Minnesota human services rules would get a sweeping rewrite

Minnesotans who rely on disability supports, foster care or vulnerable-adult protections would see a sweeping rewrite of state human services rules under a bill (SF476) the Senate passed April 23 on a 39-28 vote.

The omnibus package from Sen. Hoffman, the DFL chair of the Senate Human Services Committee, runs through nearly every corner of the agency's policy book. It freezes new licenses for child foster care, adult foster care and community residential settings, with narrow carve-outs for state-facility closures, hospital-level care needs and settings where at least 80 percent of residents are 55 or older. Counties seeking an exception would have to document unmet need before the state could approve it.

The bill also tightens the line between housing and care for people in integrated community supports. Providers serving residents in multifamily housing would have to keep separate accounts for each tenant's housing payments, send monthly statements and leave the lease in the resident's name. A separate provision says a gap of fewer than 60 days in a person's public benefits cannot be treated as nonpayment, a guardrail meant to keep people from losing services during processing delays.

Hoffman is joined by 10 co-authors including Republicans Abeler, Utke and Schomacker. The bill cleared the Senate after committee work stretched across two sessions and now sits in the House Ways and Means Committee.