Wilkin County pursues shared human services leadership with Otter Tail County

Wilkin County commissioners moved to hire a new Health and Human Services operations director while keeping open a shared leadership partnership with Otter Tail County, a step that could reshape how the two counties run specialized services without folding Wilkin’s local department into a larger system. The vote came at the July 7 county board meeting in Breckenridge, where officials said the arrangement could strengthen service delivery and preserve local control.

The idea has some built-in precedent. Otter Tail County and Wilkin County already operate the Prairie Lakes Community Health Board through a joint powers agreement, a structure authorized under Minnesota’s Local Public Health Act. County leaders also have experience with another shared-service network, the Becker/Clay/Otter Tail/Wilkin Adult Mental Health Initiative, which has operated since 1995.

The staffing picture in Otter Tail County helps explain why the discussion is moving now. Deb Sjostrom, who has served as Otter Tail County’s human services director since April 2015, stepped into phased retirement effective July 6 after more than 35 years of public service. Otter Tail County is also recruiting for a full-time Assistant Health & Human Services Director, a position that is set to provide administrative leadership and supervision, quality improvement work, and performance management. In practical terms, that kind of role could give both counties a clearer management structure if they decide to share more of the top-level oversight.

Wilkin County already has some experience with blended human services supervision. County minutes from October 2021 show a setup in which licensing duties for a Health and Human Services specialist were supervised by the social services supervisor, while the public health director supervised the specialist position. That history gives the county a working example of how responsibilities can be split across staff and programs without shutting down local operations.

The board’s discussion came during a meeting that also recognized a sheriff’s sergeant, a jail administrator, and a public safety telecommunicator for lifesaving actions, but the human services vote stood out for its regional reach. If Wilkin County and Otter Tail County move ahead, the question will be who controls day-to-day decisions, which functions are shared, and how far the partnership goes in cutting duplication while keeping residents closer to the services they use.