Local Public Health Act Annual Reporting

Each year, Minnesota community health boards are required to report on staffing, finance, and performance measures to help us identify and understand trends in how Minnesota's local public health system operates. This is called the Local Public Health Act annual reporting because it's required in Minnesota's Local Public Health Act (Minn. Stat. § 145A).

Reporting is typically open from mid-February through March each year to report data for the previous calendar year. 

Local Public Health Act annual reporting is currently closed. Reports on finance, staffing, and performance measurement for calendar year 2023 will be available in fall 2024.

About calendar year 2024 annual reporting (reported by March 31, 2025)

Community health boards can expect the following for calendar year 2024 reporting:

• Finance and staffing: No major changes.
  • Foundational Public Health Responsibility Grant: Reporting on the match for the Foundational Public Health Responsibilities Grant will follow the same format as the Local Public Health Grant.
  • Language updates: Reporting will have new language to match the six areas of responsibility to components of the Foundational Public Health Responsibilities Framework. This does not require any changes in local data collection systems.
  • COVID-19: Continue reporting on expenditures, if applicable.
  • Follow-up questions: Some will be removed. 
• Performance-related accountability requirement: Community health boards must demonstrate the ability to meet national measure 1.3.3 (using data to inform public health actions) with a brief narrative example and guided reflection for system learning. Instructions for reporting can be found here: Accountability Requirements for the Local Public Health Act - MN Dept. of Health. 
• Performance measures: The Performance Measurement Workgroup is developing a recommendation for the State Community Health Services Advisory Committee (SCHSAC). Local public health will be notified via CHS-PHN Updates in late 2024. 

Future alignment of finance and staffing to Foundational Public Health Responsibility (FPHR) Framework

Finance and staff reporting is transitioning to align with the Foundational Public Health Responsibilities Framework to synchronize with Minnesota's system transformation efforts.

Community health boards will have over a year to update their systems, with full alignment expected by calendar year 2026 (reported March 31, 2027). See Local Public Health Act Annual Reporting - MN Dept. of Health for future categories of calendar year 2026 reporting.

The Center for Public Health Practice will host webinars to review the plan in detail (see below) and will provide new tools to guide the new ways of reporting in the future. 

Community health boards can opt to align earlier and participate in a pilot project to test, refine, and share reporting approaches and tools.

Foundational capabilities

During the calendar year 2026, community health boards should collect information on staff and finance in two capability buckets: 

1. All foundational capabilities together (except emergency preparedness and response)
2. Emergency preparedness and response

Foundational areas

During calendar year 2026, community health boards should collect information on staff and finance in these five area buckets. Community health boards will need to distinguish expenditures and staffing between activities that are foundational in every community from the important, community-specific activities: 

1. Communicable Disease Control: Foundational in every community versus community-specific
2. Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention: Foundational in every community versus community-specific
3. Environmental Public Health: Foundational in every community versus community-specific
4. Maternal, Child, and Family Health: Foundational in every community versus community-specific
5. Access to and Linkage with Clinical Care: Foundational in every community versus community-specific
    

Action items

1. Attend an informational webinar: Each will detail the transition to Foundational Public Health Responsibilities Framework alignment. Invite finance staff and any other staff involved in finance and staff reporting. 

   • Monday, Sept. 30, 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. 
     Watch the recording: LPH Act Annual Reporting Webinar | Sept. 30, 2024
   • Tuesday, Oct. 8, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. 
   • Thursday, Oct. 24, 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. 

   CHS administrators and public health directors received the meeting link via a CHS-PHN Update email on Sept. 13, 2024. If you need the meeting links, please email health.ophp@state.mn.us. 

2. Regional meetings: The Center for Public Health Practice staff will attend regional Local Public Health Association meetings in September and October to provide updates and answer questions. 
3. Early adopter pilot project participation: If your community health board is interested in aligning finance and staffing reporting with the Foundational Public Health Responsibilities Framework earlier, please complete this form: Early Adopter Pilot Project | Participation Form 
    

Support for annual reporting

If you need access to REDCap for annual reporting, please email Ghazaleh Dadres at ghazaleh.dadres@state.mn.us. CHS administrators, directors, and requested staff have access to the annual reporting projects. 

If you need help troubleshooting REDCap, visit this resource page: Help with REDCap for LPH Act annual reporting - MN Dept. of Health. You can also let us know at health.ophp@state.mn.us.

For non-REDCap help and questions, email health.ophp@state.mn.us or contact your public health system consultant: Who is my public health system consultant? - MN Dept. of Health.

Related

• LPH Act annual reporting frequently asked questions
• Title V MCH Block Grant: The Minnesota Department of Health maintains information for Minnesota's Title V Maternal and Child Health Block Grant and will communicate directly with local public health leadership about Title V reporting.
• Contact database for community health boards: Please keep your community health board's contact information updated here.
• Local public health assessment and planning: Learn more about strategic plans, community health assessment and improvement planning, and more.
• Requirements for the Local Public Health Act: Community health boards have statutory responsibility under the Local Public Health Act. There are two components to compliance: statutory requirements and performance-related accountability requirements