DEPARTMENT: Public Health
FILE TYPE: Consent Action
TITLE
title
Authorization To Grant Authority To Public Health Department To Distribute Statewide Health Improvement Plan Grant Funds To Community Related Chronic Disease Programming In Areas of Active Living, Health Food Access, Mental Wellbeing And Commercial Tobacco Prevention Initiatives
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RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, pursuant to Minn. Stat. § 375A.04, the Dakota County Board of Commissioners (Board) is, and performs the duties and exercises the powers of, a community health board under Minn. Stat. ch. 145A, including the responsibility to prevent disease and to promote and protect the public health of Dakota County residents; and
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) provides competitive grants to community health boards under MDH’s Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP); and
WHEREAS, Dakota County (County) has received SHIP grants from MDH for over 14 years; and
WHEREAS, SHIP funding supports community-driven solutions to expand opportunities for active living, healthy food access, commercial tobacco-free living, and mental wellbeing; and
WHEREAS, the County’s grant agreement with MDH allows the County to provide a portion of its SHIP funding to schools to enhance prevention efforts, and provide cost-effective, evidence-based best practices in chronic disease reduction via policy, systems, and environmental changes; and
WHEREAS, historically, the County has provided SHIP funding to schools through joint powers agreements with each school; and
WHEREAS, in order to provide for a more efficient means of providing local funding, Public Health is requesting Board authorization for the department to administer a grant program, under which Public Health would award subgrants to eligible schools, utilizing the County’s annual SHIP grant funds; and
WHEREAS, a subgrant program would also allow Public Health to develop standard subgrant agreements to better incorporate the reporting, monitoring and other requirements the State has been developing in connection with its grant awards.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Dakota County Board of Commissioners (Board) hereby authorizes the Public Health Director to develop and administer a subgrant program for the purpose of awarding Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP) grant funds to schools, for the purpose of assisting the County in carrying out its MDH-authorized SHIP activities relating to chronic disease prevention programming in the areas of active living, healthy food access, mental wellbeing and commercial tobacco prevention initiatives; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board authorizes the Public Health Director to develop and administer grant guidelines for the subgrant program consistent with the following (collectively, the “SHIP Subgrant Program”):
a. Eligible subgrant recipients shall be limited to public schools located within Dakota County; and
b. Subgrants shall be awarded only for those activities that assist the County in carrying out its SHIP activities as identified in the Master SHIP grant agreement between the County and MDH, and as identified in the annual SHIP grants from MDH to the County; and
c. The amount of subgrant funds awarded annually shall not exceed the annual SHIP grant funds awarded and available to the County by MDH; and
d. Eligible school districts shall be awarded noncompetitive subgrants for eligible activities in an amount consistent with the funding formula currently used by the Public Health Department, based on free and reduced lunch data, English Language Learners, population data and Dakota County region; and
e. Subgrant recipients shall execute a subgrant agreement with the County requiring compliance with the subgrant program guidelines and the Master and annual SHIP agreements between the County and MDH
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the SHIP Subgrant Program is authorized for the period of September 1, 2026 through October 31, 2030, consistent with the term of the Master SHIP grant agreement between the County and MDH; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board hereby authorizes the County Manager, or delegate, to execute subgrant agreements with eligible subgrant recipients in compliance with the SHIP Subgrant Program, and subject to approval by the County Attorney’s Office as to form.
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BACKGROUND
For over 14 years, Dakota County Statewide Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) staff have administered funding to the community via applications and/or solicitation processes with the goal of protecting the public’s health through primary prevention strategies. Schools are often ideal places to disperse grant awards because those entities have access to large populations, and often populations that have specific needs, access and equity considerations. Schools can more easily tailor the funding to those specific needs, making the initiative more impactful than a larger organization such as a county.
Eligible schools include any of the ten public districts, via a non-competitive application process that follows the Public Health Sub-Granting Guidelines (Attachment: Sub-Grant Agreement Template). Each district receives an annual maximum allocation based off a pre-determined funding formula based off the number of dollars available for the strategy in a given year. That formula is based off criteria such as free/reduced lunch and English Language Learners populations, region of the County, etc. After the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Public Health approval of applicant-awarded projects (related to the core tenants of healthy eating, commercial tobacco prevention, wellbeing or physical activity), eligible parties will enter into a contract consistent with SHIP master guidelines.
RECOMMENDATION
recommendation
Staff recommends the Board of Commissioners authorizes the Public Health Director to implement a subgrant program for the purpose of awarding SHIP grant funds to schools and local governments, for the purpose of assisting the County in carrying out its County and MDH-authorized SHIP activities relating to chronic disease prevention programming in the areas of active living, healthy food access, mental wellbeing, and commercial tobacco prevention initiatives for the period September 1, 2026 through October 31, 2030, with the amount of the subcontract funds awarded not to exceed the County’s annual SHIP award from MDH.
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FINANCIAL AND STAFFING IMPACTS
This is completely funded through the MDH SHIP Grant which is annually included in the Public Health Budget.
PREVIOUS BOARD ACTION
None.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment: Sub-Grant Agreement Template
CONTACT
Department Director: Gina Pistulka
Author: Alex Groten