St. Paul, MN- As a result of initial recommendations issued by Governor Mark Dayton’s Task Force on Child Protection, Senator Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, and Representative Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls, unveiled bipartisan legislation in improve Minnesota’s child protection laws in a press conference held today at the State Capitol.
Sen. Sheran and Rep. Kresha were joined at the press conference by Representative Joe Mullery, DFL-Minneapolis, Senator Julie Rosen, R-Vernon Center, and Representative Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley. Rep. Mullery and Sen. Rosen served with Sen. Sheran and Rep. Kresha on the Governor’s task force. Rep. Backer joined the members of the Governor’s Task Force at the press conference to add additional comment on the need to reform Minnesota’s child protection system. The Governor’s Task Force was formed after a much publicized case of child abuse that resulted in the death of four year old Starbuck resident Eric Dean. Rep. Backer represents District 12A, which includes the city of Starbuck, in the Minnesota House of Representatives.
“I am grateful that the Governor’s Task Force has brought forth these measures that will help to ensure the safety of our state’s most important resource, our children,” Backer said. “It is encouraging to see lawmakers on both sides of the aisle work so hard to make much needed reforms to our child protection system here in Minnesota.”
House File 191 and Senate File 4 would repeal the statutory provision barring consideration of screened-out reports to help guide decisions. This will allow case workers and law enforcement the ability to clearly see the full picture and historical information when they consider abuse reports. The bills will seek to ensure that the child’s safety is codified in state statute as the primary concern when handling cases of reported child abuse. The bills would also require the commissioner of Human Services to develop and implement guidelines for screening to be followed by all county and state officials that are involved in the child protection services process. The commissioner would also be required to produce an annual report on screening effectiveness to be presented to the legislature.
The bill also seeks to clarify child protection report record-keeping, putting child protection reports under the same guidelines as welfare, court services, and school records under state law, and would require that records be kept for five years, compared to the one year required under current law.
“The Task Force’s recommendations are a starting point in our efforts to reform Minnesota’s child protection system,” said Backer. “This bill will allow our county’s human services departments and law enforcement agencies to more easily see the “full picture” when assessing cases of child abuse. The fact that current law requires child protection reports to be kept on record for only one year is counterproductive.” Backer also added, “Having served as an EMT for the past 18 years, I have seen firsthand the effects of child abuse. I am looking forward to supporting this bill, which will help bring further protection to our children.”