The Star Tribune editorial supporting the Governor’s Task Force on the Protection of Children, “A start, but press on to prevent child deaths,” (April 2, 2015), should be met with a note of caution: Essentially, the 93 recommendations have substantially changed the emphasis of Child Protection from “well-being to “safety.” In this directive, we have [...]
On Wednesday, April 8, the Senate Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing heard from Ralph McQuarter of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and Jim Koppel, Assistant Commissioner of Child and Family Services at DHS, on proposed child protection funding formulas that are based on recommendations from the Governor's Task Force on the Protection [...]
The final report and recommendations from the Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children were issued yesterday. The recommendations are organized into short-, mid-, and long-term reforms, each preceded by a short description of the challenges faced in each area and the goals of the Task Force in general. Over the next few weeks [...]
Figure 6. Children in Out-of-home Care per 1,000 by Race/Ethnicity, 2004–2013. Source: Minnesota's Child Welfare Report 2013, Department of Human Services (p. 10) A few weeks ago, a Star Tribune article raised the issue of child protection reform and its impact on families of color. The short article leaves a lot to be explored. My [...]
On Tuesday, March 17, Governor Mark Dayton signed into law House File 8, a bill that implements two recommendations from the Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children. The new law is effective immediately. In his press release on this action, Governor Dayton said that he has dedicated an additional $52.5 million for child [...]
In preparation for this Friday’s meeting of the Governor’s Task Force on the Protection of Children, I’d like to highlight each workgroup’s proposed final recommendations (based on the February 27 Task Force meeting). On Friday the Task Force will meet to finalize the final recommendations. This post will focus specifically on the Screening and Transparency [...]
In preparation for this Friday's meeting of the Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children, I'd like to highlight each workgroup's proposed final recommendations (based on the February 27 Task Force meeting). On Friday the Task Force will meet to finalize the final recommendations. This post will focus specifically on the Family Assessment/Adequacy of [...]
On Monday, February 23, House File 8 was passed out of the House by a unanimous floor vote (130-0) and sent to the Senate. Today the Senate Rules and Administration committee substituted HF 8 for its companion, SF 807, and HF 8 was given a second reading. Per the Senate lawmaking process, HF 8 will [...]
