[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]