Dear Neighbors,
A lot has been going on at the Capitol this past week. Session started two weeks ago and we’ve rushed right into things with committee hearings, meeting with constituents and rallies at the Capitol. Here’s an update on what’s been going on:
Stemming the Opioid Epidemic
One of the issues we’re working on is the opioid epidemic, which continues to cause unthinkable tragedies, with three overdoes in our community last week alone. Recently, Governor Dayton and a bipartisan group of legislators announced a comprehensive plan addressing this issue. The approach is multifaceted, with strategies involving local communities, tribal governments, health care professionals, and law enforcement. Increased investments in prevention, treatment, and recovery are all included. Legislation like this will save lives, and there is a bipartisan desire to take bold action this year.
Mental Health Workgroup
I continue my work with the Rice County Crisis Care Workgroup, and local folks are making great progress. They are inviting local legislators to meet with them again on March 9th.
- Bonding Bill – facility for Rice County/Faribault - Inform them we are working on protocol, a CJCC and would be prepared to issue an RFP for service provider to operate facility – all of this is to create a comprehensive Crisis Care response in our region.
- Tiered Rating System for Emergency Departments and corresponding reimbursement
- Increased MA reimbursement for mental/chemical health services including Care Coordination
- Ask about release of information. Where does the law allow for entities to share information especially in the case of an individual with mental and/or chemical health factors.
The group has explored Blue Earth County’s Yellow Line protocol which utilizes a mental health professional to conduct a screening on individuals before they are admitted to county jail. The screening determines whether jail or diversion is most appropriate for the person based on their unique mental health/chemical health needs. This program was started through shared grant funding (across 10 counties including Rice Co.) to provide Crisis Center services in Mankato. And they are looking at faster face to face responses with the Mobile Crisis Unit by utilizing tele-conferencing while en-route. The Yellow Line project shares resources with social services and gives law enforcement more options for getting resources to the person, avoiding contact with the criminal justice system. Law enforcement transfers liability to human services once all parties agree to suspend the booking in order to line up a plan. Creates savings by not paying to keep them in jail. Rice County would need to involve City and County Attorneys to agree to the diversion option; and
Work with hospitals to agree to this model as well and respect standards/recommendations from Mobile Crisis Team screener – currently some facilities are not holding people despite recommendations to do so because they are not equipped to keep people long term.
They recognize they still need to address the immediate need of a “place” to safely put people when in crisis
Finally, at the present time Rice County continues to make referrals to Crisis Center even though they are often full so they know about the need. Conversations with local clinics continue and they seem committed to being a community partners both on the bonding request for bricks and mortar and possible creative solutions to bring some type of mental health and chemical health triage to the broader community.
Minnesota has a Surplus
We just got the February Budget Forecast and we’re showing a small surplus of $329 million. A lot of that is due to our improved economic outlook, federal funding of the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and increased tax revenue. While Minnesota may have a small surplus, a lot of families are still having a hard time getting by. With that in mind, I’ll work to ensure any changes we make because of this surplus put the needs of our community ahead of those the big corporations or the ultra-wealthy who are doing so well.
Graduations Rates Hit All-Time High
Minnesota’s high school graduation rate hit an all-time high this last year, reaching 82.7%! In fact, that’s up more than 5% since 2011. While we still have significant disparities, the graduation rate for kids of color is up 11% since 2012. Education is essential to give the next generation the opportunity they deserve to succeed. I’ll continue to make sure we support our kids and give them every chance we can to get ahead.
Minnesota 2nd Best State
Minnesota was ranked as the Second Best State by US News and World Reports, just behind Iowa. We ranked in the top three in categories for quality of life, opportunity, labor force participation, and math scores. We know Minnesota is a fantastic place to live, so it’s always nice to see others acknowledge how great we are too.
MNLARS Update
In January, Governor Dayton told the legislature he needed $10 million by March 1st, to continue contracts with employees trying to fix Minnesota’s new Licensing and Registration System. Since the roll out last year, there have been serious problems with transferring titles and delays in processing transactions. It’s clear there have been some major problems here. Minnesotans deserve a system that works, but they also expect us to fix it when it doesn’t. Unfortunately, Republicans haven’t been willing to address this problem and work toward solutions.
Rep. Rick Hansen sent out a statement on MNLARS here and he also had a press conference which you can see below:
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Land Stewardship meeting
Thursday evening I drove to New Ulm to meet with farmers and local land owners to talk about their plans to organize for the coming Farm Bill at the Federal level and issues in the current MN Legislative session. Enjoyed visiting with them and hearing their concerns
New Look for Legislative Updates
In the coming weeks my updates are going to start looking a little different. I wanted to give you a heads up so you didn’t think something went wrong.
As always, don’t hesitate to contact my office with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
David