HF4389

Purpose

This bill aims to update Minnesota laws about caring for children in foster and adoptive settings. It adds new licensing options for child-placing work, tweaks background-check rules for child care providers, strengthens processes around adoptions and birth records, expands kinship and relative placement options, and sets new rules for how caseworkers visit and monitor children in foster care.

Main Provisions

• Licensing and organization of child-placing work

  • Allows nonprofit limited liability companies (LLCs) to apply for a license to operate as a child-placing agency.

• Adoption agency requirements

  • Adoption agencies must be organized as a nonprofit corporation or nonprofit LLC.
  • Agencies must file a disclosure form and obtain a bond to cover the cost of transferring and storing records if the agency ceases operations.
  • Agencies must submit an annual financial review when renewing licenses.

• Background checks and background-study processes

  • Expands who must undergo background studies for various child-care and licensing contexts.
  • Requires fingerprinting and a national criminal history check for applicable individuals.
  • Uses NETStudy 2.0 for submitting background-study requests and tracking the results.
  • Sets renewal timelines (background studies must be repeated within five years for many settings; some re-checks occur at license renewal).
  • Clarifies processes when individuals change positions, affiliates, or return after a gap in direct-contact duties.
  • Defines who must share information (county agencies, license holders, etc.) and how information is verified and transmitted.
  • Recognizes continuous affiliation for certain licensed professionals (physicians, NPs, PAs) once the health or human services background results are received.

• Adoption information and birth records

  • Agencies must provide information and assist with searches related to birth parents, adopted persons, and their rights.
  • Adopted persons 18+ may access their original birth records; birth-parents have a right to file a contact preference form with the state registrar.
  • Agencies must share required information with birth parents when making or supervising an adoptive placement.

• Relative and kinship permanency

  • Reinforces a preference for permanency with a relative when possible, especially for African American or disproportionately represented children.
  • If feasible, transfers permanent legal and physical custody to a noncustodial parent or a willing and able relative, following defined legal processes.
  • Agencies must inform relatives about Northstar kinship assistance benefits and eligibility.

• Placement practices and colocating with a parent in treatment

  • Allows colocating a child with a parent who is receiving licensed residential substance use disorder treatment for up to 12 months.
  • Maintains agency access to relevant information and services for both the parent and child.
  • Agencies may remove a child to foster care if needed to protect health, safety, or welfare, potentially without a prior court order.

• Foster care caseworker visits

  • Reaffirms monthly in-person (or, for youth 18+, video-conferenced with consent) caseworker visits to the child, primarily at the child’s residence.
  • Defines who can conduct visits and ensures visits address safety, permanency, well-being, and schooling.
  • Requires documentation when visits occur with others present (e.g., parents, foster parents, facility staff) and explains why this is necessary in certain situations.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Licensing changes

  • A nonprofit LLC can now apply for a license to operate as a child-placing agency (expanding the types of entities that can place children).

• Expanded and standardized background checks

  • Background-study requirements broaden to more license types and child care settings, with mandatory fingerprints, national checks, and NETStudy 2.0 integration.
  • Rechecks are required at set intervals and upon changes in affiliation or license status, with specific rules for substitutes and reactivation after absences.

• Adoption and records provisions

  • Tighter requirements around adoption agency finances (bonding, annual financial reviews) and disclosure obligations.
  • Clearer rights and processes around access to original birth records and contact preferences for adopted persons and their birth families.

• Kinship and relative placement emphasis

  • Stronger preference for relative/kinship placements when possible, including explicit steps to inform relatives about benefits and eligibility (Northstar kinship assistance).

• Placement and service delivery changes

  • Permitment of colocating a child with a parent in a residential substance-use-treatment context for up to a year, with ongoing access to services and information.
  • New or clarified rules about monthly caseworker visits and how those visits are conducted and documented.

• Indian child protections

  • Maintains explicit protections under the Indian Child Welfare Act and Minnesota’s related acts, ensuring these protections apply within the broader changes.

Terminology to Note (Key Terms Embedded in the Proposal)

• childplacing agency
• foster care
• adoption
• adoption agency
• background study
• fingerprinting
• national criminal history record check
• NETStudy 2.0
• nonprofit corporation (chapter 317A)
• nonprofit limited liability company (chapter 322C)
• bond (for records transfer/storage)
• financial review
• family child care
• licensed child care provider
• legal nonlicensed child care provider
• important friend
• related (including relatives and important friends)
• Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
• Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act
• Northstar kinship assistance
• permanency placement
• relative placement
• colocate with parent in treatment
• substance use disorder treatment
• month caseworker visits
• case plan / out-of-home placement plan

Relevant Terms childplacing agency; foster care; adoption; background study; fingerprinting; NETStudy 2.0; national criminal history; nonprofit corporation; nonprofit LLC; bond; financial review; important friend; related; Indian Child Welfare Act; Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act; Northstar kinship assistance; permanency; relative; kinship; placement; colocate; substance use disorder; monthly caseworker visit; case plan.