Year-long child protection task force recommendations addressed in bill

Sponsored by Rep. Ron Kresha (R-Little Falls) and Sen. Kathy Sheran (DFL-Mankato), HF2683/SF2428* would extend the Task Force on Child Protection until 2020. Currently, the task force established in 2015 by the Legislature is to expire at the end of this session.

Rep. Ron Kresha

The bill was amended to insert the language of HF2740 that would establish a Permanent Child Support Task Force for the Department of Human Services based on the suggestions of the Child Support Work Group, which was established by the Legislature last year. It was also amended to incorporate HF2889 that would follow up on the work group’s suggestions on changes to the parenting expense adjustments used in the calculation of child support.

Passed 129-0 Friday, the amended bill returns to the Senate where it was passed 61-0 May 4.

Rep. Kim Norton (DFL-Rochester), who sponsors the child support task force language, said both task forces had similar language included in one of the three supplemental budget bills passed earlier this month by the House, but wants to ensure the language is passed either way.

The bill’s child protection task force provisions would replace four legislative seats appointed from the Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children with eight new legislator seats, which would be evenly split between the House and the Senate.

A work group would be established to review the Minnesota Assessment of Parenting Children and Youth, the tool used by Minnesota county and tribal social service agencies to determine Northstar Care for Children supplemental payment benefits, and recodify both the task force language and the Maltreatment of Minors Act into a new section.

The bill’s child support task force provisions would establish a 15-member task force to submit a report biennially to the Legislature outlining issues and possible improvements for a variety of factors impacting child care in Minnesota.