At its Tuesday, July 9 meeting, the Morrison County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved moving forward with a grant-funded explore and assess phase for the potential development of a family resource center in Region 5, which includes Morrison, Todd, Cass, Crow Wing and Wadena counties. This decision marks an important step in addressing the community’s needs and strengthening support for local families.
The family resource center concept has been gaining traction across the country, with over 40 states now having such centers in place since 2011. In Minnesota, there are three established family resource centers, with 16 other counties in the state moving forward with the explore and assess phase. These centers are designed to serve as a one-stop shop for families, providing access to a range of services and resources, including child development programs, parenting classes, mental health support and connections to community organizations.
“There’s no eligibility required, like for some of our programs that run through schools or counties. It’s going to be open to everybody that has interest,” said Social Services Supervisor Melanie Erickson. “Also, there’s a lot of fun and learning activities that happen at those centers. Child development is a main focus of one of the resiliency factors, and so there may be classes about parenting or fun activities to do with your child. The library may come in if it’s not located at the library for storytime. Those are just some examples. Also, one of the other crucial things can be having access to resources like food. So there may be times where different communities or churches would host a meal, or such like that at a resource center. Again, it’s very unique to the community and its citizens and who wants to participate. And the common theme, though, is that it is opening, it’s welcoming and that it is a fun location.”
The $223,000 grant, provided by the Sauer Family Foundation, will allow Morrison County to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the region’s resources and identify potential locations for a family resource center. The assessment will involve gathering input from community members, mapping existing services, and determining the most effective way to meet the needs of local families.
“There’s no requirement to move forward after (the explore and assess phase),” said Health and Human Services Director Nathan Bertram. “Regardless of if we decide to move forward or don’t move forward, the asset map and report that comes out of this will still be valuable.”
The explore and assess phase is expected to take approximately 14 months. Within that time, the goal is to provide a detailed report on the feasibility and potential impact of a family resource center in Morrison County by contracting with a third-party vendor to conduct the assessment for the county. If the assessment proves successful, the county may then pursue additional funding and partnerships to establish the center.
“What’s nice about this too is that it’s family orientated and it’s not income-based,” said Commissioner Mike LeMieur. “Just because you have money doesn’t mean that you don’t have struggles in your family. This could be the focal point for them to meet other families that are struggling with the same problems and help them out.”
Commissioner Jeffrey Jelinski said he would support the explore and assess phase of the family resource center because the costs were covered by the Sauer Family Foundation. He said that if a family resource center were to be set up and run in the region, he would only support it if there was still no cost to the county. Bertram said government officials may occasionally work at the center to talk with families, but this work would be equivalent to what they would have done elsewhere, therefore adding no cost to the county or taxpayers.
“It’s five counties because we’re joining in one big happy family,” Jelinski said. “But as far as lending money is concerned, we’re not dealing with lending money because we’re utilizing the philanthropy money.”
The approval of the explore and assess phase marks an important milestone in Morrison County’s efforts to support families and strengthen the overall well-being of the community. As the assessment process moves forward, residents can look forward to the potential development of a valuable resource that could have a lasting impact on the lives of local families.
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