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 with the passage of the Minnesota Safe and Supportive Schools Act, another bill connected to reducing harm for children that was signed on May 9th is in regards to expanding protection to families who are victims of domestic violence. Under H.F. 3238 people who have been convicted of domestic violence crimes will not only be prohibited from purchasing handguns, but also shotguns and rifles. In addition, abusers convicted of domestic violence or who have a protective order against them would also be required to turn over any handguns, assault weapons, shotguns or rifles they own. This mandate would also apply to convicted stalkers.
Research shows that access to firearms increases the risk of intimate partner homicide by more than five times compared to instances where there are no weapons. Domestic violence has significant connections to child welfare given data that signifies that children who are exposed to violence as victims or witnesses, including domestic violence, can suffer from difficulties with attachment and/or aggression, can sustain mental and emotional harm, and have a higher likelihood of becoming involved with child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
The relationship between domestic violence and child protection was also addressed recently at the federal level, when President Obama signed into law the Kilah Davenport Child Protection Act.
Bills Related to Financial Stability
This legislative session saw the passage of several policies related to increasing financial stability for Minnesota workers and those looking for work. Along with the minimum wage bill that passed earlier in the session, H.F. 2402 contains provisions designed to better support MFIP recipients. Under H.F. 2402 the time frame allowing MFIP recipients to be looking for work was extended from 6 weeks to 12 weeks. This bill also establishes the Minnesota TANF Expenditures Task Force, whose purpose is to determine if any programs currently receiving TANF funding should instead be funded by the general fund in order to allow a greater portion of TANF funds to go directly to Minnesota families and children. Specifically, this task force is to consider whether the current use of TANF funds in Minnesota is helping the lowest-income Minnesotans move out of poverty as well as whether the funds are supporting effective parenting and optimal brain development in children under age 5. Finally, H.F. 2402 expands eligibility for child care assistance to include situations in which one parent in a two-parent household is in an authorized activity outside of the home (work, education, etc.) and the other parent is unable to care for the child (per licensed physician, licensed psychologist, or local social services agency determination).
Policies aimed to increase financial stability are highly connected to child welfare given that poverty, housing instability and economic instability puts children at greater risk for experiencing homelessness, unhealthy outcomes and involvement with the child welfare system.
Bills Related to Juvenile Justice
There is a well established link between between juvenile justice and child welfare, particularly in regards to “crossover youth” who move between these systems. Studies have shown that youth who have been abused or neglected are at greater risk of of involvement in the juvenile justice system. Youth formerly in foster care face a higher probability of negative outcomes as adults; these negative outcomes are compounded for crossover youth.
H.F. 2576 contains a provision pertaining to the expungement of juvenile records. More specifically the mandate states that a court can expunge all delinquency records at any time if it is determined that expungement would serve as a benefit to the subject that would outweigh the costs to the public. According to the new policy, when determining whether or not a record should be expunged the court is required to take into account the juvenile offender’s age, background, emotional and mental development, the severity of the offense, as well as the youth’s history of involvement in the child welfare system.
Each of these bills (now laws) as well as many other bills that have passed this session have multiple implications for child welfare professionals, meaning that it will be important to monitor their impacts on practice as they are implemented. What are your thoughts on how these new laws might impact child welfare practice?