by Matthew Dooley
As the Legislature enters the 4th week of the 2024 session, the March 22nd deadline for committee action on bills looms ever larger. CASCW has curated a list of child welfare related bills. Check out the Bill Tracker for timely updates from the Capitol. While this is not exhaustive and issues overlap, the tracker offers an at-a-glance summary of specific issues related to child protection. We also encourage you to explore this handy glossary of legislative terms from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Additionally, if you don’t see a bill listed that you think should be, please send the bill and any additional information to Matthew Dooley, Outreach Graduate Assistant, at dool0068@umn.edu.
Legislative Updates
As a reminder, many organizations release annual legislative agendas based on particular advocacy work. Check out National Association of Social Workers-MN (NASW), Institute to Transform Child Protection, Foster Advocates, Safe Passages, AspireMN, and MSSA.
Fostering Independence Grants Face Shortfall: Advocates Rallying at Capitol Today
Fostering Independence Grants (FIG), which provide financial support to foster youth in higher education, face a budget shortfall this year. The Office of Higher Education’s policy bills SF4003 and HF4024 address the shortfall by adopting a wait-list process for eligible recipients if the legislature does not approve further funding. Proponents of the grants will gather at the Senate’s Higher Education Committee meeting today at 3pm to call for adding 6 million dollars to address the budget shortfall instead of moving to a waitlist program. Visit Foster Advocates for more information.
Funding Kinship Care
HF1661, a bill to fund kinship care for children in the foster system, was discussed during the House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee meeting on March 5. The bill’s author Rep. Kim Hicks was joined by advocates who testified that increasing legal, financial, housing, and health care resources for kinship caregivers will lead to better outcomes for children. The bill would appropriate 9.4 million dollars from 2025-2028 in a program to support informal kinship caregivers and prevent engagement with the formal foster care system, and 3.9 million dollars in 2025 to support future and current caregivers. The Committee Chair, Rep Dave Pinto, stated that “kinship care feels like a really high priority in the child-protection space,” and foresees the bill being passed in some form this year. Read more about the hearing and view video of the discussion.
Raising the Age of Juvenile Court Jurisdiction
HF3671, authored by Rep Dave Pinto, proposes to raise the age at which youths enter Juvenile Court Jurisdiction from 10 to 13 years. Caelyn Steele of The Legal Rights Center and Sarah Davis from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office both provided testimony in favor of the bill, and the National Alliance on Mental Illness-MN submitted a letter of support. The bill was referred to the House’s Committee on Public Safety for further review. Its companion bill, SF3694, was most recently referred to the Senate’s Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety.
Requirement to Notify Foster Youth of SSI Benefits
HF3856, authored by Rep. Jessica Hanson requires state agencies to notify foster youth and families/guardians when an agency receives a youth’s SSI benefits. Nikki Beasley, Executive Director of Foster Advocates, testified in support of the bill, noting that in the case of a parent’s death, children are not automatically informed that their parent’s SSI benefits become available to them, and that the bill would address that concern.
The Future of Minnesota’s Social Services Information System
On March 5, the Children and Families Finance Committee heard a presentation from SSIS manager Alex Mentes. SISS is the information system used by child welfare agencies. Mentes shared the process of the Department of Human Services’ review of SSIS. 49 agency workers and 32 agency staff have been included in the process to date. Other testifiers explained many of SSIS’s shortcomings to the committee, such as the system’s lack of an auto-save function, concerns about the sovereignty of tribal data, and cumbersome user design that reduces worker’s time spent with families and children. The committee will continue to examine the issue.
Upcoming Events
Quality Parenting Initiative Statewide Meeting
Tuesday, March 26, 1:00-2:00 PM
In 2023, Minnesota passed the Quality Parenting Initiative Grant Program in law to provide training and technical assistance to agencies, organizations, and stakeholders. This meeting serves as a forum to exchange resources, align efforts, and identify shared priorities and strategic opportunities to enhance the impact of QPI-MN.
Register Here
Homeless Day on the Hill, Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless
Wednesday, March 20, 9:00 AM-4:30 PM
Doors open at 7:45 am at Central Presbyterian Church (500 Cedar St, Saint Paul, MN 55101), followed by a program at 9AM and meetings with legislators at the State Capitol.
Register Here
Foster Advocates Virtual Village Gathering
Friday, April 5, 11:00 AM – 1:45 PM
Hear about Foster Advocates efforts during this year’s legislative session.
Learn More
Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s Advocacy Day at the Capitol
Monday, April 8, 1-4:30 PM at the St. Paul Capitol
Register Here