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After a frenzy of activity these last few months, the 64th Legislative Assembly came to a close on April 29. I want to give you a recap of how things turned out in several areas that affect the work and ministry of Lutheran Social Services of North Dakota.
Problem Gambling
The Attorney General’s budget holds the majority of funding for problem gambling efforts that occur in the state; the funds come primarily from lottery revenue. The dollars dedicated to problem gambling awareness and treatment (currently about 3.2% of total lottery revenue) are then passed to the Department of Human Services and contracts are issued for treatment/counseling efforts as well as public awareness/marketing efforts.  
As a result of the legislative session, and the efforts of Rep. Kathy Hogan (Fargo) and others, the Department of Human Services will now be issuing one contract for both efforts to Lutheran Social Services of ND. As a result, Gamblers Choice will have additional resources available to enhance the services we provide to problem gamblers and their families, and for public awareness of the issue of problem gambling. This is great news for an important component of our behavioral health work.
Disaster Response
The funding LSSND has previously received to support its baseline disaster response efforts was cut in half during the session. Funding for our disaster work was at one point completely eliminated but, thanks in large part to Sen. Larry Robinson’s (Valley City) efforts in conference committee, half of the previous funding was ultimately restored. 
These dollars are part of the Division of Emergency Services budget. LSS is trying to secure other resources to help support ongoing readiness in our disaster response effort, including involvement in a multi-state consortium of Lutheran organizations involved in disaster work, funded by the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation. However, LSS will need to make changes in the program to accommodate the reduced funding level. As we know all too well, disasters come in many shapes and forms (floods, wildfires, train derailments, tornadoes)—our ability to respond to families and communities in need depends on the readiness of our organization and our network to do so.
Senior Services
The effort to secure a legislative appropriation to expand opportunities to develop Volunteer Connections programs in rural communities was defeated. This program is a cost-effective way to increase in-home services to seniors. LSS will continue to look for other opportunities to expand Volunteer Connections in North Dakota communities, as well as other ideas that we believe are necessary to create a more well-developed system of service and support for seniors and their families in North Dakota communities both large and small.
Healthy Families
After much effort by people from across the state, we were unsuccessful in our bid to expand the Healthy Families program to more North Dakotans. SB2253 would have appropriated funds to allow the program to grow and serve the remaining five human service regions not yet touched by the program. 
The bill was championed by Sen. Judy Lee (West Fargo). Senator Lee helped guide its passage through the Senate Human Services committee and on the Senate floor, even after the bill initially received a do-not-pass vote out of Senate Appropriations. We did not fare as well in the House, with the House Human Services Committee failing to pass our bill but amending SB2048 to include our request at a reduced level. The section pertaining to Healthy Families was later removed from the bill by the House Appropriations committee, ending our legislative quest for this session. 
The Healthy Families program will continue to receive its existing Department of Human Services funding for the Grand Forks/Nelson and Burleigh/Morton sites but will not have an opportunity to expand with the support of the state this next biennium. Supporting young families in the critical early years of parenting has proven effective time and again as a way to transform a child’s experience—for life. The opportunity for generational impact is too great for us to turn away from this issue. 
Child Care
Child care did not receive any additional funding this legislative session. Rep. Thomas Beadle (Fargo) made three attempts to amend the ND Department of Human Services budget to expand Child Care Aware’s ability to recruit child care providers. The House Human Services and Appropriations committees rejected all amendments presented by Representative Beadle. Consequently, neither the House nor the Senate had the opportunity to debate this idea as a way to begin to address North Dakota’s child care crisis.
The Department of Public Instruction (DPI) did receive $3 million to expand Pre-K, public education for four-year-old children. Schools (and private preschools if approved by DPI) can receive up to $2,000 per child if the child qualifies for free or reduced school meals. Many legislators understand Pre-K to be child care and assumed the $3 million would expand child care spaces. Quite the opposite is true. Pre-K funding covers a child’s classroom time three mornings a week during the school year and, because Pre-K requires a degreed teacher, will seldom, if ever, be co-located with a child care program. 
Base level funding for LSS’ Child Care Aware, which provides technical assistance and a parent referral network, was preserved as part of the Department of Human Services and Department of Commerce budgets. This will allow LSS to continue its core child care program, which is to connect parents seeking child care with quality providers, and to provide support and training to child care providers in the areas of curriculum development, staff training and center operations. 
Affordable Housing
The legislature re-authorized the Housing Incentive Fund for the next biennium. They approved $30 million in state tax credits, as well as $5 million from the Bank of North Dakota’s profits, with the possibility for an additional $5 million if the Bank’s profits exceed $130 million in 2015. The first round of applications for funding are due by May 30. As part of that round, Lutheran Social Services Housing will be making application for HIF funds for affordable housing projects in Beulah, Watford City and Harvey. 
We hope there will be funds available for additional applications as there are projects in other communities we would very much like to move forward. However, we know competition for these dollars will be fierce and demand will far outstrip supply. We are hopeful to secure some of these dollars to support our affordable housing efforts in 2015-2016. If North Dakota taxpayers are interested in supporting affordable housing through the Housing Incentive Fund, information on how to designate your income tax dollars is available at
https://www.ndhfa.org/Development/HIF/HIFContribute.html.
Behavioral Health
While the legislature was able to make some adjustments to the types of mental health professionals that are reimbursable for various services, and to the availability and consistency of assessment services for youth, many of the other behavioral health initiatives that had been put forward by the legislators and stakeholders who worked on these issues in the interim did not win approval.
The public conversation on this very important topic is certain to continue. Separate and apart from the items that were discussed as part of the legislative process, LSS is adding more outpatient behavioral health services back into our ministry and will continue to look for ways to support the mental health needs of kids, families, and communities.
A Few Final Thoughts
Elected officials are asked to make many choices that affect people’s lives in the course of their work. We often heard legislators say that, with limited resources, they needed to focus on funding their priorities.
I think we all recognize the complexity of the myriad issues our legislators are asked to consider on our behalf. In my opinion, this complexity is what makes it all the more important for us to embrace our responsibility, which is to help our elected officials understand what our priorities are—as their constituents—as their partners in service—and as fellow residents of the state of North Dakota.
Thank you for your interest in the public policy discussions that affect the social ministry work of the church in our state. Stay tuned for more conversation on these and other important issues in the months and years to come. After all…an active and informed citizenry is the hallmark of good democracy!
Blessings,
Jessica
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