DCT Advisory Committee

The Direct Care and Treatment (DCT) Advisory Committee, established under state law, provides a venue for a broad range of stakeholders to advise the DCT Executive Board on agency operations, including practices and priorities, promoting transparent decision-making and continuous system improvement. It offers a forum for stakeholders to share guidance and insight on DCT programs and operations, helping ensure that services remain responsive, effective, and informed by the people they impact.

About the Advisory Committee
By statute, the members of the Advisory Committee must be appointed as follows:
- One member appointed by the speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives
- One member appointed by the minority leader of the House of Representatives
- Two members appointed by the Minnesota Senate Committee on Committees, one member representing the majority caucus and one member representing the minority caucus
- One member appointed by the Association of Minnesota Counties
- One member appointed by joint representatives of the American Federation of State and Municipal Employees, the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, the Minnesota Nurses Association, the Middle Management Association, and the State Residential Schools Education Association
- One member appointed by the National Alliance on Mental Illness Minnesota
- Two members representing people with lived experience being served by state-operated treatment programs or their families, appointed by the governor.
The Advisory Committee meets as frequently as it determines necessary, and the DCT Executive Board regularly consults with the committee.

By statute, the Advisory Committee is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, 2027.
Committee Members

These are the members of DCT's Advisory Committee and the organizations they represent:

Committee Chair - Rep. Dave Baker, representing the Minnesota House of Representatives

Committee Vice Chair - Rep. Bianca Virnig, representing the Minnesota House of Representatives

Sen. John Hoffman, representing the Minnesota Senate

Sen. Paul Utke, representing the Minnesota Senate

Ramsey County Commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh, representing the Association of Minnesota Counties

Marcus Schmit, representing the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Minnesota Chapter

Jessica Langhorst, representing organized labor

James Carlson, representing people (or their families) with lived experience being served by state-operated treatment programs

Jim Postier, representing people (or their families) with lived experience being served by state-operated treatment programs

Use the contact form at the bottom of this page to submit general feedback or to share comments directed to individual Advisory Committee members.
Upcoming Meetings
June

Date: Friday, June 26, 2026
Time, Place, and Agenda: To be added

To Provide Public Comment During an Upcoming Meeting

The Advisory Committee is dedicated to creating a consistent, fair and transparent method for members of the public to provide oral comments during Advisory Committee meetings. The last 15 minutes of each meeting will be dedicated to public comment by community members.
- Members of the public who would like to comment must submit this form. Please note that commenters must submit the form at least three business days prior to the next meeting.
- Comments are limited to topics within the DCT Advisory Committee’s scope. Each speaker is allotted a fixed amount of time (e.g., 2-3 minutes), depending on the number of registered speakers.
- Committee staff review submissions for completeness and relevance. Staff send a confirmation email to individuals who request to comment no later than 48 hours prior to the meeting date and time with the status of their comment request. For commenters scheduled to speak, the email will include the estimated speaking time, instructions for in-person or virtual participation, and the public comment rules and expectations.
- If the number of requests exceeds available time, additional commenters are placed on a waitlist. Waitlisted individuals are notified of their status and may be called upon if time permits or if a confirmed commenter does not appear.
- Confirmed commenters must check in with meeting staff (in person or virtually) prior to the public comment period beginning on the agenda. To check in, commenters attending in person should sign in on the Public Comment registration form found near the room entrance. Speakers attending remotely should identify themselves to the virtual meeting host via meeting chat. Failure to check in may result in forfeiture of the speaking slot, at staff discretion.
Public Comment Rules and Expectations:
- Commenters must adhere to the amount of time allotted.
- Commenters must address the committee respectfully. Personal attacks, profanity, or disruptive behavior are not permitted.
- Presentations or materials are not allowed.
- Comments must not contain any personal health information (PHI) or personally identifiable information (PII) about individuals who are associated with or have received care at DCT facilities.
- The Committee Chair or meeting staff may issue a warning or end a speaker’s comment if rules are violated.
If at any time you would like to contact us outside of the regularly scheduled advisory group meetings, please feel free to complete the form in the “Contact the Advisory Committee” section below.
Past Meeting Agendas and Minutes
January 2026
- Download the Jan. 14, 2026, meeting agenda (PDF)
- Download the Jan. 14, 2026, meeting minutes (PDF)
February 2026
- Download the Feb. 27, 2026, meeting agenda (PDF)
- Download the Feb. 27, 2026 meeting minutes and slides (PDF)
March 2026
- Download the March 13, 2026, meeting agenda (PDF)
- Download the March 13, 2026, meeting minutes and slides (PDF)
April 2026
- Download the April 24, 2026, meeting agenda (PDF)
- Download the April 24, 2026, meeting minutes and slides (PDF)
Resources
Contact the Advisory Committee

Submit this form to provide feedback to the DCT Advisory Committee. Please note that the DCT Advisory Committee does not oversee DCT operations.

Any questions or immediate operational concerns should be provided to DCT via the contact us information or via the Compliance Hotline.

Additionally, formal data requests should be routed through DCT's data request process to ensure compliance with the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

We appreciate your engagement and contribution. Your input helps support transparency and continuous improvement.