Purpose of the Bill

This bill aims to revamp Minnesota’s child welfare and support systems by introducing new policies, updating existing programs, and ensuring better care and stability for children and families. It addresses a range of issues from economic assistance, childcare, and foster care, particularly focusing on African American children's welfare.

Main Provisions

• Economic Assistance: Alters the rules for electronic benefits transfer systems, allowing longer contracts up to ten years for public benefit distribution.

• Child Care Provider Programs: Updates data privacy measures associated with the Great Start Compensation Program to better protect sensitive information about children and families.

• Child Welfare:

  • Enhances the role of noncustodial parents and relatives in child placement cases, emphasizing their assessment and involvement before resorting to foster care.
  • Establishes an African American Child and Family Well-Being Advisory Council and Unit, tasked with developing strategies to reduce maltreatment and improve outcomes for African American children in the welfare system.
  • Requires the development of culturally appropriate training for social services staff and evaluates racial disparities in child welfare.
  • Updates the definitions and processes used in juvenile protection proceedings, ensuring they are more inclusive of children's cultural, racial, and ethnic backgrounds.

• Foster Care Regulations:

  • Introduces more detailed processes for establishing out-of-home placement plans, including guidelines for ensuring children's educational stability and health care continuity.
  • Sets specific timelines and requirements for court reviews of child placements, especially as children approach their 18th birthday, to ensure appropriate transitioning into adulthood.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Extended Foster Care: The bill grants additional oversight and support to children continuing in foster care beyond the age of 18.
• Transition Planning: Mandates personalized transition plans for youths aging out of foster care, ensuring they include housing, health care, education, and employment considerations.
• Cultural Considerations: Requires social services agencies to explore children's racial, ethnic, and tribal affiliations thoroughly, integrating this information into their care and placement decisions.
• African American Child Advocacy: Establishes new structures within the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to specifically address the needs of African American children in the welfare system.

Relevant Terms

• Economic Assistance
• Child Care
• Foster Care
• Child Welfare
• African American Advocacy
• Family Preservation
• Transition Planning
• Cultural Competency
• Tribal Heritage