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The Cook County Public Health and Human Services Department (PHHS) is responsible for the administration of many state and federal programs that provide critical support to the some of the most vulnerable individuals and families in our County and to promote and protect the health of all residents. The department integrates mandated and preventative services across three primary service areas: economic assistance and health care programs, human services, and public health. Our department budget represents our plan for achieving our mandates and mission of supporting the health, safety, and well-being of Cook County.
County Public Health and Human Services Budget Basics
Minnesota is one of a few states, nationwide with a state-supervised, county- administered public health and human services delivery system. Approximately half of our department revenue comes from federal and state grants along with billing and collections for services provided to residents. County tax levy makes up the remaining revenue required to fund our staff and programming expenses as a department.
The PHHS department budget represents a small portion of the overall economic and community health impact of our work administering and assisting residents in accessing public services. Most health and human services payments are made by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), on behalf of counties, directly to service providers, vendors, or individual service recipients. This fiscal activity is not included in our county budget records or reports. For example, in 2019, $11 million of the total $14 million in human services costs in Cook County were centralized payments sent directly from DHS to individuals, families, and service providers. For more information on this big picture of county human services fiscal activity, look for the ‘human services cost dashboard’ on the Department of Human Services website at: mn.gov/dhs.
In the context of our annual department budget, one of the most challenging areas to plan for is residential treatment and placement services for children and adults. Each year, our fiscal and program staff develop budget scenarios for potential out-of-home placement costs based on known individuals and families that we are working with and the potential for unforeseen and emergent community needs. As a result of having sufficient staff resources to provide early response services in the children and family services team, we have seen less placements in recent years, significantly reducing our out of home placement spending. In conjunction with our increased revenue collections as a department, we have had a significant return to fund balance in recent years.
The last two and a half years of pandemic response work has increased the visibility of and demands on our local public health staff. State and federal funding increased in recent years to assist Cook County and other local health departments to build and sustain public health infrastructure to respond and prepare for future emergencies and disease outbreaks. The Cook County Board of Commissioners designated a portion of the County’s American Rescue Plan funding to maintain staffing capacity during the crucial period of transition from full pandemic response into the recovery phase of the pandemic.
The Community Health Assessment and Health Improvement Plan is a tool for ensuring local resources are targeted towards the greatest needs and helps us focus our efforts as a department and in partnership with other agencies and providers in the community. As we seek out competitive grants and develop new programs and services, we use the shared health priorities developed by community members and partners through this process to guide our work. We are entering a new five-year planning and assessment cycle in 2022. Visit the Community Health Assessment page of the public health website or contact us atphhs@co.cook.mn.us if you’d like to learn more or get involved.
Public Health Fund
Since 2018, the Cook County Board of Commissioners has granted authority to the Public Health and Human Services Advisory Council to review and evaluate applications for county funding for those organizations that serve the Public Health and Human Services department mission: “supporting the health, safety, and well-being of our community.” Grants are awarded to community agencies through a competitive annual grantmaking process. To be considered for the Public Health Fund, applicants must align their requests with goals identified through the Cook County Community Health Assessment and Health Improvement Plan and provide services in areas that would go unfulfilled without support through this grantmaking fund. For more information on the public health fund, visit the Grants page of the public health and human service website at www.cookcountyphhs.org.
Get Involved
Interested community members are invited to join one of the two citizen councils affiliated with the Public Health and Human Services Department. The Cook County Public Health and Human Services Advisory Council is authorized by law to provide input to the County Board of Commissioners on services, priorities, and budgeting across the Public Health and Human Services Department. The Cook County Local Advisory Council for Children’s and Adult Mental Health is authorized by the Adult and Children’s Mental Health Acts in Minnesota statutes and has specific responsibilities to fulfill in advising the County Board. The Local Mental Health Advisory Council receives input from mental health service providers, identifies community resources for mental health education and prevention, and advises the PHHS department and County Board on unmet needs in community mental health services. Both councils are welcoming new members and are open to the public. Meeting links and agendas are available on the county website.
Learn more about the Public Health and Human Services department and the preliminary budget for 2023 at the July 19 PHHS Board Meeting at 8:30 a.m. in the Cook Commissioners Room. PHHS Board Meetings are available to livestream and view on the Cook County website at www. co.cook.mn.us. You can also find us on Facebook @ CookCountyPHHS and Instagram @cook_county_phhs to learn more about our work supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of Cook County.
County Connections is a column on timely topics and service information from your Cook County government. Cook County – Supporting Community Through Quality Public Service.
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