Governor Mark Dayton announcing an executive order regarding Minnesota’s child protection system. Source: Tom Scheck/MPR News

Over the last few months the Star Tribune and other media outlets have put Minnesota’s child protection system in the spotlight, highlighting concerns surrounding the low screen-in rates of reports of alleged child maltreatment as well as the death of a four-year-old child who had been brought to the attention of the child protection system 15 different times.

In order to address public concerns about Minnesota’s child protection system, Governor Mark Dayton held a press conference Monday morning and issued a press release. During the press conference he directed the state Department of Human Services (DHS) to implement immediate changes to the child protection system. He also signed an Executive Order to create the Governor’s Task Force on the Protection of Children.

Immediate Systemic Changes

Random Monthly Screenings of Intake Decisions

Governor Dayton ordered DHS to conduct random monthly screenings of intake decisions, beginning immediately. These screenings will include both screened-in and screened-out reports. Should DHS decide that a screened-out report should have been screened in (or, presumably, vice versa), the state will “push” counties to reverse their decision.

State Rapid Consultation System

Intake workers and screening teams will have access to a new rapid consultation system, made up of both county and state child protection experts, to help them make screening decisions regarding reports of alleged child maltreatment, as well as double-check decisions made against statutory requirements.

Governor’s Task Force on the Protection of Children

The governor-appointed Task Force on the Protection of Children is to be led by DHS Commissioner Lucinda Jesson and Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter. The purpose of the task force is

“to advise the Governor and Legislature on system and practice improvements in the child protection system at all levels of government within the State of Minnesota.” (Source: Executive Order 14-15)

The task force will review Minnesota’s child protection system and make recommendations on whether current child welfare practice in cases not involving the court is adequate and being followed appropriately (this includes screening practices and Family Assessment), as well as staffing and resource needs and adequate supervisory oversight of local agency practices. Specific issues to be addressed by the task force cover:

  • screening decisions,
  • staff training and workforce development,
  • workload,
  • cross reporting to law enforcement,
  • state capacity for quality assurance,
  • handling of substantial child endangerment cases,
  • adherence to child protection protocols,
  • resources, and
  • what Minnesota does well and where it can improve.

Child Welfare Funding in Minnesota

The task force will also review funding levels for the child protection system and determine whether the system needs more funding. As MPR reports, child protection has seen a loss of $36 million in budget cuts over the last 10 years. Minnesota has had one of the nation’s lowest percentages of state-level contributions toward child welfare financing for the past several years, relying on local governments (i.e., counties) to pay for nearly half of all child welfare expenditures. In 2012 the state contributed $96,684,123 (about 22%), while the counties contributed $203,687,530 (about 46%). The remaining 32% comes from federal and miscellaneous funds.

According to the Executive Order, the task force will be named sometime in early October (since it will go into effect 15 days from yesterday), with initial recommendations presented by December 31, 2014, in time for the convening of the 2015 legislative session. Final recommendations will be provided by March 31, 2015.

2015 Legislative Session

During the press conference Governor Dayton also called on the Minnesota legislature to address child protection system reforms during the 2015 legislative session, to be convened on January 6, 2015, at noon. Taking into consideration previous media reports about state lawmakers expressing their own concerns about the child protection system here in Minnesota, it seems extremely likely that this will indeed be a hot topic in the upcoming legislative session.