Minnesota Senate File 1675 was heard on February 15th and February 21st. This bill has a number of amendments that affect child welfare. Click here to see the full bill text.
This bill has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Here are a few of the pieces of the bill that were discussed in the hearing:

  • Expand Safe Place for Newborns. The expansion would include a mother being able to leave her newborn not only at a hospital, but also at a medical clinic or sheriff’s department with an employee of that safe place. It would also expand the ability to leave a newborn from 72 hours after birth to 7 days after birth.
  • Sharing of child support data with child welfare. This would allow access to child support data on non-custodial parents and broaden the use of data to include relatives.
  • 6-month permanency review for all children in foster care. Current law only requires this review at 6 months for children under the age of 8. This will also give relatives a chance to come forward and identify themselves as a permanency option.
  • Eliminate the Child Maltreatment Review Panel.
  • Move adoption under state guardianship from 259C to 260C to create a seamless pathway to permanency.
  • Modify Child Care Assistance. Date of eligibility changed to the date the application is received.
  • Background study requirements for unlicensed child care providers will be aligned with licensed child care provider and licensing statutes. Fees associated with the study would not change.
  • Child care providers who receive child care assistance must maintain records on the child in care and provisions in this bill would make records consistent around the state. The purpose of this is to increase safety of the children in care and to decrease fraudulent claims to child care assistance.

Check out our Child Welfare Policy Bill Tracking webpageto see what else is covered in this bill.
Click here to watch the entire hearing.
How might these bill amendments affect your practice?