Joanna Woolman and Hannah Burton,
Institute to Transform Child Protection
Minnesota is one of only four states with an explicit preference in our law to terminate a parent’s rights when a child cannot return home.
HF 3159 and SF 3984 seek to change that preference, and instead ensure that Minnesota’s permanency decisions in child protection matters are made in the child’s best interests and in line with best practices to preserve a child’s important relationships and connections to their relatives and community, whenever possible.
When a child cannot be reunified with their parents, those who are placed with relatives experience better behavioral and mental health outcomes, more educational stability, stronger cultural, racial, and traditional connections to their communities of origin, and importantly, youth report experiencing a greater sense of belonging when placed with relatives and kin.
Additionally, in Minnesota, Native children, Black children, and children with two or more races are more likely to have their parents’ rights terminated than their white peers–but they are also less likely than white children to be adopted. When a child’s parent’s rights are terminated and the child is never adopted, they may age out of the system without a permanent family or support system in place.
This bill does two important things to address these issues. First, it states that permanent placement with a relative should be considered before permanent placement with a nonrelative—this is consistent with widely accepted best practices relating to a child’s best interests and other areas of Minnesota statute. Second, the bill removes the explicit preference for a termination of parental rights as the default option, and instead, it allows for various permanency options to be equally considered. A transfer of permanent legal and physical custody to a relative, a consent to adopt, or a termination of parental rights and adoption would all be on equal footing and the court must make this decision based on the best interests of that child.
These changes recognize and center the child’s relational permanence by seeking to preserve important relationships that help a child or young person feel loved, valued, connected, and to know that they belong.
A broad group of stakeholders and impacted individuals came together to work on this bill, including: Foster Advocates Community Advisory Board, Kelis Houston, Village Arms, Larene Wade, MN One Stop for Communities, October Allen, Grace House Duluth, MN, Ampersand Families, Family Alternatives, National Association of Social Workers, MN, Minnesota Social Service Association – and others.