious shift into your work.

[57:54] So I do want to talk a little bit about that in terms

[57:58] of the CCA subsidy and funding from the state and services

[58:03] that we're required to do.

[58:04] So that's the frog of this part of the presentation,

[58:08] I'd like to tackle the negative piece first.

[58:10] And we can talk a little bit about some

[58:12] of the positive things happening in our arena after that.

[58:17] The challenging part about budgeting for the 2027 calendar

[58:21] year is that next year is a biennium

[58:24] budget year for the state.

[58:26] And so right now, what we're planning for the funding

[58:30] in our CCA subsidy in the second half of 2027

[58:34] is speculation based on the funding formula, where we expect

[58:39] our case load numbers to be, and a variety of other policies

[58:45] that may be a subject of discussion

[58:48] during the legislative session.

[58:51] Last year, when we planned our budget,

[58:53] we had a surprise deduction from our CCA subsidy

[58:57] that we weren't aware was going to be a shift to us.

[59:00] And that was in terms of our county's prorated cost

[59:06] of the interstate compact unit.

[59:09] So when that cost shifted back to the counties last year,

[59:13] that just became a deduction off of your calculation

[59:17] of your CCA subsidy.

[59:18] So our planning for the '26 budget

[59:22] was a little bit overfunding on paper than what it looked

[59:30] like when everything shook out.

[59:31] And so this year, in planning the 2027 budget,

[59:36] I took a look at the models that we would have in the upcoming

[59:41] biennium for funding for public safety

[59:43] and took the more conservative route for that, which would be

[59:48] no change in the public safety funding

[59:52] and that deduction from Interstate Compact.

[59:55] That is a conversation you may have heard in your platforms

[59:59] through AMC.

[1:00:00] Both of those topics have been discussed,

[1:00:04] primarily the public safety funding bill,

[1:00:06] for a very long time.

[1:00:08] As you might recall from those discussions,

[1:00:11] that has been underfunded by 10 to $12,000

[1:00:15] per year in the statewide look in their viewpoint.

[1:00:21] The Community Corrections counties and other state

[1:00:25] probation counties around the state

[1:00:27] just completed a workload study that was part of the CSAC

[1:00:31] recommendations, is that we do a statewide study to see what

[1:00:36] is the actual need for probation and supervised release

[1:00:40] services across the state.

[1:00:42] And that is supposed to be used to inform the public safety

[1:00:47] funding formula.

[1:00:48] So I anticipate in your AMC platforms,

[1:00:51] you will hear about that in discussion

[1:00:54] as we move toward the legislative session in 2027.

[1:00:58] And would really encourage you to be

[1:01:00] a part of those conversations to really promote

[1:01:04] fair and equitable funding for public safety,

[1:01:07] because that is a place where cost, in a more subtle way,

[1:01:12] shift back to the counties.

[1:01:13] If we are underfunded, but we still have the same level

[1:01:16] of mandated services to provide in our communities,

[1:01:21] it's a shift out of that funding formula.

[1:01:24] So really encourage you to pay attention to conversations

[1:01:28] around that workload study.

[1:01:30] We have not seen the results of that yet,

[1:01:32] so I don't know what their recommendations are.

[1:01:36] But we are still seeing the impact of implementation

[1:01:40] of the 2023 legislative session that

[1:01:42] has taken the last few years for the CSAC deliverable committees

[1:01:47] to really get those policies underway, get

[1:01:50] those practices in.

[1:01:52] The state just completed a validation study

[1:01:56] on the Risk Needs tool that's used statewide, which they had

[1:01:59] planned also to use results of to set forward statewide contact

[1:02:06] standards.

[1:02:06] And if you've been following that at all

[1:02:09] in your other committee platforms,

[1:02:12] that validation study came back with significant challenges

[1:02:16] to the validation with Minnesota's population.

[1:02:20] So there are a lot of conversations happening

[1:02:22] about what is the direction we will

[1:02:25] take as a state in terms of seeking or revalidating

[1:02:30] Risk Needs tool.

[1:02:32] Again, one of the things I think is important for you

[1:02:34] to listen for in those conversations

[1:02:38] is really thinking about what their solutions or their

[1:02:42] proposed solutions to that are.

[1:02:44] One of them that's on the table right

[1:02:46] now is to increase the cutoff scores of that risk assessment

[1:02:51] to better match the validation of the tool, which sounds

[1:02:58] great on paper, but when you think about it in practice,

[1:03:02] one of the things you've heard from everyone else in Community

[1:03:05] Services is that our needs of our population

[1:03:09] have increased so significantly.

[1:03:12] And for us in Community Corrections, a lot of that

[1:03:14] centers around people's mental health.

[1:03:16] We've seen a significant increase

[1:03:18] in people with severe mental illness

[1:03:21] coming into the corrections system.

[1:03:23] That is a piece of a person's overall risk in need

[1:03:27] that is not measured by that risk assessment tool.

[1:03:30] So if they set the standards higher, meaning less people

[1:03:33] are on supervision, that looks great on paper.

[1:03:36] But in practice that does not make our communities

[1:03:39] necessarily safer.

[1:03:40] It does not mean we are serving the people who

[1:03:43] really may need that service to avoid

[1:03:46] continued criminal behavior.

[1:03:48] And the other impact that it has that you don't see

[1:03:51] in those recommendations is that in the Community Correction

[1:03:55] subsidy formula, less supervised individuals equates

[1:04:00] to less of your CCA subsidy.

[1:04:03] So we are servicing people with very high needs.

[1:04:07] And if that shrinks, those needs are still in our community.

[1:04:10] They're being unserviced.

[1:04:12] And that cost shift mostly shifts over to law enforcement

[1:04:15] then if they have continued criminal behavior,

[1:04:18] but they're not on supervision and we're

[1:04:19] not providing interventions.

[1:04:21] At the same time, the piece of the CCA

[1:04:24] subsidy received by the county would be shrinking.

[1:04:27] So workload may be higher, even with less actual individuals

[1:04:32] on supervision.

[1:04:33] And that is what we're seeing as a trend in the last 12 to 18

[1:04:38] months, is that our caseload numbers have actually gone down,

[1:04:42] which is why we have a negative impact in our CCA subsidy

[1:04:46] in the forecast for the next biennium.

[1:04:49] But our workload has gone up, much like the other divisions

[1:04:53] in Community Services, primarily due to the high need of

[1:04:57] the population we are serving.

[1:05:00] So in terms of mandated versus non-mandated in the Community

[1:05:04] Corrections world, you've heard me say in many presentations

[1:05:08] before, we don't have an eligibility criteria,

[1:05:12] so to speak, when people come to the door.

[1:05:14] No one comes to us voluntarily asking for service.

[1:05:17] We receive individuals from the court.

[1:05:20] When law enforcement is busy, it translates into court busyness,

[1:05:24] which somewhere down the line translates

[1:05:26] into more folks for us.

[1:05:29] One of the things that I also know from other conversations

[1:05:33] across the CJC meeting in particular, where Mr. Mortensen,

[1:05:38] our county attorney, presented numbers

[1:05:40] about backlogged cases and the timeliness

[1:05:44] of cases coming through the court system in Rice County.

[1:05:47] There is a very large number of cases

[1:05:51] pending in the Rice County courts.

[1:05:53] At some point, those cases are going to resolve

[1:05:56] and they will come to Community Corrections.

[1:05:58] So when there is a slowdown in the court system,

[1:06:02] eventually those floodgates open and they come to us.

[1:06:05] And we've seen that in the past, where all of the sudden

[1:06:07] our caseloads just, we get a huge wave of work.

[1:06:10] And so we have to really be careful in looking

[1:06:14] at forecasting what our workload looks like.

[1:06:16] In Community Corrections, our caseloads really

[1:06:20] are a reflection of crime rates 12 months ago,

[1:06:24] because oftentimes it takes at least 12 months for a case

[1:06:27] to make its way through the entire court system

[1:06:29] and come to us on the tail-end of supervision.

[1:06:33] There are three places where we provide service

[1:06:36] and Community Corrections that are

[1:06:38] not mandated by state statute.

[1:06:42] One is in diversion for youth and our pre-charge adult

[1:06:46] diversion program.

[1:06:48] Diversion is a function of the county attorney's office.

[1:06:52] We provide supervision for individuals

[1:06:54] on diversion supervision.

[1:06:58] In the adult world, we have a grant that funds a quarter time

[1:07:03] probation officer position.

[1:07:05] That is the one that provides supervision and screening

[1:07:08] to the PCAD program.

[1:07:10] In juvenile diversion, that is provided

[1:07:13] by our juvenile probation officers.

[1:07:15] A second place that we do not have

[1:07:18] a state mandate to provide for services

[1:07:20] is pretrial supervision.

[1:07:22] We do have a fairly robust intake

[1:07:24] and pretrial services unit.

[1:07:27] We have brought them before you in the past

[1:07:29] to talk about what pretrial services

[1:07:32] look like in Rice County.

[1:07:35] A challenge to just saying, "well, that's not mandated,

[1:07:38] so we're not going to provide that" is,

[1:07:41] there are a fair number of people that are a high risk

[1:07:46] for either further criminal behavior, victim violations,

[1:07:50] substance abuse, or flight risk that are

[1:07:53] placed on supervision with us.

[1:07:55] And by providing pretrial supervision,

[1:07:58] we create an increased safety for our communities

[1:08:02] and our victims pending those court cases, especially

[1:08:05] when we know that some of those cases

[1:08:07] may take 12 months to resolve.

[1:08:09] That's a very long time for someone

[1:08:12] who has risk in the community to maintain pro-social behavior

[1:08:17] and avoid violations or contact with their victim

[1:08:21] without any interventions.

[1:08:24] The third place that we are not mandated to provide service

[1:08:27] is in our specialty courts.

[1:08:29] Both of our specialty courts, Drug Treatment and Mental Health

[1:08:33] Court, receive outside funding from the state judicial branch.

[1:08:37] Mental Health Court, which we were very excited to launch just

[1:08:41] about six weeks ago, at this time,

[1:08:44] will be fully funded by the amount we receive

[1:08:48] through the judicial branch, because we have not filled

[1:08:52] that program to capacity, and we are

[1:08:54] not really knowing what the ultimate costs of that will be.

[1:08:59] Having the funding for Mental Health Court

[1:09:01] has helped offset our Drug Treatment Court costs.

[1:09:05] In the past, we've looked at the ratio

[1:09:07] of funding for Drug Treatment Court

[1:09:10] through the state and the county.

[1:09:12] There is a 30% minimum that we are required to meet,

[1:09:17] in some form, whether that's through cash investment, staff

[1:09:21] investment, in-kind from our partners,

[1:09:23] it does not have to be 30% in terms of cash money

[1:09:28] investment in that program.

[1:09:30] But by splitting the specialty courts across the one

[1:09:34] coordinator we have, because there's capacity

[1:09:36] for both programs, half of the salary and benefits

[1:09:40] for the coordinator from Drug Treatment Court

[1:09:42] are now attributed to Mental Health Court.

[1:09:44] So that has helped us increase the state's ratio of what

[1:09:49] they're paying in the Drug Treatment Court

[1:09:51] in our budget looking ahead to 2027.

[1:09:55] So those are our non-mandated services

[1:09:58] and the negative challenges to our CCA subsidy.

[1:10:01] On a much more positive front, as soon as just late last week,

[1:10:07] we were notified that two of our two federal grants that were

[1:10:11] expiring on September 30th of this year,

[1:10:14] both have been given a no cost extension to continue to provide

[1:10:19] the services in those grants and utilize

[1:10:21] the remaining funds for those.

[1:10:24] One is our fiscal year '22 co-sub grant.

[1:10:28] This is actually our fifth year with that grant.

[1:10:31] It originated as a three-year grant.

[1:10:33] So this is our second and final extension that we

[1:10:37] will receive in that program.

[1:10:40] The majority of the funding in that program

[1:10:43] benefits the PCAD, the Pre-Charge Adult Diversion.

[1:10:47] So it helps support staff in our department.

[1:10:51] Heavily supports activities in the community

[1:10:53] for pre-treatment beds and law enforcement training

[1:10:57] and costs associated with that.

[1:10:59] So our law enforcement partners in the community

[1:11:02] benefit from that grant as well.

[1:11:05] The other grant that was extended

[1:11:07] is the Second Chance Smart Supervision grant.

[1:11:11] That grant provides enhancements on supervision

[1:11:14] to help remove barriers to individual success

[1:11:17] on supervision.

[1:11:18] So provisions of that help with transportation

[1:11:22] to get people to court their drug testing appointments

[1:11:25] with their probation officers.

[1:11:27] To their cog skills programs, it helps

[1:11:30] support training for our staff in

[1:11:32] those cognitive interventions.

[1:11:34] So it is a shift in cost from our department budget

[1:11:38] into the grant budget.

[1:11:41] We also have been able to offset costs

[1:11:44] associated with electronic alcohol monitoring

[1:11:47] on a pre-trial basis.

[1:11:49] It's one of the larger expenses we have with pretrial is helping

[1:11:53] fund alcohol monitoring in the community,

[1:11:57] which is required by statute.

[1:11:59] So in that aspect, that portion of pretrial supervision

[1:12:02] is a mandate, but it's not a mandated cost for us.

[1:12:06] It's a mandated cost for individuals

[1:12:09] who are charged with DWI.

[1:12:11] Unfortunately, because of the long time it takes to get

[1:12:15] through the court system, some people have been on alcohol

[1:12:18] monitors for nine months, 12 months while they're waiting

[1:12:22] for their case to resolve, and many individuals cannot

[1:12:26] afford to pay for that monitoring in lieu

[1:12:28] of bail or incarceration.

[1:12:31] And that grant has helped offset that and increase public safety

[1:12:35] while minimizing continued alcohol

[1:12:38] violations in that population.

[1:12:40] So the final one that I would add

[1:12:44] is a positive in terms of revenue

[1:12:46] from the outside sources, is the Crisis Response grant, which

[1:12:51] this board just accepted a couple of meetings ago,

[1:12:54] that will fund the Compass coordinator

[1:12:57] and the Compass program.

[1:12:58] Rick spoke about that in his opening remarks

[1:13:03] about this presentation.

[1:13:06] Just like Social Service divisions,

[1:13:08] our juvenile out-of-home placements, they ebb and flow.

[1:13:11] Again, it's a place where Community

[1:13:13] Corrections pays the bill for detention

[1:13:16] and court-ordered placements.

[1:13:18] We oftentimes have very little input on the front-end,

[1:13:22] particularly with detention placements.

[1:13:25] Just like Social Services, we've seen the number of placements

[1:13:28] actually decrease, but our costs have ballooned and increased.

[1:13:33] We are at budget for 2026.

[1:13:36] But as Chris mentioned, your one placement away from suddenly

[1:13:40] being over budget because you really

[1:13:43] don't have a lot of control over some of those things.

[1:13:46] The courts issue placements, the facilities set their per diems.

[1:13:52] We saw a huge increase in daily per diem rates

[1:13:55] about two years ago.

[1:13:57] A lot of shelter facilities, secure facilities all

[1:14:01] raised their rates in an incredible way.

[1:14:04] That had a very negative impact on that budget.

[1:14:07] So far this year, we have had 15 juveniles who have

[1:14:13] been in some form of placement.

[1:14:14] That could be one day in detention

[1:14:17] after an arrest from the police, and they're

[1:14:19] released the next day, to I think our longest

[1:14:23] has been in placement most of the year,

[1:14:25] and that is in a residential sex offender treatment program.

[1:14:28] So there's a wide variance in the placements that we've had.

[1:14:31] There's been a total of 30 out of home placements.

[1:14:35] Just over a third of those were law

[1:14:37] enforcement-initiated detention for a new arrest.

[1:14:41] So just to give a little picture about how that looks.

[1:14:46] Looking forward to '27, we are not looking to raise the budget

[1:14:50] for our out-of-home placements.

[1:14:51] We are doing very good casework in our juvenile unit,

[1:14:56] working very closely with our Social Service partners

[1:14:59] through both family preservation and through casework,

[1:15:03] to try to provide wraparound services to youth

[1:15:07] and their families in an effort to avoid placements where we can

[1:15:11] and keep kids at home with their families in the community,

[1:15:14] if it is safe for them to be there,

[1:15:16] both for them and for their families.

[1:15:20] The last piece I would share from Community Corrections.

[1:15:22] Again, it mirrors what we are seeing in the other divisions.

[1:15:26] We are always heavily focused on staff retention.

[1:15:30] As you know, we have invested a great deal in training

[1:15:35] and staff development.

[1:15:37] That has enabled us to have multiple staff in our department

[1:15:40] who are trainers of curriculum and training requirements

[1:15:46] that we are required to have in probation,

[1:15:48] but we are able to train in-house

[1:15:50] because of the time and training that we've invested.

[1:15:55] We have leveraged free opportunities

[1:15:57] through the National Institute of Corrections in many cases,

[1:16:00] where we have been able to have our staff trained, at no cost

[1:16:04] to the county, trained at the federal level,

[1:16:07] or trained to be trainers and bring that back and train

[1:16:10] the rest of our staff.

[1:16:11] And so that has been a place where we've

[1:16:15] been able to be extremely efficient with training

[1:16:17] dollars and staff time for travel

[1:16:20] and things of that nature.

[1:16:22] We do have three individuals who are on family leave.

[1:16:26] So again, as Megan mentioned, when you have three people

[1:16:31] out in a small unit, that does tend then

[1:16:35] to bring on a lot of extra work and burden

[1:16:37] to the other staff, which can be overwhelming.

[1:16:41] Everyone has really banded together

[1:16:44] and worked very, very hard.

[1:16:46] We have incredible staff at Community Corrections.

[1:16:49] They operate as a team, they support each other,

[1:16:52] and they are making sure that the excellent service

[1:16:55] that people expect from our department has continued,

[1:16:59] and nothing has lapsed in the absence of their three partners.

[1:17:04] So with that, thank you for listening and attention.

[1:17:07] And I would open up to any questions

[1:17:09] that you have about Community Corrections.

[1:17:11] CHARLIE PETERS: Questions?

[1:17:12] Comments, Commissioners?

[1:17:13]

[1:17:17] [LAUGHTER]

[1:17:19] ANGELA: I gave you all the information.

[1:17:20] No questions, right?

[1:17:22]

[1:17:25] GERRY HOISINGTON: Well, thank you for what you do.

[1:17:28] You're a very important part of our county government.

[1:17:32] And a couple things you said caught my attention.

[1:17:38] And I think I was aware of it, but the increased

[1:17:42] needs that you've seen over the last several years,

[1:17:46] or is this related to the COVID thing?

[1:17:50] I mean, and what kind of percentage are we talking about?

[1:17:56] ANGELA: I think, yes, to all of that.

[1:17:58] I mean, I think we definitely saw an impact from COVID,

[1:18:02] but it was coming from multiple directions.

[1:18:05] So I think COVID and isolation is never--

[1:18:09] I mean, COVID's not good for anybody,

[1:18:11] but isolation in a group of humans that

[1:18:14] are basically hardwired to be connected to other people

[1:18:19] was very hard.

[1:18:19] It was very hard, especially for people who already

[1:18:22] had underlying mental health.

[1:18:25] You now have telehealth, which is wonderful and convenient.

[1:18:29] But in terms of somebody working through therapy,

[1:18:32] it may not be the best avenue for someone

[1:18:36] who needs that ongoing support.

[1:18:39] I think at the same time as we saw people having

[1:18:42] these ballooning needs, we saw shrinking resources,

[1:18:45] we saw less availability of providers,

[1:18:49] and we're still dealing with that.

[1:18:52] Someone who needs a new psychiatrist,

[1:18:55] for example, may have a 60 to 90-day wait period.

[1:18:59] If you're in a mental health crisis,

[1:19:01] two to three months down the road, that is a long time.

[1:19:05] Crisis ebbs and flows, but the things that happen as collateral

[1:19:09] from that crisis, people who need intervention

[1:19:13] are not necessarily going to be better 90 days from now.

[1:19:16] So I think that is a significant challenge.

[1:19:20] The other challenge that we see that kind of compounds

[1:19:23] is that individuals who have severe and persistent

[1:19:27] mental health, they may not be well in maybe making choices

[1:19:32] in those crisis that then lead them to be involved with law

[1:19:35] enforcement, for example.

[1:19:37] Then they may come to the court system

[1:19:40] and we are ordering a Rule 20 competency evaluation

[1:19:43] based on their mental health.

[1:19:45] We've seen numbers vastly increase there as well.

[1:19:49] But that is a long process as well.

[1:19:51] And in the meantime, that person's criminal case

[1:19:54] is suspended.

[1:19:55] But if their behavior, there's no interventions there,

[1:19:58] new behaviors are occurring.

[1:19:59] So now you come back to court later, whether you're competent

[1:20:03] or not, and you have multiple offenses before the court

[1:20:06] that need to be addressed.

[1:20:07] Those multiple offenses have had an impact on communities,

[1:20:11] families, law enforcement, may have new victims.

[1:20:15] I mean, it's a kind of a huge snowball,

[1:20:18] if I could describe it that way.

[1:20:20] And so I think it's very important for us

[1:20:23] to be aware of the needs of the individuals

[1:20:26] that we're working with.

[1:20:27] We are working with people at Corrections

[1:20:30] that this is not a situation where people are coming

[1:20:33] and then they have a consequence and they move on.

[1:20:36] We're not in a position like that at this time.

[1:20:40] Some people still respond very well to that.

[1:20:43] People with multiple issues and challenges

[1:20:46] need multiple service interventions.

[1:20:49] And that's why some of the services that we provide

[1:20:52] in partnership with other agencies within the county,

[1:20:56] with our community partners, becomes incredibly important,

[1:20:59] because having that streamlined helps mitigate

[1:21:03] those challenges for people.

[1:21:06] I don't know if that answers your question, Gerry,

[1:21:08] but it's the picture we're looking at.

[1:21:11] GERRY HOISINGTON: Well, and you said, your caseload is down,

[1:21:14] but your workload is up.

[1:21:16] ANGELA: Yes.

[1:21:16] GERRY HOISINGTON: Yeah.

[1:21:19] It seems like a vicious circle we're in.

[1:21:22] ANGELA: It is challenging.

[1:21:23] I think Rice County enjoys extremely good collaboration

[1:21:29] across the departments in the county,

[1:21:31] but also with our community partners.

[1:21:34] I think that there is a genuine collaboration that occurs

[1:21:40] that benefits the individuals we serve

[1:21:43] and our communities in a really positive way.

[1:21:49] CHARLIE PETERS: Any other?

[1:21:50] JIM PURFEERST: Yeah, I've got a question here.

[1:21:53] You're the second person out of Social Services

[1:21:55] that I've talked about paid and family leave, people being out.

[1:21:59] Are you kind of running at that consistent number of a couple

[1:22:02] employees out all the time?

[1:22:05] ANGELA: We have had three probation officers out

[1:22:10] consistently since December and one in our support staff

[1:22:16] that is out intermittently.

[1:22:18] And much like Social Services, it's for positive life events.

[1:22:22] We had a small baby boom at Community Corrections.

[1:22:25] And so we have people that are out on parent leave

[1:22:29] enjoying the birth of their children

[1:22:32] and building new families.

[1:22:33] And so it's a very positive thing,

[1:22:36] but it's also very challenging when you have a small division.

[1:22:41] We have 20 probation officers and three of them are on leave.

[1:22:44] So three caseloads, that's a lot of people on supervision

[1:22:48] that then divvy up into other caseloads

[1:22:51] and create extra work for others.

[1:22:55] And so, yes, we're feeling that impact.

[1:22:58] And we are looking very forward to having our staff come back.

[1:23:01] JIM PURFEERST: Come back.

[1:23:02] Yes.

[1:23:03] ANGELA: Yes.

[1:23:04] JIM PURFEERST: Is that kind of constant through all

[1:23:05] the departments there?

[1:23:08] FEMALE SPEAKER: Yes.

[1:23:09] JIM PURFEERST: OK.

[1:23:11] Thank you.

[1:23:12] CHARLIE PETERS: Well, I thank you, and all four

[1:23:15] of these departments, whether mandated or not mandated,

[1:23:20] are very important.

[1:23:22] And it's an opportune time right now, with the levies coming up,

[1:23:27] that we know how your departments are operating

[1:23:31] and what's needed.

[1:23:32] So, thanks.

[1:23:34] I believe that's it for departments, right?

[1:23:36] Or do we got?

[1:23:37] ANGELA: Thank you, Commissioners.

[1:23:39] CHARLIE PETERS: Rick's going to wrap it up.

[1:23:42] RICK: Thank you.

[1:23:43] There's just one last slide.

[1:23:44] A lot of this has been discussed earlier.

[1:23:47] So it's not on here, but just wanted

[1:23:49] to mention on behalf of all of us,

[1:23:52] thank you again for all of your support,

[1:23:54] especially, for example, with the grant funding.

[1:23:56] That helps us put in so many services that

[1:23:59] are preventative and proactive, and that has made a big impact

[1:24:03] on public safety and improving the quality of life

[1:24:06] here in the county.

[1:24:06] So, thank you.

[1:24:09] CHARLIE PETERS: Thank you.

[1:24:10]

[1:24:14] With that, Administration, Sarah.

[1:24:17] FEMALE SPEAKER: Yes.

[1:24:18] I have the consent agenda with the extra time, overtime report.

[1:24:22] Payment of bills and personnel appointments.

[1:24:24] So recommending approval.

[1:24:26] STEVE UNDERDAHL: To approve.

[1:24:27] JIM PURFEERST: Second.

[1:24:29] CHARLIE PETERS: Motion by Commissioner Underdahl,

[1:24:30] second by Commissioner Purfeerst for approval

[1:24:34] of the consent agenda.

[1:24:35] Any discussion?

[1:24:37] Seeing none, all those in favor say, "aye."

[1:24:40] ALL: Aye.

[1:24:40] CHARLIE PETERS: Opposed, same sign.

[1:24:42] Consent agenda approved.

[1:24:45] GALEN MALECHA: Motion to adjourn.

[1:24:47] STEVE UNDERDAHL: Second.

[1:24:48] CHARLIE PETERS: Motion by Commissioner

[1:24:49] Malecha, second by Commissioner Underdahl for adjournment.

[1:24:54] Any discussion?

[1:24:55] Seeing none, all those in favor of adjournment, say "aye."

[1:24:59] ALL: Aye.

[1:25:00] CHARLIE PETERS: Meeting adjourned.

[1:25:02] Do we want to take a quick five minutes?

[1:25:05] GALEN MALECHA: Sure.

[1:25:07] CHARLIE PETERS: Please.

[1:25:09] COMPUTER: Recording stopped.

[1:25:11]

Rice County Board of Commissioners Meeting

Agenda

Transcript