Olmsted County recognized for human services excellence

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) announced today that Olmsted County, in partnership with Hennepin, Wabasha, and Wright counties and Code for America, received the DHS Circle of Excellence Award. Organizations receiving the award have, according to DHS, “done an exemplary job of providing access to food, health care and other assistance to Minnesotans in need.”

Olmsted County, with the partnering agencies, collaborated with DHS to create MNbenefits.mn.gov, a simplified online application for nine of Minnesota’s public assistance programs. 

“Olmsted County is proud to be one of the original pilot counties and early adopters of the MNbenefits applications,” said Deputy County Administrator Travis Gransee. “Our team members helped develop a mobile-friendly application that works across all browsers and devices, eliminating barriers Minnesotans were experiencing when trying to access public assistance benefits.”

The mobile-friendly app is available in English and Spanish, with more languages coming. Users can complete the application in just nine minutes while the previous application process took about one hour.

“MNbenefits has created efficiencies for DHS, county and tribal nation staff, boosting our collective capacity to provide more timely service and a better experience for people applying for public assistance,” said Olmsted County Family Support and Assistance Director Corrine Erickson.

In addition to Olmsted County’s collaboration with Hennepin, Wabasha, and Wright counties and Code for America, another five Circle of Excellence winners will receive their awards in the weeks ahead.