Congratulations Rebekah Leinen

Congratulations to Sartell resident Rebekah Leinen. She received her St Cloud Apollo High School diploma. You put in extra time and effort to make this happen, and I want to congratulate you on your well-deserved success. Life has even more beautiful things in store for you!

COMMUNITY NOTES

Paynesville Legion Breakfast Supporting Veterans

A breakfast supporting veterans will be served from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 1, at the Paynesville American Legion. Scrambled eggs, country-style sausage, breakfast, potatoes, biscuits and gravy, French toast sticks, caramel rolls, coffee, juice, and milk will be served. Admission is $10 for adults, $6 for youth 12 and under, and free for youth 5 and under.

Explorer’s Program Informational Meeting

On Sunday August 8, 2021 at 6:00 pm the Stearns County Sheriff’s Office will be holding an informational meeting for youth between 15-21 years old who are interested in a public safety career field. The Sheriff’s Office will be accepting applications for the Explorer’s Program which has been in existence since 1976. Accepted members learn procedures for everyday law enforcement calls, report writing, defensive tactics, and arrest protocol. Explorers are also taught CPR and Basic First Aid. Members volunteer at community events by providing security, first aid and traffic control. Explorers are allowed to participate in ride-alongs with deputies and sit-alongs with dispatchers. The group meets every Sunday night from 5:30 pm – 9:15pm.

Interested youth are required to attend the informational meeting with their parents or guardians. Please RSVP Sgt. Steven Nohner by emailing at Steve.Nohner@co.stearns.mn.us.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office – Byrne JAG Grant

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Cloud Police Department have been invited to apply for a 2021 Edward Byrne Memorial JAG Program grant in the amount of $34,680.00. The funds will be evenly divided between the two agencies.

The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office intends on utilizing the funds to purchase Fireaway Stat-X 1st Responder fire suppression canister kits and crime prevention and community engagement materials.

The St Cloud Police Department will utilize the funds for a Verkade Pole Camera system, a HURST Jaws of Life multi-purpose tool, and for crime prevention and community engagement materials.

The community is invited to provide input during this process. Comments or suggestions can be submitted to sheriff@co.stearns.mn.us

Sartell St. Stephen Community Group Asking for Equity Audit Transparency

Parents are interested in what is happening in the Sartell, and St. Stephen school district after the school board hired Equity Alliance MN (formerly East Metro Integration District) to perform an equity audit of the district and help create an action plan to implement their recommendations.

Equity Alliance MN collected data by speaking with students, staff, and community members within the district.

Parents want transparency after a student testified before the local school board during a meeting this week that she was asked to complete an “equity survey” by her teacher and told not to discuss it with her parents, which made her feel “uncomfortable.”

“My teacher said that I could not skip any questions even when I didn’t understand them. One question asked us what gender we identify with. I was very confused along with a lot of other classmates,” she told school board members on Monday. She added that students were also told they couldn’t “repeat any of the questions to our parents.” And “Being asked to hide this from my mom made me very uncomfortable — like I was doing something wrong,” she told the board.

Over 700 members have joined a Concerned Parents and Community of ISD 748 group. Parents want to know what surveys were issued to students and all of the methods, materials, statistical tools, or data used to provide the district with audit conclusions, and are calling for Equity Alliance to release data used to conduct the audit under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

Childcare

Minnesota parents are struggling to find, and afford, childcare. There is little doubt Minnesota is facing a childcare crisis – particularly in Greater Minnesota, where families are struggling to find openings or struggling to pay for care and in-home family childcare providers are leaving the industry due to the burden of over regulation. At a time when the labor force is tight, action is critical to prevent people from having to choose between working or being stay-at-home parents.

On June 29, the 2021 Health and Human Services budget bill was signed into law. This bill includes several provisions related to the field of Family Child Care and took many months of hard work and collaboration.

If you would like to read the full bill, the language can be found here. Otherwise, below you will find a brief summary of some of the main provisions.

Ombudsperson for Family Child Care Providers: The governor will appoint an ombudsperson to assist family child care providers with licensing, compliance, and other issues facing family child care.

Modernizing family child care regulations: DHS will contract with an independent organization or individual consultant to: 1) develop a proposal for updated family child care licensing standards, 2) develop a proposal for a risk-based model for monitoring compliance with family child care licensing standards, and 3) determine which family child care providers should be eligible for abbreviated inspections. The organization or consultant will implement a stakeholder engagement process to solicit input and use national regulatory best practices and statistical methodologies to inform their work.

Orientation training for family child care license applicants: DHS, with input from licensed family child care providers and counties, will develop orientation training materials recommended for family child care license applicants by July 1, 2022.

Family child care training changes for trainers: Effective July 1, 2021, family child care trainers approved through Develop can count up to two hours of training instruction toward their annual 16-hour training requirement.

Active supervision training: License holders and second adult caregivers will now have the ability to choose to complete 1) the two-hour active supervision course developed by DHS or 2) any courses in the ensuring safety competency area under the health, safety, and nutrition standard of the Knowledge and Competency Framework that DHS has identified as an active supervision training course.

Family Child Care Training Advisory Committee: Beginning in 2022, the newly created Family Child Care Training Advisory Committee will convene to advise DHS on training requirements for licensed family and group family child care providers.

Special family child care changes: Effective July 1, 2022, these changes provide more flexibility for special family child care providers by allowing up to four licenses at the same location and allowing certain types of license holders to hold up to four licenses.

Family child care FAQ webpage: By July 1, 2022, DHS will develop a frequently asked questions (FAQ) webpage for family child care providers that includes a search function. One-stop shop assistance network: By January 1, 2022, DHS, in consultation with county agencies, child care providers, and stakeholders, will develop a plan to establish a one-stop regional assistance network of individuals with: 1) experience or expertise starting a licensed family child care or group family child care program, or a child care center; or 2) technical expertise regarding state licensing statutes and procedures.

Alternative child care licensing models: DHS, in consultation with counties, child care providers, and other relevant stakeholders, will review child care models that are not currently allowed under state statutes.

Family child care shared services innovation grants: DHS will establish a grant program to test strategies by which family child care providers may share services and thereby achieve economies of scale.

REETAIN grant program: The Retaining Early Educators through Attaining Incentives Now (REETAIN) retention grant program was established in state statute to provide competitive grants to incentivize well-trained child care professionals to remain in the workforce and $1 million in additional funds were appropriated to expand availability to these grants.

TEACH grants program: Small updates were made to the authorizing language for this program that provides higher education scholarships for early educators, and $2,000,000 was appropriated.

Business training and consultation: $3,000,000 was appropriated to expand availability of business training and consultation for individuals working in family child care and centers.

Parent Aware evaluation: An independent evaluation of Parent Aware will be completed by December 31, 2024.



Constituent Visits

Thanks to those who braved the heat and met with me in District this week! As always, if you’re around Benton and Stearns county, let me know – I’d love to meet you and hear your concerns.

I visited ROCORI High School this past Saturday for Plot Day to learn about the new perennial crop the FFA chapter has been working on, known as Kernza. This new domesticated grain is a cousin of wheat and offers year-round soil cover, helping farmers reduce soil erosion and protect streams, lakes, and groundwater from potential contamination. The new local ROCORI FFA chapter would not be possible without community involvement and thinking outside the box. The future of farming sure looks bright thanks to these smart young leaders CareerONE VIP Day

I had a great time on July 13th as a guest of CareerONE! While you may have heard about the program, there’s nothing better than experiencing CareerONE in action. I was able to observe a variety of activities students are engaged in while on the tour, learn more about program goals and accomplishments and future expansion ideas. CareerONE is an employment and training agency that provides assistance in building a skilled workforce – workers who can do the jobs of today and learn the jobs of tomorrow. For over 30 years, through career counseling, job training, and strong business relationships, Career Solutions helps entry-level to experienced workers – youth to older adults – train for and gain meaningful employment.



Social media

These are trying times for all, and I have been repeatedly reminded how blessed I am to represent the people of District 13. I am grateful for each of my constituents and look forward to connecting with you. Please reach out to me through Email, phone, or I would be happy to meet in the district or at the Capitol. Your voice is important to me, and it is my mission for you to be heard. You can reach me at P: 651-296-2084 or Email: sen.jeff.howe@senate.mn You’re invited to follow me on social media! Be sure to follow me on my Facebook page for the latest news from the Capitol and District 13. You’ll find legislative updates, constituent photos, events, video updates, and more.

Talk to you soon!
Senator Jeff Howe