Sherburne County Health & Human Services (HHS) has received $52,000 from the state to help cover additional child protection costs.
The money is part of a statewide funding program that began last year to help counties hire staff to do screening and child protection investigations.
The state has allocated more than $100 million through fiscal year 2019 to go along with new child protection standards.
Last July, the county received $262,400, or 80% of its allocation. The state held back 20% from each county to be “earned” from two pots of money.
The first pot of money was for meeting timelines with new child protection cases. The second was based on a county’s performance in having face-to-face meetings with children in out-of-home placement.
At the board of commissioners meeting last week, HHS Director Mary Jo Cobb said the county met the second timeline, and because other counties failed to do so, the pot of money increased. Sherburne County received $52,000 instead of the $30,000 it could have received.
“We’ve always worked hard to see our kids in placement every month,” she told the board.
Although HHS improved its performance for new child protection case timelines, it didn’t meet the standard for the other pot of money.
“The two quarters after the rules were changed, we met the timelines,” she said. “But the two quarters before, which they counted, we didn’t meet.”
Cobb said the process of holding back funding is hurting some of the bigger and smaller counties.
“The counties that struggled with this have argued they haven’t been able to do it because they don’t have the money to pay for the staff,” she said. “It seems like the counties that need the help the most didn’t get it.”
Inmate Bus
The board approved the purchase of a 20-passenger bus for the sheriff’s office for making prisoner transports at a cost of $83,270 from North Central Bus Sales.
The county’s current vans have an inmate capacity of 13.
Sheriff Joel Brott said about eight times a month, his department gets requests from the U.S. Marshal’s Office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for two or more vans in the morning and afternoon due to inmate numbers exceeding 13. That requires two or more deputies each time.
The new vehicle will increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Other Business
In other action the board:
• Approved a three-year collective bargaining agreement with Teamsters Local 320, HHS Public Health Nurse Unit;
• Appointed Marie Pflipsen to the Sherburne County EDA;
• Appointed Terrance Vander Eyk as the Clear Lake Twp. representative on the Sherburne County Planning Advisory Commission;
• Re-certified Goodwill-Easter Seals as a provider of adult rehabilitative mental health services in Sherburne County;
• Approved out-of-state travel for a sheriff’s office employee to attend a special event management training session Oct. 4-6 in Fort Lauderdale, FL at a cost of $599 plus travel expenses;
• Approved the use of the Zimmerman Public Safety Building as a polling place for the 2016 primary and general election;
• Proclaimed May 15-21 as Law Enforcement Week in Sherburne County;
• Approved a joint powers agreement with the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Dept. to share law enforcement information;
• Appointed Josh Irhke, Vicki Jordan, Debbie Tasa, Laura Simcoe and Liam Barnes to the Sherburne County Extension Committee.
