Local Public Health Act Annual Reporting
Future Alignment with Foundational Public Health Responsibilities
Finance and staff reporting is transitioning to align with the Foundational Public Health Responsibilities (FPHR) Framework to synchronize with Minnesota's system transformation efforts.
On this page:
What's changing
Starting in calendar year 2026, community health boards will collect information on staffing and finance in two "capability" buckets and five "area" buckets.
Capabilities
Foundational capabilities are the cross-cutting skills and capacities needed to support basic public health protections, programs, and activities.
The two capability buckets that community health boards will report finance and staffing information are:
- Emergency preparedness and response
- All other foundational capabilities together, including assessment and surveillance, communications, community partnership development, equity, accountability, performance management, policy development and support, and organizational competencies.
Areas
Foundational areas are the basic public health, topic-specific programs and services aimed at improving community health. Areas reflect the minimum level of service that should be available in all communities.
The five area buckets that community health boards will report finance and staffing information are:
- Communicable disease control
- Chronic disease and injury prevention
- Environmental public health
- Maternal, child, and family health
- Access to and linkage with clinical care
Within each area bucket, community health boards will determine and code which activities are considered "foundational" and which activities are considered "community-specific services."
Community-specific services are local protections and services that are unique to the needs of a community. These services are essential to that community's health and vary by jurisdiction.
Tools and resources
Example REDCap Expenditure Form (PDF): This sample form shows what CY2026 expenditure reporting will look like in March 2027. A staffing form will be added soon.
Expenditure Spreadsheet (.xls) - Coming soon. This optional spreadsheet can help translate data from your local tracking system into the format required for LPH Act Annual Reporting on expenditures.
Draft descriptions of foundational capabilities and areas: These documents provide the most current draft descriptions of the work considered “foundational” for each area and capability. It serves as a clarification of the Foundational Public Health Responsibilities National Headlines: Minnesota Activities summary document. While not final, these drafts reflect current thinking.
- Emergency Preparedness and Response Capability (PDF)
- All Other Capabilities (No Emergency Preparedness and Response) (PDF)
- Access to and Linkage with Clinical Care (PDF)
- Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention (PDF)
- Communicable Disease Control (PDF)
- Environmental Public Health (PDF)
- Maternal Child and Family Health (PDF)
Tools to help distinguish between foundational areas, capabilities, and community specific
- Decision Guide for Foundational Public Health Responsibilities: Coming soon. A step-by-step guide to help determine whether an activity should be reported as a foundational capability, foundational area, or community-specific activity.
- Examples of Common Topics (PDF): This document provides examples of work categorized as community-specific, foundational area, or foundational capability.
Action items
- View the recording:
- Learn about the new changes to LPH Act annual reporting: LPH Act Annual Reporting Changes Webinar | Sept. 30, 2024
- Learn more: Review materials about the FPHR framework and what's foundational in Minnesota: Foundational Public Health Responsibilities and Framework - MN Dept. of Health
- Consider joining the FPHR Community of Practice: FPHR Community of Practice - MN Dept. of Health
- Attend office hours: Public Health Practice staff will be available to answer questions about this annual reporting shift on the following Fridays, from 10 to 11 a.m.:
- July 11, 2025
- August 1, 2025
- August 22, 2025
- September 12, 2025
- October 3, 2025
- October 24, 2025
- November 14, 2025
- December 5, 2025
CHS administrators and public health directors will receive the meeting link via a CHS-PHN Update email. If you need the meeting links, please email health.ophp@state.mn.us.
- Frequently asked questions: Responses to questions about the staff and finance annual reporting shift can be found here: FAQs About LPH Act Annual Reporting Shift (PDF)
Support for annual reporting
If you need access to REDCap for annual reporting, please email Ghazaleh Dadres at ghazaleh.dadres@state.mn.us. CHS administrators, directors, and requested staff have access to the annual reporting projects.
If you need help troubleshooting REDCap, visit this resource page: Help with REDCap for LPH Act annual reporting - MN Dept. of Health. You can also let us know at health.ophp@state.mn.us.
For non-REDCap help and questions, email health.ophp@state.mn.us or contact your public health system consultant: Who is my public health system consultant? - MN Dept. of Health.
Pilot participants
Eleven agencies or community health boards are piloting the LPH Act annual reporting transition. The purpose of the pilot is to explore ideas and approaches, leverage opportunities, and identify challenges and solutions. Participants are testing tools, creating guidance, and sharing learnings.
The following agencies or community health boards are participating in the pilot: Beltrami, Aitkin-Itasca-Koochiching, St. Louis, Carlton, Otter Tail, Horizon (Grant, Douglas, Stevens, Pope, and Traverse counties), Meeker-McLeod-Sibley, Olmsted, Blue Earth, Bloomington, and Southwest Health and Human Services (Lincoln, Lyon, Redwood, Pipestone, Murray, and Rock counties).
