Item Description:
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Agmt A2311869 with Washburn Center for Children to provide behavioral health services to children in Minneapolis Public Schools, 09/01/23-06/30/26, $273,792 (recv)
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED that Agreement A2311869 with the Washburn Center for Children for provision of on-site behavioral health services to children enrolled at Minneapolis Public Schools and assistance to their families and school staff to build capacity in order to meet the needs of students with behavioral health concerns during the period September 1, 2023 through June 30, 2026 in the receivable amount of $273,792, be approved; that the Chair of the Board be authorized to sign the amendment on behalf of the county; and that the Controller be authorized to accept and disburse funds as directed; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that acceptance of grant funding for the program by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners does not imply a continued funding commitment by Hennepin County for this program when grant funds are no longer available.
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Background:
In October 2019 NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center began to perform behavioral health services as a subcontractor (Hennepin County Contract A199551) to Washburn Center for Children (WCC) at various Minneapolis Public School sites. The State of Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) awarded WCC a grant under which NorthPoint helped provide needed behavioral health resources to children enrolled at Minneapolis Public School sites. This new contract continues the provision of school-based behavioral health services.
The DHS grant with WCC seeks to provide early identification and intervention for students with behavioral health needs and to build the capacity of schools to support students with behavioral health needs in the classroom.
Furthermore the key strategies of this work include: infrastructure development to integrate behavioral health care with publicly funded educational settings, support the expansion and sustainability of long term school based behavioral health services, to coordinate and deliver culturally and developmentally appropriate school based behavioral health services to students and families, particularly children who are uninsured or underinsured, to provide consultation to school staff, to expand the clinical capacity to provide services that effectively utilize existing and emerging research to inform all treatment, and improve clinical and functional outcomes for students and their families.
Hennepin County and DHS have a vision for health equity, where all communities are thriving, and all people have what they need to be healthy. The schools where NorthPoint’s Behavioral Health staff will be providing services are in areas experiencing disparity in available behavioral health services. The contract with WCC will allow NorthPoint staff to address those behavioral health disparities and improve health outcomes at school-based sites.
recommendation
Recommendation from County Administrator: Recommend Approval