I will try to post as early as I can in the week about child welfare-relevant upcoming committee hearings during Minnesota’s 88th legislative session. I thought it would be a good idea to organize based on topic, rather than date. Let me know what you think of my methods.
As always, remember to follow our bill tracking efforts!
Governor’s budget
Governor Dayton released his budget last week, and several committees will be meeting to discuss the budget. I’ve listed a few meetings below related to the DHS aspects of the budget.

  • Senate Health & Human Services Division—DHS budget proposal discussion continues. 1/29, 8:30 AM, 107 Capitol
    • Public testimony heard during Wednesday’s and Thursday’s 8:30 AM meetings.
  • House Health & Human Services Finance Committee—Will continue to hear governor’s budget proposal for DHS. 1/29 & 1/30, 10:00 AM, 200 SOB

Early Childhood
Both the Governor and the legislature have indicated a strong commitment to early childhood education and development. In particular, there has been a push to institute voluntary full-day kindergarten.

  • House Education Finance Committee—Will hear presentations on some early learning, kindergarten, and after-school programming from a few school districts and non-profits. 1/29 & 1/31, 8:15 AM, 10 SOB
  • House Early Childhood & Youth Development Committee—HF 107, modifying child care assistance absent days. 1/30, 4:00 PM, 5 SOB
  • Senate E-12 Division—Two bills (SF 2, SF 162) on funding authorization for voluntary full-day kindergarten will be discussed. 1/31, 8:30 AM,112 Capitol

Secondary/Postsecondary Education

  • House Education Finance Committee—Will hear presentations on addressing the achievement gap, college and career readiness, and high school/postsecondary alignment and best practices. 1/31, 8:15 AM, 10 SOB

Sex Trafficking
This was a hot topic during the 87th legislative session. It looks like more legislation will be introduced this session to continue the work from last session.

  • House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee—Review of sex trafficking in Minnesota, including the No Wrong Door Report and an update on the Safe Harbor Act from 2011. 1/29, 10:00 AM, 10 SOB

Disability
We’ll be seeing a lot on disability this session, due to last session’s legislative directive to DHS to work to achieve better outcomes for people with disabilities. DHS has termed this effort “Reform 2020.”

  • House Health & Human Services Policy Committee—Overview of autism provided. 1/29, 2:15 PM, 200 SOB
  • House Public Safety Finance & Policy Committee—HF 40 discussed, concerns background studies and guardian/conservator modifications. 1/30, 10:00 AM, 10 SOB
  • House health & Human Services Policy Committee—HF 181, providing coverage for autism spectrum disorder. 1/30, 2:15 PM, 200 SOB

Health Care/Insurance
This is definitely going to be a big topic this legislative session, due to the Affordable Care Act.

  • House Health & Human Services Finance Committee—HF 9, expanding medical assistance eligibility and requiring the use of modified adjusted gross income & standard income disregard. 1/31, 10:00 AM, 200 SOB

Racial Disparities

  • House Public Safety Finance & Policy Committee—Will be given an overview of criminal history scoring system and racial disparities in the criminal justice system. 1/31, 10:00 AM, 10 SOB