Now that the Minnesota legislative session has officially ended, here is a summary of some of the child-welfare related bills that have been signed by Governor Dayton since mid-April that we have not yet covered. The policies are separated into three categories: harm reduction, financial stability, and juvenile justice. Bills Related to Harm Reduction Along [...]
As mentioned in yesterday's post, Governor Dayton signed into law the omnibus Heath and Human Service Policy bill (H.F. 2402 / Chapter 291) on Wednesday, May 21. The new law includes language that will "require counties to maintain sufficient information to identify repeat reports alleging maltreatment of the same child for 365 days, for reports [...]
Governor Mark Dayton recently signed into law the omnibus health and human services policy bill. Within this bill are a few statutory changes that essentially add up to "no smoking in foster homes/in the vicinity of children and youth in foster care." Prevention of Secondhand Smoke Exposure for Children in Foster Care The main statutory [...]
On May 16 the Omnibus Education Policy Bill, HF 2397, was signed into law by Governor Dayton. Within the bill text there is an overarching theme related to childhood academic achievement, including a provision allowing for greater educational stability for youth in foster care and others related to English learners and their families. As these [...]
On Wednesday, April 9, 2014, Governor Mark Dayton signed into law the Safe and Supportive Schools Act (H.F. 826). The new law establishes the School Student Bullying Policy, which requires public schools—including charter schools—to acknowledge and address both in-person and online (cyber) bullying that occurs on school premises, including school transportation, and at school functions [...]
Gov. Dayton signing the minimum wage bill into law. Source: Tom Scheck/MPR News After a debate in the Senate lasting several hours, with a close 35-31 final vote the bill to raise the state's minimum wage (H.F. 92) was passed last Wednesday evening. Yesterday afternoon, Governor Dayton officially signed the bill into law. What's in [...]
As of last Thursday, August 1 2013, the Family Reunification Act went into effect. This law allows foster youth 15 and older who were never adopted to have the option to reunite with their birth parents. The law stipulates that the birth parents must be able to demonstrate that they have resolved or addressed the [...]
In addition to Article 3 and Article 17 (Northstar Care for Children), there are other areas within Chapter 108 (the omnibus Health and Human Services finance bill) that are directly applicable to children and families involved in the child welfare system. These are just a few. Safe Harbor for Sexually Exploited Youth The Safe Harbor [...]
