New family home visiting grants to improve lives, save money in communities across state

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) has announced a new round of grant funding that will help local partners offer new or expanded home visiting services in 22 counties, three tribal nations and 13 non-profit agencies.

The new round of grants authorized by the 2017 Legislature includes $32.2 million in state funds for the grant period from May 2019 to December 2022 to support family home visiting – a proven way to benefit at-risk children, promote life-long health and reduce the need for future community spending on social programs.

This round expands the benefits of family home visiting to more communities and allows for additional evidence-based home visiting models catering to the specific needs and priorities of local communities. Many of the grantees consist of partnerships of multiple agencies or counties working together to provide services within their communities under one grant award.

Family home visiting programs serve at-risk families such as first-time moms and families facing challenges like mental illness, domestic abuse or substance abuse. Through home visiting programs, a nurse or other trained professional provides practical health and parenting support to parents and pregnant women during ongoing home visits until the child is 2 to 3 years old.

“We want children in every part of Minnesota to have the opportunity to succeed and thrive,” said Minnesota Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm. “The home visits and ongoing support made possible by these grants will help our youngest, most vulnerable children and their families grow up healthy, safe and strong.”

National research shows family home visiting programs result in improved health during pregnancy, fewer childhood injuries and improved school readiness. These programs also have a demonstrated impact on reducing child emergency room visits and the number of months a family is on welfare. There is a return on investment in the range of $2.88 to $5.70 for every dollar spent to serve high-risk families through the Nurse-Family Partnership home visiting program, according to an analysis by the RAND Corporation.

In total, the state grant funding authorized by the 2017 Legislature and signed into law has successfully supported the start-up or expansion of programs in four tribal nations and more than 70 counties over the last two years.

Recipients of phase three implementation grants include:

• Carlton-Cook-Lake-St. Louis Community Health Board, expanding services to Cook County, receiving $192,275

• City of Minneapolis Health Department and Hennepin Healthcare, receiving $1,772,956

• The Family Partnership (metro area), receiving $1,593,721

• Human Services of Faribault and Martin Counties and Des Moines Valley Health and Human Services, expanding services to Jackson and Cottonwood counties, receiving $331,003

• Horizon Public Health and Countryside Public Health (west central area), receiving $2,156,124

• Inter-County Community Council Early Head Start (northwest region), receiving $252,401

• Lifetrack Resources, Inc. (metro area), receiving $1,828,991

• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Pine and Mille Lacs Counties, receiving $2,071,825

• Morrison, Todd and Wadena Community Health Board, expanding services in Morrison County, receiving $371,572

• North Country Community Services Agency, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Beltrami Community Health Board, and QUIN Community Health Board, receiving $3,214,991

• Northwest Indian Community Development Center (Bemidji area), receiving $990,396

• Olmsted County Community Health Board, receiving $2,097,729

• Partnership4Health Community Health Board and Polk-Norman-Mahnomen Community Health Board, receiving $1,841,429

• Pillager Family Council (Cass County), receiving $496,325

• Red Lake Band of Chippewa Comprehensive Health Services, receiving $2,156,248

• Rice County Community Health Services, expanding services to Fillmore and Houston counties, receiving $704,018

• Saint Paul-Ramsey County Public Health, receiving $995,396

• Sherburne County Health and Human Services, expanding services in Benton, Sherburne and Wright counties, receiving $3,318,658

• Simpson Housing Services, Inc. (metro area), receiving $832,534

• Southside Family Nurturing Center (metro area), receiving $563,379

• Three Rivers Community Action, Inc. (southeast region), receiving $2,270,607

• WellShare International (metro area), receiving $1,389,369

• Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) of Mankato, receiving $804,172