This summer we’ve seen multiple changes to the child welfare landscape both in Minnesota and nationally. CACSW has compiled several of the most noteworthy developments below. If you don’t see a news item listed that you think should be, please send the bill and any additional information to Matthew Dooley, Outreach Graduate Assistant, at dool0068@umn.edu.
Hennepin County Decriminalizes Pregnant Drug Use
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will no longer prosecute individuals who test positive for drug use while pregnant. County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a press release, “This office is changing the way we handle these cases to treat addiction as a health issue to encourage people to seek care and keep infants and parents safe.” The Attorney’s office cited support from several state and national medical organizations, as well as from the Minnesota House Black Maternal Health Caucus.
MSSA Call for Submission and Legislative Ideas
The Minnesota Social Service Association is accepting submissions to present at its 2025 conference from March 26-28. Professionals from all areas in the fields of health and human services are welcome to submit their proposals, which are due by September 27.
The MSSA is also soliciting ideas for legislation to improve Minnesota’s health and human services systems. A committee will review submissions as it generates MSSA’s 2025 policy agenda.
DCYF Releases Summary of 2024 Legislation
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) has released a summary of changes to child welfare practice as a result of the 2024 legislative session. The document includes important information on a range of issues, including implementation of the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act, updates to the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA), and changes to mandated reporting policies, among others. Learn more.
Protections for Parents With Disabilities Takes Effect
HF5049, a bill intended to reduce ableism in Minnesota’s child welfare system, went into effect on July 30. The new law clarifies that “Children whose parent or custodian has a disability cannot be considered a child in need of protection or services based solely on the existence of their parent’s or custodian’s disability.” Additionally, for pleadings or motions pending or after August 1, agencies cannot remove children from parental or guardian custody based solely on disability. Representative Hicks had urged the bill’s passage as a means “to fix systematic, ableistic practices in child welfare, adoption, and child custody.” More information on the bill’s implementation is listed on page 12 of the DCYF summary.
Members selected for new Supreme Court Council on Child Protection and Maltreatment Prevention
This week, Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson signed off on an order to officially establish the Supreme Court Council on Child Protection and Maltreatment Prevention. The order also identified the members who will serve on the council, including Dr. Traci LaLiberte and many other child welfare colleagues and community partners.
The Council’s first progress report is due to the governor in July of 2025, and the final report, which will include a comprehensive blueprint for child protection and maltreatment prevention in Minnesota, must be submitted by January 15, 2026.
White House Announces Child Welfare Policy Changes
On July 30 the White House announced several changes to the Children Bureau’s Child Welfare Policy Manual aimed at reducing family separation and improving opportunities for youth and children. The new policies encourage states to exclude financial inability to meet children’s basic needs from the definition of child neglect, training mandated reporters in this new definition, and encouraging states to focus on assisting families in meeting basic needs.
The Administration also adopted new policies allowing federal administrative funding to be used for prevention services and announced new guidance on ways to use the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families to divert families from the child welfare system. Additionally, federal funds are now available to finance background checks to facilitate faster kinship licensing and to publicize data on kinship placement rates for states and Tribes that have adopted new kinship licensing policies.
On August 8, the Biden Administration issued a follow-up announcement clarifying that a “Title IV-E agency may be able to use federal funding to support the relative placement while the relative is getting licensed.” This policy change provides new sources of financial support to assist agencies in expanding capacity for kinship placement.
CWLA Endorses Title-IV Reauthorization, Asks for Support
The Child Welfare League of America has endorsed reauthorization and expansion of Title-IV B of the Social Security Act, which includes increased funding for Promoting Safe and Stable Families programming. CWLA has also published a call for signatures in support of Congressional action for reauthorization.
Child Tax Credit Fails to Pass Senate
A bill that would have distributed a $2,000 tax credit per qualifying child was voted down by the Senate on August 1. In a press release, the Child Welfare League of America stated: “Reducing, and eventually eliminating, child poverty is a vital step in promoting child and family well-being and achieving important child welfare policy goals…We urge Congress to reconsider the decision to punt this proposal into 2025 – children can’t wait for a more convenient time for lawmakers, they need our support now.”
Children’s Bureau Issues ‘Dear Colleague’ Letter
In partnership with the Administration for Community Living, the Children’s Bureau has released a letter encouraging a “Kin-First Culture” among States, Tribes, Territories, and child-placing agencies. The document includes a wealth of resources such as the Grandfamilies and Kinship Support Network which provides technical assistance to workers and policy makers looking to improve kinship care operations.
National Kinship Care Survey Raises Concerns
The Casey Foundation recently released the findings of a 2022 survey demonstrating inconsistencies and gaps in kinship diversion services across the United States. Writing for The Imprint, policy associate Todd Lloyd concluded: “ Policies offering inadequate support for kinship diversion create a false dilemma for families — choose foster care with support or kinship diversion without it — and children suffer either way.” Lloyd called for states engaging in kinship diversion services to offer more financial support and training to kinship caregivers to ensure children placed with kin have the access to similar resources as non-kinship placements.
Final Federal Report on Indian Boarding Schools Released
The Department of the Interior concluded its three-year investigation into the history of Indian Boarding Schools by recommending that the United States learn from the efforts of other nations to reckon with its history of the forced removal and abuse of indigenous children and families. The US report found that at least 973 students died between 1819 and 1969 during the Indian Boarding School era, and that the more than 18,000 other students who entered the schools suffered systemic abuse during that time. Other nations such as Canada, New Zealand, and Australia have undertaken national inquiries and provided cash reparations, language restoration efforts, and other programs as part of attempts to make redress to the affected Tribes.