Minnesota Agencies

To provide recommendations in reports to the commissioner regarding program and service needs of persons with traumatic brain injuries. The secondary purpose is to provide recommendations to any DHS unit or state department regarding brain injury.

Established in 1992, the Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Committee provides recommendations to DHS on program development and concerns about health and human service needs for persons with traumatic brain injuries. Minnesota Statutes section 256B.093.

A state TBI advisory council and lead agency are two required core components for state TBI grant infrastructure. In 1997, Governor Carlson designated the Department of Human Services as Minnesota's lead agency for TBI services and the DHS TBI Advisory Committee as the state TBI advisory council.

The Federal government has made grant funding available to states, including Minnesota, since 1996. The TBI Act of 2006 (reauthorized in 2008) established Implementation Partnership grants to ensure state systems continue to improve their ability to meet the needs of individuals with TBI and their families. IP grants allow state agencies to conduct, expand, or improve service capacity to people with traumatic brain injuries, and support systems improvement activities so states can evaluate their current structure and policies.

In 2010, the Minnesota Department of Human Services received its second four-year IP grant to expand on earlier work funded by a 2006-2010 grant. Both IP grants support the work of the Minnesota Department of Corrections. The 2006-2010 IP grant assessed prevalence of TBI in Minnesota correctional facilities and began to develop strategies for successful return to the community. Current grant funding allows the hiring of a project psychologist and release planner to work with offenders who have significant needs related to their traumatic brain injury. An added focus of this grant will address community re-entry for American Indian offenders. (From: Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Committee website, 3/22/12).

The Traumatic Brain Injury Advisory Committee was reviewed by the Legislative Commission on Planning and Fiscal Policy (LCPFP) in 2013 as part of their biennial duty required by Minn. Stat. 3.885 Subd. 11. The LCPFP's 2013 Recommendations called for keeping the committee. 2018 Minn. Laws Chap. 164 Sec. 3 extended the group's expiration date from June 30, 2018 (which was set in 2014) to June 30, 2023.

Membership shall include no fewer than 10 members and no more than 30 members. The Brain Injury Association of MN shall retain a membership position on the Committee.