This summer we’ve seen the implementation of a variety of changes to Minnesota’s child welfare system. CACSW has compiled several of the most noteworthy developments so far below. If you don’t see a news item listed that you think should be, please send the bill and any additional information to Matthew Dooley, Outreach Graduate Assistant, at [email protected].
Department of Children, Family, and Youth Services Opens
Minnesota’s new Department of Children, Youth and Families began operations on July 1. Four state agencies have begun transferring their programs to DCYF. The Department notes, “People, providers and partners should continue accessing services and supports in the same way as before. No action is required to renew or continue services through DCYF.” The Department is actively recruiting to fill its staffing needs. Instructions for those interested in applying to work for DCYF can be found here.
Report Finds Widespread Abuse and Neglect in US Residential Treatment Facilities
Adopted from the United States’ Senate Committee on Finance website.
A US Senate’s Finance Committee’s report released on June 12 has exposed widespread child abuse and neglect in residential treatment facilities for youth across the United States. The Committee found that “Children in these facilities are regularly subjected to physical, sexual, and verbal abuse; inappropriate restraints and seclusions; unsafe and unsanitary conditions; and lack of necessary behavioral health care.” The report faults Universal Health Services (UHS), Acadia Healthcare, Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health, and Vivant Behavioral Healthcare, which operate the facilities named in the report, for “maximizing profits at the expense of providing high-quality care to children.”
The report calls for Congress, state, and local governments to take immediate actions such as strengthening oversight, increasing funding for alternatives to these facilities, and improving standards of care.
Minnesota Law Allowing Access to Birth Records Takes Effect
A 2023 law allowing Minnesotans access to their original birth records went into effect on July 1, allowing adopted persons to access previously unobtainable information, including the names of their birth parents.
While the law does not expand access to adoption records, which generally contain the most information concerning an adoption case, adopted persons do have the option to file a claim to recover any personal effects that their birth parents stored with their adoption files. Adopted persons can also expect to receive information that a birth parent has submitted to inform their biological child whether they want to be contacted, thanks to new contact preference forms the state has made available.
The law applies to individuals born in other states or countries, but whose adoptions or birth records were finalized in Minnesota.
Read MPR’s coverage or learn more about accessing information at Foster Adopt MN.
Minnesota Supreme Court Child Protection Task Force Begins Work
The Minnesota Supreme Court Child Protection Task Force, created by the state legislature during the 2024 session, is responsible for reviewing the state’s child welfare system and submitting a report including recommendations for improvement by January 2026. Supreme Court Justice Anne McKeig’s first update outlined the range of voices represented on the task force and explains that the group will be holding a series of virtual town halls once appointments to the Task Force are complete.
Updates to Minnesota’s Sex Trafficking Screening Requirements
Adapted from a June 26 bulletin from the MN Dept of Human Services.
The Minnesota Department of Human Services has announced the implementation of a new response path for screening reports of sex trafficking.
The bulletin reads, “During the 2023 legislative session, the non caregiver sex trafficking assessment response was created. (Laws of Minnesota 2023, chapter 70, article 14, sections 6, 8, 13-26). This new response path will go into effect statewide July 1, 2024. Enhanced investigation processes for reports of familial sex trafficking and sexual exploitation also go into effect July 1, 2024.”
This new response path is meant to ensure that all reports of sex trafficking with a non caregiver/unknown person that child welfare agencies receive are met with a uniform screening response. This flowchart explains the updated screening path.
The Department also announced, “Effective July 1, 2024, all youth who are recovered after going missing from foster care must be screened to determine whether they have experienced either sex or labor trafficking. If any type of human trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation is identified, it must be documented and reported to law enforcement within 24 hours.”
To learn more, agency staff may contact Rapid Consultation at 1-888-234-1138 or the human trafficking child protection coordinators at [email protected] for technical assistance or information on identifying and responding to trafficking and exploitation.
Strengthening Tribal Families Act of 2024
Legislators from both parties have introduced legislation intended to evaluate states’ compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act and assist child welfare agencies in helping Indian families remain intact. The Strengthening Tribal Families Act of 2024 requires the federal Department of Health and Human Services to collect state data on child welfare cases involving American and Alaskan Indian Children.
The Act also requires that the federal Department of Health and Human Services provide states and Tribes technical assistance in implementing ICWA and that the agency provides a biennial report to Congress.
The Act is under consideration for inclusion in a Title IV-B reauthorization bill by the House Means and Ways Committee. For more information, read coverage from the Cherokee Phoenix and the National Indian Child Welfare Association.
Minnesota’s Children’s Cabinet’s 2024 Legislative Summary
The Walz Administration’s interagency partnership recently released a legislative summary highlighting several changes to state policy, including a Pilot Payment Protection Program, which establishes a minimum tax credit for taxpayers who receive advance Child Tax Credit payments. The summary also highlights funding and other actions taken to support the newly operational Department of Children, Youth and Families.
