Developmental Disabilities

Minnesota Contacts

State Agency Responsible for Providing Services to the Developmentally Disabled

The Minnesota Department of Human Services, in cooperation with its county partners, helps people meet their basic needs so that they can live in dignity and achieve their highest potential. Consumers include: seniors who need help paying for hospital and nursing home bills or who need home-delivered meals, families with children who need help during a financial crisis, parents who need child support enforcement or child care money, and people with physical or developmental disabilities who need assistance to live as independently as possible. Community Support Services provide statewide consultation, assessment, crisis and other services to help people with developmental disabilities, mental illness and traumatic brain disorders live in the community.

State Agency Responsible for Overseeing Employment Opportunities for the Developmentally Disabled

The Extended Employment Programs within the Department of Employment and Economic Development provides services to individuals in a variety of work settings including community rehabilitation program sites, community-based group sites and community-based individual sites.

Services are contracted with a statewide network of 29 community rehabilitation organizations. These organizations are under contract to the Department and are certified annually and must maintain the highest levels of service and accountability to the persons receiving services. This certification process includes obtaining and maintaining national accreditation with CARF.

Sheltered Employment

To sign an operating agreement with the state the CRP must be CARF accredited. In addition, CRP must establish a grievance procedure to address the worker's concerns, including health and safety issues. Concerns that are not satisfactorily addressed by the CRP are escalated to the funding agency, the Extended Employment program, for review.

In Minnesota a worker with developmental disabilities receives a referral from their case manager to a Community Rehabilitation Programs (CRP). There are 26 in the state that offer sheltered employment programs. A list of CRPs with an operating agreement with the state can be found at:

Competitive Employment

Supported employment provided by the Extended Employment Programs provides ongoing support for persons working in the larger community in a variety of employment settings. Center-based employment provides ongoing support for persons who work in manufacturing, service, and retail enterprises operated by the community rehabilitation program. All workers, in either a sheltered or non-sheltered employment setting would initially address their concern to the case manager. If the complaint is serious it would trigger an investigation that may include social services, law enforcement and other state agencies.

Health and Safety

The Department of Labor and Industry offers a free consultation service. Using MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation employers can request an on-site visit and find out about potential hazards at the worksite and how to improve their safety management systems. This program is completely separate from the MNOSHA compliance inspection activities.

After business hours, or weekends or holidays the call should be made to a federal OSHA hotline number:

Employers must report work-related incidents that result in the death of an employee or the in-patient hospitalization of three or more employees to MNOSHA within 8 hours. The call should be made to:

The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1973 (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 182) provides job safety and health protection for workers throughout the state. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Occupational Safety and Health Division (MNOSHA) has the sole responsibility of administering the act. Complaints about the health and safety of workers should be directed to one of 3 regional MNOSHA offices in Minnesota.

Reporting Abuse and Neglect

The Adult Protective services Unit provides training and consultation about the Minnesota Vulnerable Adults Act, identifying maltreatment in vulnerable adults can be challenging because the adult may not be able to communicate what happened or may be considered an unreliable witness. If there is immediate danger to the vulnerable adult, call 911 immediately. If you suspect abuse, neglect or financial exploitation, you should call your county's designated "Common Entry Point." The Common Entry Point receives all reports of known or suspected maltreatment and works with appropriate authorities. The phone line is available 24 hours a day/7 days a week. To find your county's Common Entry Point, call: 1-800-333-2433. For more information about the law, reporting maltreatment of a vulnerable adult, or Adult Protection Services, contact the Human Services Adult Services Unit at:

The first point of contact should be at the county level. Each county has designated a "common entry point" for reports of suspected maltreatment of the vulnerable population, including the health and safety of workers with developmental disabilities.

At the state level, an Office of Ombudsmen in the Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation collects and investigates reports of injuries received from licensed facilities that have vulnerable populations.

Protection and Advocacy

An additional source of information for citizens with developmental disabilities is the:

The protection and advocacy of citizens with developmental disabilities is under the Minnesota Disability Law Center. They may be contacted at: