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What is a Collaborative?

There are currently 89 Collaboratives in MN that are sanctioned by the State. There are 8 Children's Mental Health Collaboratives, 42 Family Services Collaboratives, and 39 Integrated CMH and Family Services Collaboratives. There can only be one Children's Mental Health Collaborative per county.

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MN Collaboratives Directory

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Minnesota Collaboratives
In 1993, the State Legislature approved a set of laws to create COLLABORATIVES as special districts in our state. Special districts are local government units created or authorized by state law to perform specific duties or to provide specific services in a limited scope (ex. Public Schools.) Our specific duties are spelled out in State Statutes.  

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In Ramsey County, there are three Collaboratives: 1) Ramsey County Children's Mental Health Collaborative (RCCMHC), 2) the Suburban Ramsey Family Collaborative (SRFC), and the Saint Paul Children's Collaborative (SPCC.) 

MN Collaboratives Portal

Family Wise maintains a Collaborative Portal with online resources on behalf of DHS. There is a password. Please contact Wendy Goodman if access is requested. 

What Collaboratives Do
  • Address the needs of children and youth faced with complex needs.
  • Maximize results and resources by enhancing coordination and reducing duplication among systems
  • Involve communities, particularly families, in system redesign and implementation so their needs are effectively met

Each local Collaborative is responsible for… identifying needs, developing systems of care, and assuring that services cut across traditional system boundaries” (DHS, 1996). Children's Mental Health Collaboratives address the multi-system needs of families who have a child with a mental health disorder. Learn more about our work.
How Collaboratives Fund The Work
Collaboratives grow and are sustained through our Integrated Fund. (Minnesota Statutes Sections 245.491 to 245.495). The Integrated Fund is a pool of public and private local, state, and federal resources as well as in-kind donations and services which are consolidated at the local level and used to develop and implement cross-system and integrated services or supports that meet locally agreed-upon goals for youth with mental health disorders and their families. Each funding source may have its own requirements and restrictions that must be met. One example of this is the Local Collaborative Time Study (see more below.)
An integrated fund allows local service decision makers to
draw funding from a single local source so that funds follow clients.
 

  • It eliminates the need to match clients, funds, services, and provider eligibilities.

  • It creates a local pool of state, local, and private funds to procure a greater medical assistance federal financial participation.

  • It improves the efficiency of use of existing resources, minimizes or eliminates the incentives for cost and risk shifting, and It increases the incentives for earlier identification and intervention. 

  • Learn more about how RCCMHC mobilizes, leverages and develops resources to support youth mental health in Ramsey County.

Alarm Clock
Local Collaborative Time Study (LCTS)

The LCTS is a funding source that is unique to Minnesota Collaboratives.  

 

The Local Collaborative Time Study (LCTS) is Minnesota’s federally-approved claiming mechanism for Medicaid (MA) and Title IV-E administrative reimbursement for Minnesota’s Family Service and Children’s Mental Health Collaboratives. Reimbursement is earned by staff in public school districts, public health, and correction agencies for eligible activities they perform to assist the state in administration of the MA and Title IV-E state plans. 

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Original Bulletin and Memos 

How Does The Time Study Work? 
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  • At randomly selected dates and times each quarter ("random moments"), staff in public school districts, public health, and correction agencies will get an email that asks them to choose an activity code that represents the activity they were performing at that date and precise time.

  • Certain activities are eligible for reimbursement.

LCTS funds are distributed quarterly to the three collaboratives in Ramsey County. LCTS funds  have been designated by state statute for use in the expansion of early intervention and prevention services in Minnesota communities. 

How Can We Help?

Call or Text 800-565-2575

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