MN HF3027

HealthForce Minnesota at Winona State University must develop a pilot project establishing the Minnesota Direct Care Service Corps that uses financial incentives to attract postsecondary students to work as personal care assistants or direct support professionals.

Financial incentives must increase with each semester of student participation, with minimum work requirements established by HealthForce Minnesota to qualify for payments.

Pilot sites must include one postsecondary institution in the seven-county metropolitan area and at least one outside it, with any additional sites located in northern and southern Minnesota respectively.

HealthForce Minnesota must contract with a third party to evaluate the pilot's impact on health care costs, retention of personal care assistants, and patient and provider satisfaction, with findings reported by January 6, 2025 to legislative committees with jurisdiction over human services policy and finance.

$500,000 in fiscal year 2024 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of human services for a grant to HealthForce Minnesota, with up to $25,000 available for administrative costs as a onetime appropriation.