2023 was another transformative year for the Cook County Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) department marked by significant staffing changes, increased inter-agency partnerships, and the completion of the five-year Cook County community health assessment. Our team also responded to a significant increase in workload in 2023. Across all social services programs, the number of unduplicated clients in open workgroups during the year increased to 538 individuals (up from 431 in 2022). Also of note were the large increase in eligibility renewals due for healthcare following the expiration of Federal pandemic-related program waivers. 

The Cook County PHHS department includes 34 staff who provide a wide range of services, most of which are mandated by state and federal law. In addition to our staff, the PHHS department contracts with local and regional service providers in the areas of child support, substance use disorder assessment and treatment services, in-home support services, and a variety of public health programs. Our department mission is “supporting the health, safety, and wellbeing of our community.”  

Staff Updates 

In 2023, fourteen positions turned over due to resignation, retirement, and internal job transfers, marking an unprecedented new level of turnover for our team. While turnover is a significant challenge for continuity of services and the training required of new staff, resignations and retirements created opportunities for eight staff on our team to expand their knowledge and community impact in new roles with the department. We welcomed eight new staff to the department in 2023 in new positions and to backfill vacancies, not filled by internal candidates.  

Several positions remained vacant for much of the year including a Family Services Case Manager (July 2022 to June 2023), Adult Mental Health Case Manager (February 2023 to present) and Coordinated Crisis Response (April 2023 to present). Cook County is not alone in experiencing challenges with recruiting and retaining staff in these positions, especially in the mental health field (Center for Rural Policy and Development, 2023). Visit the Cook County website at www.co.cook.mn.us to find a list of positions currently open for recruitment. 

Collaboration and Program Development 

Public Health and Human Services staff led and collaborated on program and service development in several key areas, aligned with our recently updated, five-year Community Health Assessment. 

The Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) is a three-year federally funded grant partnership between the Cook County, Grand Portage, Sawtooth Mountain Clinic, and the University of Minnesota. Through this grant program, PHHS staff are increasing our work alongside these partners, local schools, and other local and regional service providers to expand access to substance use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery services. In our second full year of work under this grant, our team worked to expand access to overdose prevention supplies and education through a series of Naloxone/Narcan trainings hosted at Cook County Higher Education. Our department also became an official Naloxone access point in 2023. A substance misuse prevention coalition open house meeting was held in late November with additional open house engagement sessions planned throughout the county in early 2024. 

While the Coordinated Crisis Response position remained vacant for most of 2023, department staff along with our partners at Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Portage Human Services, North Shore Health, and regional mental health service providers continued efforts to develop the infrastructure and collaborative relationships required to provide a more streamlined and supportive process for responding to individuals experiencing a mental health crisis. Calls to national and regional mental health crisis lines are now referred to mobile crisis teams within the county 24/7. Learn more about what happens when you call 988 in Cook County in this recent media release: https://co.cook.mn.us/news_detail_T6_R386.php.  

A series of initiatives to support the local childcare and early learning system kicked off in 2023 including the first year of the Cook County Childcare Wage Enhancement program. All eligible providers in the county and Grand Portage have participated and shared positive feedback about the difference this has made for their programs. All are appreciative of the program continuing into 2024 with a cost-of-living increase approved by the Public Health and Human Services Board. This program is unique within this field and is garnering interest around Minnesota and beyond. 

PHHS is continuing work in collaboration with Care Partners on a needs assessment that focuses on the perspectives, experiences, and concerns surrounding aging in Cook County. In 2023, staff at PHHS and Care Partners hosted seven in-person forums, one virtual forum and received over 100 survey responses. The action plan, to be developed after the forums and survey data collection are complete, will provide a framework for applying for grants and developing projects based on the identified community needs with the goal of making Cook County a more age-friendly community. We continue to seek input through a local survey throughout January and plan to share findings back to community members and elected officials in early 2024. 

In 2022 and 2023 our team secured hundreds of thousands of grant dollars to expand our work in other domains of community health including housing and transportation. In partnership with organizations including the Cook County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), local nonprofits and the regional Community Health Board our team provided education, outreach, assessments, and mitigation funds to local residents to address housing-based health threats through the Healthy Housing program. Late last year, our department was awarded grant funds to establish a collaborative transportation initiative with local nonprofits and healthcare systems. More to come on this exciting project early 2024! 

Community Engagement and Outreach 

The PHHS Advisory Council and Cook County Local Mental Health Advisory Council were active in making policy, service and funding recommendations, conducting outreach, and fostering connections across local health and human services organizations in 2023. Both advisory councils are seeking additional members. To get involved in a citizen advisory council, visit the Cook County website meeting portal at: https://cocookmn.civicweb.net/Portal/. You can also call 218-387-3620 or email us at [email protected] for more information or a paper application. Our meetings are open to the public if anyone is interested in learning more before committing to join as a voting member. 

In addition to the citizen advisory councils and the public engagement initiatives reference above, department staff work to get information out to residents in a variety of ways. In 2023, our team provided monthly presentations and service updates to the Public Health and Human Services Board. In conjunction with the monthly Board presentations, staff contributed to monthly Cook County Connections columns and interviews on WTIP’s North Shore Morning program. PHHS department staff authored 35 media releases in 2023 on a range of topics including changes to services following the end of the federal COVID-19 public health emergency, bike safety and active living events, and suicide prevention training and resources. 

Learn more about the PHHS department at the January 16 PHHS Board Meeting at 8:30 a.m. in the Cook County Commissioners Room. The meeting is available to livestream on the Cook County website at www.co.cook.mn.us. You can also visit our website at www.cookcountyphhs.org, contact us via email at [email protected] or find us on Facebook @CookCountyPHHS or Instagram @cook_county_phhs to learn more about our work in supporting the health, safety and wellbeing of Cook County.  

County Connections is a column on timely topics and service information from your Cook County government. Cook County – Supporting Community Through Quality Public Service.