Yesterday Governor Dayton signed the omnibus Health & Human Services (HHS) Finance bill, making it Chapter 108 in the 2013 Session Laws. The main point of this bill was to establish the HHS budget, but there are also policy changes that will impact child welfare. One big change from earlier versions of the bill is [...]
On Sunday Governor Dayton and House and Senate leaders announced that they had come to an agreement on budget targets for the next biennium. This announcement was particularly important for those of us in the health and human services field, as Governor Dayton and the legislative leaders had different ideas regarding the budget target for [...]
On May 1, 2013, the Family Reunification Act of 2013 was signed into law by Governor Dayton. The Family Reunification Act would allow under certain circumstances the reestablishment of legal parent and child relationships. The goal is to provide permanency for certain youth in foster care who would otherwise age out of the system. Under [...]
The Health & Human Services Omnibus bill (H.F. 1233) in the Minnesota legislature has been slowly moving forward. Because the Senate and House did not agree on the bill text of H.F. 1233, there is a conference committee for the bill. This morning the HHS Conference Committee met from 8 AM to 10 AM and [...]
This is the second part in a three-part series I will be writing on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, or "The Baby Veronica Case." Part 1 presented the actual case that was heard before the Supreme Court as well as the responses of the Supreme Court Justices. Part 2 reviews the history leading up to [...]
This is the first part in a three-part series I will be writing on Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, or "The Baby Veronica Case." Part 1 presents the actual case that was heard before the Supreme Court as well as the responses of the Supreme Court Justices. Part 2 will review the history leading up [...]
Guest blog post by Caitlin Magistad. The transition to adulthood has become longer, more expensive, and increasingly complex; yet vulnerable populations including homeless, foster care, and juvenile justice youth are expected to transition to adulthood abruptly on their own. Trends in legislation and funding regarding disconnected youth illustrate both federal and state commitment to helping [...]
Update 4/16/13, 11:09 AM - Content clarification Update 4/5/13, 11:05 AM - Content clarification On Wednesday in the House Health and Human Services (HHS) Finance committee, Assistant Commissioner of Child and Family Services Erin Sullivan Sutton provided a walk-through of Governor Dayton's updated HHS budget recommendations from his supplemental budget as they pertain to children [...]