Biography

Stan Groff is well known in Minnesota as an accomplished professional in public human services and healthcare arenas.  He is known as a veteran, successful administrator, innovator, educator and consultant.  His career has spanned over four decades of continuous solid achievement and has been in demand as a leader, public speaker, teacher, collaborator and mentor.  Groff is also known as a turn-around specialist in both the public and private sectors.  He has lead many organizational development efforts and has been on the ground floor as new organizations and businesses have been developed. Mr. Groff has been responsible for all aspects of administration which often includes the need to find a balance between the needs of consumers of services, taxpayers and the expectations of elected officials.  Planning, budgeting, reporting, human resource management, creativity and fiscal discipline are all skills required in these positions, and his success at achieving results in these areas is well known. 

With respect to fiscal discipline, Groff lead the effort early on to create a data-based financial reporting system in Steele County that allows tracking of costs by program and service against budget and generates reports to management and the Board.  This system has lead to an unprecedented string of annual year-end results where revenues exceeded expenditures thereby creating a strong balance sheet for the department.

In 1987, Groff was asked by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) to co-chair the joint State/County Operations and Policy Committee at DHS.  This committee was charged with overseeing the development of DHS’s data based eligibility system; a $40 million FAMIS (Family Assistance Management Information System) project funded by the Federal Government.  This system, an immediate success, is still in use today by DHS and the counties.  Since then, Groff has been asked to head up several other state/county committees notably where there are complex formula allocation issues or where data is needed to solve difficult relational issues among the counties and DHS or where there are complex issues of policy such as in healthcare.  He was named as the first Chair of the Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators’ Health Care Policy Committee where he has served for the past several years.  As such he has played a key role in the development of healthcare policy for counties.

Active in church, community and civic affairs, he has provided leadership in the private sector acting as founder of several community private not-for-profits, as leader of the Owatonna Hospital Board as they propose to build a new Allina hospital facility in partnership with Mayo physicians and as advisor to Steele County’s large United Way organization during its allocation process.

For most of his career Groff has served as director in several Minnesota county human service departments, served in responsible mid-management positions in several others and has held positions in related areas as well as follows:

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Consulting experience

Currently Minnesota State Legislature Lobbyist

• The Minnesota Social Services Association, the Association of Minnesota Counties, Steele County, and the Hutchinon Area Health Care and Medical Center

Jan. 2007–June 2007 Assn. of MN Counties & Minnesota Social Services Assn.

• Provided representation and lobbying services for these two organizations during the 2007 Session of the Minnesota Legislature

March 2005–Dec. 2006 South Country Health Alliance

• Project development lead for a managed care Medicare product for the disabled with Owatonna, Minnesota based South Country Health Alliance (AbilityCare program implemented Jan. 1, 2006)

March 1980–March 2005 Steele County Human Services 

• Human Services Department Director
• Transit Department Director
• Executive Staff, Human Services Committee-Steele County Board

Sept. 1989–Sept. 2003 St. Mary’s University of Minnesota

• Health and Human Services Administration, Graduate Adjunct Assistant Professor
• Curriculum Committee, Member
• Faculty of the Year Award, 1996

Sept. 1975–March 1977 Governor’s Office of Human Services Boards

• Senior Planner/Researcher, Development of County Human Service
• Development Team, State Department of Economic Security

March 1972–Sept. 1975 County Human Services Board 

• Faribault, Martin, and Watonwan Counties
• Faribault County Department of Social Services, Director
• Faribault, Martin Watonwan HSB, Senior Planner/Analyst

Boards, planning, and development

• Owatonna Hospital, Chair (1999-2002)
• South Country Health Alliance, Co-Founder
• Exchange Club Center for Family Unity, Co-Founder
• Clothesline Board, Founder
• Channel One Food Banks
• Minnesota Social Services Association
• Nominating & Governance Committee, Allina Corp.

Education

• Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL:  Masters of Social Work, Concentration:  Administration and Research
• University of Minnesota, Morris, MN:  Bachelor of Arts, Major:  Sociology

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