Compiled by Mariel Carlson, Graduate Assistant

The Minnesota legislature is on break this week and will be returning on Tuesday, April 19th to resume hearings on omnibus bills and more.

National News

A bill entitled “Ensuring Medicaid Continuity for Children in Foster Care Act of 2021” (S.2689 / H.R. 5414) has been proposed in Congress. S. 2689 would remove current limitations on Medicaid funding for services provided to foster children in large (more than 16 bed) Quality Residential Treatment Programs (QRTPs) that qualify as an Institution for Mental Diseases (IMD). This encourages Medicaid funding to be used to support large institutional settings for foster children but would not limit funding for IMDs that do not serve foster children. Organizations such as the Youth Law Center argue that this legislation does not protect youth from harmful institutionalization and undermines Families First Prevention Act.

The Find and Protect Foster Youth Act (S.3907) is a bipartisan bill that was introduced in late March to the Senate and requires evaluation of state and tribal search efforts after foster youth are reported missing, especially in cases when youth are missing for more than a month. Foster youth run away for numerous reasons, and this places them at higher risk for human trafficking and physical or sexual victimization.

International News

The current attack on Ukraine has left many concerned about the risk for child abduction, exploitation, and trafficking. The Ukrainian government has largely advocated that children remain in Europe to allow for family reunification as soon as possible after peace is found, having barred new intercountry adoptions from occurring. Given the conflict, Ukrainian orphanages were evacuated to nearby European countries. However, United States adoption agencies and freelance agents have begun to pressure Congress and the U.S. State Department to permit adoption of these Ukrainian children. In fact, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar signed onto a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken urging that the U.S. government identify families and children in need and allow adoption-eligible children to travel to the United States. Approximately 70 other members of Congress also signed onto this letter. It is important to note that not all of these children in orphanages were without a living family in Ukraine. This rush to permit intercountry adoption of Ukrainian children could create a similar situation to the adoption of Haitian children post-2010 earthquake, during which children without proper identification or forged documents were placed with unlicensed homes in the U.S. Years later, some of these children are still in a legal limbo due to arriving without proper documentation or identification.

Please follow CASCW’s curated bill tracking account on the Minnesota State Legislature website to keep tabs on what’s happening specifically related to child welfare. You can also find information on House and Senate hearings (all streamed virtually).

Bills of Interest

Human Services Omnibus Bill

HF4579 / SF4165 [Rep. Schultz (DFL) and Sen. Abeler (R)]

This is the Human Services committee omnibus bill which addresses poverty, child care, mental health, and community care. The House bill appropriates money and will likely be encompassed into the larger Health and Human Services omnibus bill.

The House bill was introduced on 3/24 and approved by committee on 4/6 and 4/8. It will be heard in the Ways and Means committee on 4/25.

The Senate companion was amended and recommended to pass by the Human Services Reform Finance and Policy committee. It will be heard in the Finance Committee on 4/19.

Health and Human Services Omnibus Budget Bill

HF4706 / SF4410 [Rep. Liebling (DFL) and Sen. Abeler (R)]

This omnibus bill provides funding to support the health workforce, including behavioral health employees and loan forgiveness. Part of this bill also provides funding for an optional in-home visitation program for families expecting an infant.

This bill was heard in the House Health Finance and Policy Committee and approved as amended on 4/6. It will be heard on 4/25 by the Ways and Means committee. This bill would be combined with the Human Services omnibus bill before being heard by the full House. 

Senate companion was approved as amended and recommended to pass, before being re-referred to the Finance Committee where it will be heard on 4/19.

Omnibus Early Childhood Finance and Policy Bill

HF4735 [Rep. Pinto (DFL)]

This bill is the House Early Childhood Committee’s supplemental early childhood funding and policy bill. The House Research Bill Summary provides in depth information on the changes and proposals. The hope of this piece of legislation is that it will make early childhood education more affordable and allow for infant learning opportunities.

It was introduced on 3/31 and approved along party lines 8-3 in committee on 4/7. It will next be heard by the Ways and Means committee on 4/20 and 4/25. There is no Senate companion at this time.

CornerHouse Advocacy Center Grant Funding

HF4702 / SF4465 [Rep. Feist (DFL) and Sen. Hoffman (DFL)]

This bill provides $1.13 million in funding for CornerHouse children’s advocacy center for the purpose of establishing child maltreatment prevention programs in rural, urban, and suburban communities across Minnesota as well as maltreatment response services to children in Hennepin and Anoka counties.

The House bill was introduced and referred to committee on 3/30. The Senate companion was introduced and referred to committee on 4/6.

Homeless Encampment Policies Required by Local Governments

HF4225 [Rep. Gomez (DFL)]

This bill would provide funding to prevent homelessness, including the Homeless Youth Act, emergency shelters, and safe harbor grants.

Introduced on 3/10, it passed division action on 3/30, was adopted as amended, and returned to the Human Services Finance and Policy committee.

Department of Health and Health Licensing Boards Appropriations

HF4398 / SF4014 [Rep. Liebling (DFL)]

This bill is the Department of Health appropriations bill. In relation to child welfare, it provides funding for help for children with an incarcerated parent and support for recruitment and retention of mental health professionals from culturally diverse communities.

Introduced in the House on 3/17, it was heard in committee for information only on 3/25. The Senate companion was introduced, heard for the first reading, and referred to committee on 3/14.

Brief Updates

  • HF2671 / SF2736 –  A bill that would establish a guardianship process for at-risk juveniles ages 18 to 21 was passed by the House and Senate. It was presented to the governor on 4/11 and approved on 4/13.

Important Timelines to keep in mind

  • April 9-18 – Legislative Break
  • Monday, May 23 – Last day of session

Stay tuned for more legislative updates as we gather information and track what’s happening at the Capitol.