Last year Governor Dayton signed into law Northstar Care for Children, which is set to go into effect January 1, 2015. Throughout this legislative session there have been several bills introduced that would make changes to Northstar Care for Children before its implementation, namely S.F. 2754/H.F. 3216, S.F. 2240/H.F. 3027, and S.F. 2753/H.F. 3215.

In addition to these bills, there are provisions in two of the House omnibus bills that would modify Northstar Care for Children particularly in terms of transfer of permanent legal and physical custody and guardianship assistance. Whereas the omnibus HHS policy bill, H.F. 2402, would only change “guardianship assistance” to “Northstar kinship assistance” (DHS has already implemented this change), the omnibus supplemental HHS finance bill, H.F. 2150, would make several changes in addition to this terminology change. What follows is a summary of the Northstar Care for Children modifications proposed in this specific omnibus bill. (For a summary of Northstar Care for Children as it currently stands, see this DHS document.)

Background Studies

Current Minnesota statute requires background studies for foster care and adoption for anyone in the household over age 13; H.F. 2150 adds to this requirement transfers of legal and permanent custody of children. The background study would be required prior to signing the kinship placement agreement, rather than before actual placement, and any requests for set asides or variances would be expedited. Additionally, there is text throughout the bill to ensure compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Act.

New background studies would not be required for adoptions and transfers of custody if prospective licensees (including relative custodians) who already hold a child foster care license:

  • underwent a background study in connection with said child foster care licensure after July 1, 2007; and
  • the background study included a review of possible child maltreatment, arrest/investigative, and juvenile court records (among others); and
  • the study did not result in a disqualification (or if it did, there was a set-aside or variance).

Licensing

Current Northstar statute requires children to live in the homes of prospective relative custodians for at least six months in order to be eligible for guardianship assistance. H.F. 2150 would require the prospective relative custodians to also have been licensed to provide child foster care for at least six months. Exemptions from DHS would be allowed, but only under certain circumstances:

  • An expedited move to permanency is in the best interest of the child.
  • Such a move would not be completed without guardianship assistance.
  • The prospective relative custodian is uniquely qualified to meet the child’s needs.
  • All other eligibility requirements are met.
  • The agency made efforts to place the child with the prospective relative custodian as a licensed child foster parent for six consecutive months before permanency.
  • If the agency did not make these efforts, than the agency provided an explanation as to why these efforts were not in the child’s best interests.

Whether this may inhibit a child’s placement with a relative or if it will have virtually no effect compared to current statutory language is unknown, considering that the law has yet to be implemented.

The “At-Risk” Category

Minnesota statute currently has a separate category in its Northstar benefits section for children deemed to be “at-risk,” or those children who do not have a documented disability but who may develop a physical, mental, emotional, or behavioral disability later in life as a result of genetic predisposition or the child’s life experiences (for example, experiencing trauma at an early age). Currently this category is available under guardianship and adoption assistance agreements. Children assigned to the at-risk category receive a $1/month basic benefit in order to maintain federal eligibility until the disability manifests, at which time the guardianship or adoption assistance agreement can be renegotiated.

The proposed bill text would eliminate the $1 monthly basic payment for children deemed “at-risk” and offer no monthly payment unless and until the disability manifests. It would also remove the “at-risk” category from guardianship assistance agreements, meaning that all children eligible for guardianship assistance would receive benefits according to the rates established under Northstar Care for Children. (Eligibility criteria is found under Minn. Stat. 256N.22, Subd. 1.) The “at-risk” category would thus only exist under adoption assistance agreements.

Adoption as a Preference

Current Northstar statutes indicate a preference of adoption over transfers of custody. Under the statute governing guardianship assistance eligibility, it specifically states that the legally responsible agency must determine that reunification and adoption are not appropriate permanency options, and that there is a reciprocal attachment between child and prospective relative custodian, in order to permanently transfer custody to a relative.

The proposed bill text strengthens this preference by modifying Minn. Stat. 260C.212, the current statute governing out-of-home placement plans. Currently, workers are directed to include in the out-of-home placement plan documentation of steps to finalize adoption or legal guardianship. The proposed text states that workers would need to include documentation of steps to finalize the permanency plan for the child, including reasonable efforts to place the child for adoption and consideration of whether adoption is in the best interests of the child. Should adoption be determined to not be in the best interests of the child, then documentation to support the kinship placement agreement would be required.

Additionally, the proposed bill text would modify subdivision 4 of the permanency disposition orders statute, which allows for ordering a transfer of permanent and legal custody to a relative if the child is not able to return home by the end of permanency proceedings. The proposed bill would require a kinship placement agreement to accompany an agency petition to transfer custody to a relative. Additionally, the court must find that a transfer of custody is in the child’s best interests and adoption is not, and that the agency made efforts to discuss adoption with the child’s parent(s) (or if the agency did not, reasons why this was not the case).

Within this same section of proposed bill text are the following added conditions regarding a transfer of permanent custody:

  1. The court must find that there are reasons to separate siblings, if it is applicable to the case.
  2. The court would be able to defer finalization of a transfer of custody if necessary in order to determine eligibility for Northstar benefits.
  3. However, the court could also finalize a transfer of custody regardless of eligibility for Northstar benefits.

It is hard to discuss the impact that these changes may have on child welfare practice, considering that Northstar Care for Children has yet to be implemented. So I ask you—what do you think the impact might be? Leave a comment below!