About the Children and Youth with Special Health Needs Section

Vision

A Minnesota where all children and youth with special health needs and disabilities can live a life of dignity, opportunity, joy, and belonging.

Focus areas

CYSHN programs provide state-level leadership and collaboration to achieve our vision with an emphasis on quality improvement in the following areas:

• Fiscal responsibility
• Capacity, learning, and growth
• Internal processes
• Community and partnerships 

Who do we serve?

One in every five Minnesota families with children has at least one child with a special health need. Estimates of children with special health needs in Minnesota range from 160,000 to 200,000

Activities

In order to enhance positive outcomes for children and youth with special health needs and their families, CYSHN activities in Minnesota include:

• Education: Providing health and related information about specialized services to families of children with or at risk for chronic illnesses and disabilities; and identifying and promoting evidence-based interventions for children and youth with special health needs.
• Follow-Up: Assuring linkage of families with resources and services whose infants have been diagnosed with metabolic or endocrine conditions, infants with confirmed hearing loss, and infants identified with a birth defect.
• Community Partnerships: Technical assistance, specialized consultation, and support for primary care providers, specialty care providers, local public health nurses, and other community agencies who provide services to children and youth with special health needs.
• Public Policy: Engage in the development, coordination, and support of state and local systems for children with special health needs. These systems include Minnesota's Interagency Early Intervention System (Part C) and Minnesota's System of Interagency Coordination (MNSIC). Serve in an advisory capacity to policy-making bodies to assure the interests of children with special health needs are considered.
• Surveillance: Monitor and analyze data of selected populations to identify trends, adequacy and availability of services, and underlying causes of birth defects and conditions identified through newborn screening; monitor the effectiveness of interventions and document health outcomes of children identified with a newborn screening condition or birth defect.