Senator Kathy Sheran discussing the DE amendment for SF 807 during the Feb. 18, 2015, hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing. Source: Senate Media Services webcast (screenshot)

Two of the initial recommendations from the Governor’s Task Force on the Protection of Children are the focus of the delete-everything (DE) amendments for companion bills House File 8 and Senate File 807, authored by Representative Ron Kresha and Senator Kathy Sheran, respectively.

In Wednesday’s Senate Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing hearing, Senator Sheran explained that the DE amendments pull language from the larger child protection bills (SF 4/HF 191)—still making their way through the Senate and House committees—in order to expedite two Task Force recommendations that have no fiscal impact. By pulling the language out into smaller bills, there is a greater chance that they will make it to the Senate and House floors more quickly, thus allowing counties to implement these recommendations sooner rather than waiting until the end of the legislative session.

The two provisions are:

  1. A modification to the Public Policy statement in Minnesota’s Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act to emphasize child safety as paramount in any child welfare response, and
  2. A repeal of the 2014 law that barred the use of screened out reports for anything other than making a social services referral.

If passed and signed into law, these provisions would have immediate effective dates.

It is important to note that the second provision does not specifically state that counties can consider screened out reports in making screening decisions, though the intent of the Task Force is that counties are given this ability. Rather, it will be up to the Department of Human Services to initiate that practice change.

In Wednesday’s hearing, SF 807 was passed as amended and referred to the floor. On Tuesday, the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee passed HF 8 as amended and referred to the floor, where it received its second reading.

Regarding the status of the two bills that include the majority of the child protection provisions based on the Task Force recommendations: SF 4 is on its 1st engrossment and is still in the Senate Committee on Judiciary, and HF 191 is on its 3rd engrossment and is in the House Health and Human Services Finance Committee.