Today (Wednesday, February 1) there will be a hearing in the Minnesota House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee at 10:15 AM in Room 10 State Office Building. The agenda includes several items, but the one most relevant to child welfare is Jacob’s Law (HF 1899), whose short description is

“Jacob’s law established requiring notice of crime victim rights to parents and guardians of child victims, requiring notification to social services if a child is abused outside the home, and amending parental rights to include police reports on minor children.”

If passed, this bill would expand parental rights after legal separation and divorce proceedings by requiring each parent to inform the other should their child become a victim of a crime, and to include the name of the investigating officer. Also, the prosecuting agency would be required to notify all parents/guardians of the child’s rights as a victim, unless it was prohibited by law or the parent or guardian was the perpetrator.
Additionally, the bill would insert text requiring law enforcement agencies to report the abuse of a child outside the child’s home to child welfare services in order to allow child welfare services to provide appropriate services to the child. Currently the law does not technically require this.