As the legislative activity at the Minnesota Legislature winds down, the Child Welfare Policy Blog will continue to provide a weekly update of happenings at the Capitol. In addition, starting this week, we will post a weekly blog entry dedicated to a special topic related to child welfare policy. We will tackle a different policy [...]
My apologies for staying quiet the past couple of weeks as the transition Katie mentioned in the previous entry has taken place. I am hoping to get you caught up on what has been happening at the legislature in this entry, so it will be a little long. The Budget Over the past couple of [...]
By now, you've probably heard the news about the May 23rd legislative deadline that came and went this week. Minnesota Public Radio sums it up in a nutshell: "Gov. Dayton vetoed nine budget bills assuring a special session will be called to pass a two-year budget. Dayton also said there's a "strong likelihood" that a [...]
Minnesota is racing toward the Monday, May 23rd, deadline. Governor Dayton has indicated that he will reject any legislative budget proposals that resolve the deficit using cuts only; Dayton is calling for an approach that includes cuts and increased revenue. See Politics in Minnesota and MPR. Yesterday, the legislators passed to Governor Dayton their final [...]
The conference committees have been bustling in advance of the session deadline. House and Senate conference committee members agreed to the Health & Human Services budget amongst other budget areas. The Conference Committee Working Targets spreadsheet shows how each budget area's current proposal compares to the other policy areas, as well as how each compares [...]
Legislators slogged through more conference committee meetings this week, debating the state budget. Most of the conversation in Health and Human Services committees has been focused on health care and disability services, with citizen activism disrupting one session. Child welfare issues have not risen to the surface of debates, but they remain very susceptible to [...]
Each year, the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) selects a handful of issues to study through its Program Evaluation Division. Child Protection Screening is one of seven issues selected for evaluation this year. The OLA is a nonpartisan office within the legislative branch. "The office's principal goal is to provide the Legislature, agencies, [...]
Less than three weeks until the legislature has to adjoin, but there are huge distances to cover. The Governor called for the Senate and the House to put forth a single budget bill by May 6th, but that deadline was not reached. Budget conference committees continued to meet this week in an effort to resolve [...]