Calling All Sectors Project

Background

Over 500 children are born into homelessness each year in Minnesota.

• In the Department of Human Services MAXIS system, 769 children under the age of one were identified as experiencing homelessness in 2020. MAXIS tracks individuals receiving at least one benefit from food assistance, cash assistance, or certain housing programs.
• Minnesota's Homelessness Management Information System (HMIS) reported 464 children under the age of one experiencing homelessness in 2019, and 524 in 2018.
• Wilder Research's most recent study of people experiencing homelessness identified 125 women reporting that they were pregnant on October 25, 2018, with an additional 67 adults reporting their partner was pregnant. This is a one-night count, rather than an annual count.
• Based on data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), Minnesota had 4,240 pregnant women reporting that they were homeless or had slept outside, in a car or in a shelter during their pregnancy in 2016 through 2018, which averages 1,413 women each year. Not all these women were necessarily experiencing homelessness at the time of delivery.

American Indian and African American/Black newborns are 23 and 10 times more likely to experience homelessness than White newborns (see figure below).

Newborns Experiencing Homelessness per 1,000 births

Source: HMIS and MDH Center for Health Statistics

• The rate of homelessness for American Indian newborns (50.8 per 1,000 births) is 23 times greater than the rate for white newborns (2.2 per 1,000 births). The rate for African American/Black newborns (22.1 per 1,000 births) is 10 times greater than the rate for White newborns. (Figure: Children Under the Age of One Experiencing Homelessness per 1,000 births, by Race and Ethnicity)
• No known set of risk factors, such as poverty, education, or disability, ‘explain’ why these disparities are so extreme. Discrimination and racism very likely play a large role.

American Indian and African American/Black women who are pregnant experiencing homelessness face challenges, including very limited income and lack of access to affordable housing.

Source: Wilder Research, 2018 Study of Homelessness. (N=30 for American Indian and N=41 for African American/Black)

They also face additional challenges.

Source: Wilder Research, 2018 Study of Homelessness. (N=30 for American Indian and N=41 for African American/Black)

Homelessness among newborns is contracted in several counties.

Source: MAXIS.

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Project Purpose and Overview

Calling All Sectors (CAS) is designed to forge lasting collaborations across state agencies ad with non-government community organizations to identify innovative solutions to public health challenges. This national collaborative is being led by the Pew Charitable Trusts and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Nine states plus Washington D.C were selected in 2019 to focus on combining expertise and resources across state partners. While the grant was intended originally to last for 2 years, it was extended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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State Vision

Minnesota's focus is on how cross-sector collaboration can generate systems-level policies and strategies that reduce inequities in African American and American Indian infant mortality, and to ensure that no child is born into homelessness.

Members of the Core Team represent state agencies like Minnesota Housing and Finance Agency, the Department of Human Services, the Governor's Children's Cabinet, and the Minnesota Department of Health are working with staff from Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center (MIWRC).

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Engagement

In acknowledging that we have worked in silos for too long, a Home Team has convened monthly since November 2019 to discuss how to break down barriers, identify gaps, and address potential opportunities. Representatives come from various sectors like policy, housing, healthcare, nutrition, early childhood development, and tribal specific areas. Organizations include: