The work of child welfare is governed by public policy at federal, state, and local levels. Without access to information about public policy, child welfare stakeholders have limited power in shaping and contributing to the future of child welfare services in Minnesota.
CASCW has compiled and created policy resources for child welfare stakeholders, from general policy information to tracking legislation during Minnesota legislative sessions.
Child Welfare Policy Resources
Minnesota Legislature
Minnesota House of Representatives
- House of Representatives main page
- Access MyBills (personalized bill tracking)
- RSS Feeds & Podcasts from various representatives
- Email Updates from various representatives
- House Session & Committee Schedule Upcoming Meetings
- House Committee Information
- Archived Committee Hearings via YouTube
Minnesota Senate
- Senate main page
- Access MyBills (personalized bill tracking)
- Email Updates from various senators
- Senate Committee Information
- Archived Senate & Committee Hearings via Senate Media
Minnesota Office of the Governor
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families' Children tab has policy information within that section.
- Subscribe to Bulletins, which contain policy-to-practice information
- Subscribe to Email Updates from DHS, which sometimes contain policy information
- View Publications on a variety of topics, including Adolescent Services, Child Protection, and Indian Child Welfare, among others
- View Fact Sheets on a variety of topics; many are relevant to current legislative sessions and policy issues
- Minnesota County Human Service Cost Report for Calendar Year 2020—See county, state, and federal shares for Children’s Services financing. Table 12 is Children’s Services Costs and Revenue Shares.
- 2023 Legislative Fact Sheets
- Summary of 2023 child welfare legislation
- DCYF Bulletin 24-28-15 - Minnesota's Child Maltreatment Report, 2022
- DCYF Bulletin 24-68-14 - Minnesota's Out-of-home Care and Permanency Report, 2022
Minnesota Budget Bites - An initiative of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, the Minnesota Budget Project provides independent research, analysis, and advocacy on budget and tax issues, emphasizing their impact on low- and moderate-income Minnesotans and the organizations that serve them.
Children's Defense Fund - Minnesota (CDF-MN) - CDF-MN is a non-profit child advocacy organization that focuses solely on the needs of children. View their policy priorities for Minnesota’s children.
Children's Law Center of Minnesota (CLC) - The CLC represents children involved in child welfare. They frequently post child welfare-related bill analyses and updates from Minnesota’s legislative sessions.
Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators (MASCSSA) - MACSSA is a statewide association made up of county public social service directors or other administrative designees. Prior to each legislative session, MACSSA posts their legislative positions.
Minnesota Social Services Association (MSSA) - MSSA was established to share best practices from Minnesota and elsewhere to improve care to clients involved in human services. Each session they develop a public policy agenda.
Child Care Aware of Minnesota - Child Care Aware of Minnesota provides a Bill Tracker for bills related to early care and education and school-age care issues.
Institute to Transform Child Welfare - ITCP works toward a more effective nationwide child protection system to preserve families, prevent trauma, and build resilience through innovative policy, forward-thinking education, and ongoing training.
Aspire MN - Aspire MN is an association of resources and advocacy for children, youth and families.
Foster Advocates - Foster Advocates was founded in 2018 to address the lack of advocacy organizations working to improve the foster care space in Minnesota.
Child Welfare Policy Manual - This manual contains policy questions and answers applicable to child welfare programs operated by the Children's Bureau.
White House Legislative Tracker - See which bills at the national level have been signed, vetoed or are still pending.