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June 28, 2021
The sweeping Health and Human Services budget bill finalized by legislative leaders last week includes two significant child protection and foster care reform measures, which advocates say will help more families stay together and mitigate racial disparities in the state s child welfare systems.
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The bill requires courts to appoint a lawyer in all child protection cases for parents who can t afford one. It s a big change from current law, which gives courts discretion to appoint an attorney in any case in which it feels that such an appointment is appropriate.
Really amazing for families : Child welfare reforms on the horizon in Minnesota minnesotareformer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from minnesotareformer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Minnesota child abuse reports plunge during coronavirus pandemic, worrying authorities The steep decline could be a sign that abuse is going unnoticed behind closed doors. January 11, 2021 6:02pm Text size Copy shortlink:
Reports of child abuse and neglect in Minnesota have dropped sharply during the coronavirus pandemic, which has eased strain on the child welfare system while spurring fears that problems are going unnoticed while children are away from school.
New data from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) show that, during the first eight months of the pandemic, local child protection agencies received 22% fewer reports of child maltreatment over the same period in 2019. That, in turn, has contributed to a sharp drop in the number of children being separated from their families and placed into foster care.