1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; establishing an engagement services pilot project in 
1.3 	Otter Tail county; appropriating money.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. ENGAGEMENT SERVICES PILOT PROJECT.
 1.6 		Subdivision 1.Creation. The commissioner of human services shall provide a grant to 
1.7 	Otter Tail county to conduct a pilot project involving the provision of engagement services 
1.8 	under Minnesota Statutes, section 253B.041.
1.9 		Subd. 2.Allowable grant activities. (a) The grantee must use grant funding to:
1.10 	(1) develop a system to respond to requests for engagement services;
1.11 	(2) provide the following engagement services, taking into account an individual's 
1.12 	preferences for treatment services and supports:
1.13 	(i) assertive attempts to engage an individual in voluntary treatment for mental illness 
1.14 	for at least 90 days;
1.15 	(ii) efforts to engage an individual's existing support systems and interested persons, 
1.16 	including but not limited to providing education on restricting means of harm and suicide 
1.17 	prevention, when the provider determines that such engagement would be helpful; and
1.18 	(iii) collaboration with the individual to meet the individual's immediate needs, including 
1.19 	but not limited to housing access, food and income assistance, disability verification, 
1.20 	medication management, and medical treatment;
1.21 	(3) conduct outreach to families and providers; and
2.1 	(4) evaluate the impact of engagement services on decreasing civil commitments, 
2.2 	increasing engagement in treatment, decreasing police involvement with individuals 
2.3 	exhibiting symptoms of serious mental illness, and other measures.
2.4 	(b) Engagement services staff must have completed training on person-centered care. 
2.5 	Staff may include but are not limited to mobile crisis providers under Minnesota Statutes, 
2.6 	section 256B.0624, certified peer specialists under Minnesota Statutes, section 256B.0615, 
2.7 	community-based treatment programs staff, and homeless outreach workers.
2.8 		Subd. 3.Outcome evaluation. The commissioner of management and budget must 
2.9 	formally evaluate outcomes of the grant awarded under this section, using an experimental 
2.10 	or quasi-experimental design. The commissioner of human services shall consult with the 
2.11 	commissioner of management and budget to ensure that the grant is administered to facilitate 
2.12 	this evaluation. The grantee must collect and provide the information needed to the 
2.13 	commissioner of human services to complete the evaluation. The commissioner of human 
2.14 	services must provide the information collected to the commissioner of management and 
2.15 	budget to conduct the evaluation. The commissioner of management and budget may obtain 
2.16 	additional relevant data to support the evaluation study pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, 
2.17 	section 15.08.

2.18 	Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; ENGAGEMENT SERVICES PILOT PROJECT.
 2.19 	$250,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner 
2.20 	of human services for the engagement services pilot project. Up to $....... is for a transfer 
2.21 	to the commissioner of management and budget to conduct the required evaluation of the 
2.22 	pilot project. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2027.