Tag: Commissioner Harpstead

Despite hurdles, Minnesota DHS chief continues push to clean up agency’s financial mess

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But auditor’s report is expected to reveal more grant oversight failures. 

In the fall of 2019, only weeks after taking the helm of Minnesota’s largest state agency, Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead was thrust into a political firestorm over her department’s mishandling of tens of millions of dollars in Medicaid funds.

Before a chamber of angry lawmakers, Harpstead pledged to rebuild trust in the $21 billion agency, reinforcing her point by testifying next to a plaque with the word “trustworthy” etched in granite.

“There is nothing more important for the Minnesota Department of Human Services than to be trustworthy,” she declared. Continue reading.

Opinion: Minnesota can end deep poverty; let’s start with common sense changes

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NOTE: Jodi Harpstead is Minnesota’s Commissioner of Human Services.

Nearly 250,000 Minnesotans live in deep poverty, which means they make no more than 50% of the federal poverty level. That’s $888 per month or less for a family of three or $517 or less for a single adult. Think about trying to live on that much. 

A new report from the Minnesota Department of Human Services holds a mirror up to some hard truths about what life looks like for far too many of our neighbors. 

The stress of being poor leads to higher rates of chronic health conditions. Children and adults living in deep poverty die at a rate two times higher than their peers. And adults in deep poverty experience 40% more preventable ER visits.  Continue reading.