Sherburne County Health & Human Services (HHS), along with HHS departments in Benton, Stearns and Wright counties, have been awarded an Evidence-Based Home Visiting Grant from the Minnesota Dept. of Health in the amount of $3,318,658.
Sherburne County is serving as fiscal agent. The grant covers the period from May 1, 2019 through Dec. 31, 2022.
Under the terms of the grant, Sherburne County is required to hire a regional FHV program manager and a data analyst in year one. The two positions are fully funded by the grant and no county match is required. In year two of the grant, Sherburne County will be hiring a public health nurse as numbers expand.
The grant is expected to serve 137 new families in the four-county region with evidence-based home visiting services.
Approval to submit the grant application was granted at the Nov. 20, 2018 Community Health Board meeting.
As fiscal host, Sherburne County will collect $301,696 in administrative costs over the course of the four-year grant.
The Sherburne County Board of Commissioners accepted the grant during the last county board meeting. The board also approved a joint powers agreement (JPA) with the other three counties.
Representatives from the four counties determined that a JPA was the most appropriate method to manage the funds and formalize the collaboration as detailed in the grant application.
SHIP Grants
The board approved a list of mini-grants under the State Health Improvement Program (SHIP) totalling $18,301.71. Some of the grants include: $2,000 to the City of Big Lake for wayfinding signs for trails; $2,000 to Elk River Farmer’s Market for a storage shed; $2,000 to Liberty Elementary School for the Little Hornets School Garden; $1,920 to Zimmerman for trail improvements; $1,818 to Catholic Charities to improve food access at stores for seniors; $1,415 to the Big Lake Food Shelf for its mobile unit; $1,755 to Salk Middle School in Elk River for its school garden; $1,600 to CAER Food Shelf for cooler maintenance, supplies and marketing and $604 to Becker Area Senior Center for its community garden.
Other Business
In other action the board:
* Approved the final payout of Federal Fiscal Year funds for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in the amount of $151,015;
* Proclaimed April, 2019 as Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month in Sherburne County;
* Proclaimed the week of April 27-May 4, 2019 as Infant Immunization Week in Sherburne County;
* Proclaimed the week of April 17, 2019 as Public Health Week in Sherburne County.
