Metrotech Industries

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The Minnesota Department of Human Services helps people meet their basic needs by providing or administering health care coverage, economic assistance, and a variety of services for children, people with disabilities and older Minnesotans.

Need for adoption of adolescents is focus of annual event

At the 13th annual Celebrate Adoption: A Circus of the Heart event, adoption experts and an adoptive family will talk about the importance of adopting adolescents. The event will be held Nov. 7, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Prom Center in Oakdale. Currently 348 children are waiting for adoptive families immediately; 38 percent are adolescents, who often wait the longest for a family. More information about the event is available online.

Rating and reporting tool added to DHS website pages

A new tool has been added to DHS website pages to gauge users' opinions on page content and rate whether the information was easy to find. Insight Metrics, a quick bottom-of-the-page survey, was developed by DHS as a tool to measure whether its site is user friendly. Users also can use the tool to report broken links and other Web page issues to DHS. The link to the tool can be found on the lower left-hand side of every page. The survey asks participants to rank whether they found the information they were looking for and if the page was easy to find. Participants who give a low ranking to the page will be asked for further comments.

Information about which coordinated care delivery systems (CCDS) are accepting new General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) patients is now on the DHS website. Three of the four CCDS have reached the enrollment limits set in their contracts to serve clients under the reformed GAMC program, which began June 1. Additional information about the enrollment process and GAMC is at www.dhs.state.mn.us/gamc.

Website provides health care coverage and reform information

A recently launched federal website, www.healthcare.gov, provides consumers with information about private and public health coverage options, including Minnesota Health Care Programs, tailored specifically for their needs in a single, easy-to-use tool. In addition, the website will be a one-stop-shop for information about the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and other health care resources. The website will connect consumers to quality rankings for local health care providers as well as preventive services.

2010 legislative session fact sheets available online

Fact sheets summarizing highlights of the 2010 legislative session are now available on DHS website. A human services overview fact sheet is included along with fact sheets highlighting General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) reform and changes affecting Minnesota Health Care Programs.

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