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F I S C A L I M P A C T R E P O R T

SPONSOR Picraux

ORIGINAL DATE

LAST UPDATED

1/31/2007

2/24/2007 HB HM 3/aHFL

SHORT TITLE

Young Children & Families Continuum Group

SB

ANALYST Weber

APPROPRIATION (dollars in thousands)

Appropriation

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY07

FY08

NFI

(Parenthesis ( ) Indicate Expenditure Decreases)

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

LFC Files

Responses Received From

Human Services Department (HSD)

Department Of Health (DOH)

Children, Youth and Families (CYFD)

SUMMARY

Synopsis of HFl Amendment

The amendment makes minor language changes that have no impact on the substance of the

memorial.

Synopsis of Original Bill

House Memorial 3 creates the Young Children and Families Continuum Work Group (Work

Group). The Work Group would be appointed equally by the Chair of the Children's Cabinet and

the Chair and Vice Chair of the Legislative Health and Human Services Committee Work Group

and would include persons representing the Early Childhood Action Network (ECAN): child

health; and child development, mental health, early care, education, human services, community

providers, advocates, businesses and faith communities, the media, academia, and child

development research fields, and include family representatives and members representing the

cultural, ethnic, economic and geographic diversity of the state. Membership would include

House Memorial 3/aHFl – Page

2

family representatives with experience in health, mental health, education and social needs of

young children birth to age eight and their families.

The Work Group would set priorities for investment over the next three years to strengthen a

comprehensive statewide early childhood system. The system would address the following

areas: family involvement and family support; physical and mental health; early learning;

child safety; and transition from early childhood to school. The group will be charged to make

recommendations on a continuum of services to better coordinate and link components of the

present comprehensive system. The group would make recommendations to improve families’

access to a continuum of services; improve lives of children; and set a foundation for school and

personal success.

The Work Group would report its recommendations to the interim legislative Health and Human

Services Committee by November 2007. A copy of this memorial is to be transmitted to the

Children’s Cabinet.

SIGNIFICANT ISSUES

The Department of Health comments.

Extensive evidence is available to show the association between comprehensive services in early

infancy and preschool years and performance in primary, secondary and post-secondary school.

Economists of the federal reserve bank of Minneapolis have determined through research that

investment in early childhood programs produces an annual rate of return of sixteen percent.

CYFD adds.

The activities required by the memorial could eventually result in positive long-term impact

across multiple agencies and their target client populations through reduced poverty-related

expenses (i.e., crime, healthcare, housing, TANF); reduced employment-related expenses

resulting from lower unemployment, work absence, and higher average wages; reduced health-

related expenses directly related to early detection of developmental conditions; and through

improved educational achievement and family well-being.

HSD notes the similarities of the group proposed with the existing Early Childhood Action new

work.

The work group would include representatives from the Early Childhood Action Network

(ECAN), child health and development, mental health, early care, education and human services

community providers, advocates, businesses and faith communities, the media, academia and

child development research fields. The representatives mentioned above are already represented

in the ECAN and the early childhood issues identified in this memorial are also similar to those

currently being addressed by ECAN, so it is not clear what the difference would be between

these two groups.

MW/nt