Some descriptions I've heard for MN's 25-year-old information system used to manage child protection cases & other social services:
Archaic. A nightmare.

Read to the end to understand the tech woes, why they matter & the $$ replacement effort underway. startribune.com/minnesotas-arc…

Thousands of Minnesotans with disabilities and health conditions rely on Lyft and Uber to get to work, doctor appointments, the grocery store, even dates.

Many say the alternatives to rideshare companies are insufficient.
startribune.com/minnesotans-wi…

Some of Walz's big human services spending proposals:
$15M to improve child welfare worker reporting system
$10M for summer meals program for families with kids
$10M Human Services Response Contingency Account (?)
$5M food security
$4M expanding Direct Care & Treatment access

Group home providers claim city rental licenses have become a 'backdoor tool to discriminate' against Minnesotans with disabilities.

They are seeking an exemption at the Capitol. But cities worry they won't be able to regulate bad actors.
startribune.com/group-home-ren…

After years of scrutiny and repeated calls for better financial controls, Minnesota Department of Human Services is splitting into three agencies.

Here's what you need to know about the ongoing breakup of a department that serves a quarter of the state.
startribune.com/minnesota-depa…

'What can you do? ... You can get disgusted because you can't get a ride. But that's something I'm used to.'

In rural MN, people who can't drive themselves are struggling to catch rides to the doctor or home from the hospital. That has a ripple effect.
startribune.com/frustration-bu…

Tomorrow will be Gavin's 100th day in the Otter Tail County Jail. He's not supposed to be there.

Minnesotans with mental illness are languishing in lockup, with wait time to get treatment at an all-time high. Read one family's story.
startribune.com/stuck-in-jail-…

First version of the story: startribune.com/new-economic-f…

Kudos to Andy Steiner, MinnPost mental health & addiction writer, who broke story about questionable peer recovery support training and practices last June. KARE 11 investigated, and now lawmakers looking at oversight as Jessie Van Berkel reported today. minnpost.com/mental-health-…

Full credit for the winning sushi bake recipe (rebranded as California casse-Roll) goes to NYT Cooking and Food. Make it -- it's easy, it's comforting, it feeds a crowd! cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/102435…

Minnesota's mental health system is failing to meet crushing demands. Providers point to state reimbursement rates that don't cover their costs to do the work.

A new state study proposes a fix. But with a potential budget deficit, change is not certain.
startribune.com/minnesotas-men…

More school staff and students are learning how to use the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone (aka Narcan).

It's been administered at least twice in Twin Cities area schools so far this school year as the opioid crisis reaches students. startribune.com/minnesota-scho…

MN’s Guardian ad Litem Board paused a decision on phasing out its use of volunteers to advocate for kids. They are reviewing other states’ models.

Some argue the move away from volunteers could harm kids. Others say a shift to only paid staff is critical. startribune.com/minnesota-volu…

The final installment in our series 'In Harm's Way' by Jessie Van Berkel & Jeff Meitrodt.

'How Hennepin County reduced repeat abuse of children'
startribune.com/minnesota-henn…

And now the commission has voted overwhelmingly to advance design concept F1953. They will now debate six different variations on this design.

The final installment in our child protection series examines Hennepin County, where repeat abuse has dropped.

Big spending and staffing boosts have been key to change in the state's largest county. Now it needs to sustain the success. startribune.com/minnesota-henn…

I’ve loved working with the best polgov crew around. I have seen several mighty iterations of that team, but most recently w/Laura McCallum Briana Bierschbach Ryan Faircloth Rochelle Olson Hunter Woodall.

I will still be in the Capitol orbit plenty, now with a human services focus.

Professional news! I’m diving into the Star Tribune social services beat.

I’ll focus on MN’s most vulnerable residents and the systems that serve them. I’ve got big shoes to fill following Chris Serres in this job, but I’m excited.

Please reach out, I want to learn from you.

Minnesota has a projected $2.4 billion budget surplus, but a possible deficit of nearly the same size looms in the future. If legislators leave the current surplus intact instead of spending it, officials said it could offset the forecasted future deficit. startribune.com/latest-revenue…

A parent’s drug use is the top reason Minnesota children are taken from their care, but the state’s system for identifying and protecting children whose parents are using fentanyl, meth or other substances is filled with holes. startribune.com/minnesota-drug…