Public participation

Community members needed to help improve child welfare policies and practices. If not you, who? 

Are you passionate about child welfare and child safety? Chisago, Hennepin and Ramsey Counties are seeking volunteer citizens to join our Citizen Review Panels. Established under federal law and state statute, Citizen Review Panels are an important way community members can improve our child welfare system. In partnership with local counties and the Minnesota Department of Human Services, panel members examine child welfare policies, practices and procedures, then make recommendations for positive systems change. Members may include foster care alumni (21+ years of age), parents, attorneys, law enforcement, school personnel, Tribal workers, business representatives, folks with lived experience as a survivor of child abuse or neglect, faith community leaders, child welfare professionals, etc. We strive to include diverse perspectives and experiences. Applicants should live or work in the county of the CRP. Members are unpaid for their time at meetings but per diem stipends are available. Find more details or apply, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State. 

Panel members help improve child welfare practices and policies by:

• Examining specific child welfare cases, including active or closed cases, maltreatment reconsiderations, child fatality and near fatality cases; and providing independent insight for improvement
• Providing feedback to key leaders on the internal workings of the child protection system
• Participating in educational events, including a national conference for Citizen Review Panel members
• Receiving ongoing support, training and organizational updates from county and state staff.

For more information contact Laura G.

Child abuse is everyone’s responsibility. The Minnesota Children's Justice Act Task Force (CJATF) is a federally mandated, multidisciplinary advisory board that reviews and evaluates statewide front-end child welfare policies and practices and makes recommendations to the department about systematic, equitable improvements to promote children's justice and well-being. Its membership is composed of professionals with knowledge and experience relating to the criminal justice system, and the issues of child physical abuse, child neglect, child sexual abuse and exploitation, and child maltreatment-related fatalities. Seats are competitive for the following categories: 

• Prosecuting attorney: 1 seat
• Defense attorney: 1 seat
• Attorney for children: 1 seat
• Guardian ad litem (i.e. court-appointed special advocate representative): 1-2 seats
• Adult who was in the foster care system: 1 seat
• Adults who are former victims of child abuse and neglect: 2 seats

Per diem stipends are available for members unpaid for their time at meetings. The task force also provides technical support in the administration of the Children's Justice Act grant, including funding recommendations and administrative oversight to promote CJA grant-supported activities/projects that:

• Reform state systems and improve the process by which states respond to cases of abuse and neglect
• Monitor implementation of task force recommendations and supporting inter-agency collaboration
• Focus on front-end investigative, administrative and judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect.

Find more details or to apply, visit the Minnesota Secretary of State. For more information, contact Laura G.

Federal law requires states to monitor and report trends in the numbers of people who receive cash assistance through the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. Minnesota uses TANF money to fund the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP).

Federal law requires states’ TANF and related federal programs to meet a 50 percent work participation rate. The "work participation rate" (WPR) measures the proportion of recipients who take part in federally defined work activities for a sufficient number of hours each week. The 50 percent rate may be adjusted by historic reductions in caseload for reasons other than eligibility changes.  This is called a caseload reduction credit.

To determine the caseload reduction credit, a state must calculate the percentage change in the number of families served in the most recent Federal Fiscal Year compared to a historical base year of 2005. This percentage change must then be adjusted to take into account any policy changes implemented after 2005. 

Minnesota’s caseload reduction credit calculations based on 2023 data are as follows: 

The average monthly number of families receiving TANF and related federal program assistance was 13,655 in 2023. This is a 58% decrease from the historical base year of 2005.

Most of this decrease (24%) can be explained by funding changes which made families designated to receive Family Stabilization Services and families with two parents ineligible to receive TANF funding.  Instead, these families must be funded with state funds.

Other policy changes which increased the number of families eligible to receive TANF and related benefits in 2023 include changes in how Supplemental Security Income affects a family’s cash assistance, higher asset limit and higher exemption levels for vehicles counted in determining a family’s eligibility for cash assistance, changes in rules around child support assignment and child support disregard, changes in earned income disregard, implementation of MFIP Housing Assistance Grant, income exclusion for newlyweds and increase in Cash Transitional Standard. Together these changes are estimated to result in 17% more families receiving TANF and related federal program assistance relative to the base year of 2005.   

On January 2015, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indian implemented their own TANF program and this resulted in 2.6% less families eligible to receiving Minnesota TANF and related federal program assistance to the base year of 2005. The Northstar Care for Children program implemented in January 2015 consolidates Foster Care (FC), Adoption Assistance (AA), and Relative Custody Assistance (RCA) into one program.  Children who would have been in RCA and are now in the kinship assistance component of Northstar are no longer eligible for TANF and related federal benefits.  This change is estimated to result in 3.9% less families eligible to receive TANF and related federal program assistance relative to the base year of 2005.

Taking these policy changes into account, the estimated caseload reduction credit is 57.7% - (24% -17% +2.6%+3.9%) = 44.2%.  This credit will be used to reduce the “target” work participation rate for Minnesota next year (Federal Fiscal Year 2024). 

Federal rule also allows a state to further reduce the target work participation rate by claiming more than the minimum required state funds for the TANF program. These funds are referred to as "excess Maintenance of Effort (MOE)". The working family tax credit and other qualified expenditures have the capacity to provide excess MOE for this purpose. The number of cases which can be served with Excess MOE, as determined by average annual spending on TANF assistance cases, can be claimed as further caseload reduction. Minnesota will claim excess MOE in order to increase the caseload reduction credit. 

Citizens are invited to submit any comments on the above methodology to the DHS Office of Management and Budget by e-mail to: dhs.reportsandforecasts@state.mn.us. Or by regular mail to this address:

        Minnesota Department of Human Services
        Reports and Forecasts Division
        PO Box 64996
        St. Paul, MN 55164-0996

 (12/2023)

Under federal law, a state can make changes to its Medicaid program through certain waiver authorities to test new ways of delivering and paying for health services. A state can also amend its Medicaid state plan. The plan is an agreement between the state and federal government about how the state will administer the Medicaid program. 

Read more about Minnesota’s Medicaid waiver requests and Medicaid state plan amendments. 

Many advisory committees provide expertise and input on a regular basis to help DHS create and implement program changes. Most committees are comprised of members from outside DHS. A complete list of DHS advisory committees is online.

The Minnesota IT Services (MNIT) Digital Experience team is looking for people 18 years of age or older to provide feedback that will help us improve online tools, like websites, that are used to apply for human services benefits like food (SNAP) and cash assistance (MFIP). 

Payment for your participation WILL NOT affect current benefits, or eligibility for human services benefits that may be applied for in the future in any way. 

To be considered for ongoing opportunities, please complete the contact permission form and questionnaire. MNIT staff will contact people who complete the contact permission form when opportunities to provide paid feedback arise.