HF4407

Purpose

This bill seeks to reduce racial and disproportional representation in Minnesota’s child welfare system by strengthening oversight, increasing involvement of families and communities, and expanding permanency options. It updates definitions, raises the standard from “reasonable efforts” to “active efforts,” and prioritizes kinship and relative placements, while expanding how the state supports reunification and safety for African American and other disproportionately represented children.

Main Provisions

• Ombudsperson oversight and cultural training

  • The bill strengthens the ombudsperson’s role to monitor how child protection laws affect children of color and to ensure agencies comply with relevant statutes.
  • It requires collaboration with local state courts to train court officials, policy makers, and service providers in cultural diversity.
  • It mandates recruitment and involvement of guardians ad litem and other trusted representatives from communities of color (including tribal advocates) in court proceedings and placement decisions.
  • It requires training programs for bilingual workers.

• Active efforts to preserve families

  • Defines “active efforts” as a rigorous, ongoing, and higher standard than “reasonable efforts,” requiring continuous involvement of African American or disproportionately represented families in all services and case planning.
  • Requires agencies to inform families about the option to file a noncompliance report and to consider the family’s social and cultural values at all times.
  • Mandates active efforts to prevent out-of-home placement and to reunify families as soon as it is in the child’s best interests, especially when the family engages in visitation and safety planning.

• Disproportionately represented child

  • Expands the definition to include a child under 18 who is part of a community that is disproportionately represented in the child welfare system due to race, culture, ethnicity, disability status, or low income.
  • Requires the commissioner to determine who is a disproportionately represented child every three years, starting January 1, 2028.

• Active efforts during placement and transition

  • Requires continued active efforts through the child’s case to preserve the family and support reunification when possible.
  • Includes provisions for a transition period when reunifying, and continued communication with the child’s family and caregivers.

• Noncustodial parents, relatives, and community placement

  • Before removal, agencies must identify and locate noncustodial or nonadjudicated parents and relatives to notify them and provide legal resources.
  • Agencies must keep detailed records of outreach efforts and assess the noncustodial/ nonadjudicated parent’s ability to care for the child before placement.
  • If the noncustodial or nonadjudicated parent is able and willing to care for the child, the court should order placement in their home and the agency must help address issues that would allow this.
  • The statute’s relative search, notice, engagement, and placement requirements apply under this act, and if no relative can provide daily care, foster care placement with individuals in the child’s existing community (e.g., school, church) should be considered.

• Emergency removal and safety

  • Emergency removals or placements are still allowed to prevent imminent harm, but there is a rebuttable presumption of risk when synthetic opioids are present in the home without a valid prescription.

• Permanency planning with relatives

  • When possible, a child who cannot return to their parent should have permanency with a relative preferred over other options.
  • If feasible, the court should transfer permanent legal and physical custody to a noncustodial parent or a willing and able relative, following criteria in related statutes.
  • If the agency is the petitioner and a relative is a potential guardian, the agency must inform the relative about Northstar kinship assistance benefits and eligibility, and the relative’s ability to apply for benefits on the child’s behalf.
  • The relative- or kinship-based path may not apply if the child is in the commissioner’s guardianship or if adoption is nearly finalized.

• Reestablishment of parent-child relationship

  • Expands who may file for reestablishment of the legal parent and child relationship and sets conditions for such petitions, including corrected conditions that led to termination of parental rights, the parent’s ability to care for the child, the child’s age (10 or older), and case timing (e.g., long foster care duration).

• Effective date and related changes

  • The bill makes changes to the effective dates of certain provisions from a prior 2024 law, aligning when the new requirements take effect.

Significant Changes to Law

• Shifts from “reasonable efforts” to “active efforts” as the standard for keeping families together and guiding case planning.
• Adds a formal, recurring assessment of disproportionality (every three years) and strengthens data-driven identification of disproportionately represented children.
• Expands the role of trained community experts and guardians from communities of color in court processes and decisions.
• Prioritizes relative and kinship placements, with explicit requirements to notify and involve noncustodial parents and relatives before removal, and to consider kinship benefits.
• Introduces a protective presumption tied to the presence of synthetic opioids in the home during emergency removals.
• Creates clearer pathways for reunification, transition planning, and permanency options with relatives or appropriate noncustodial guardians.
• Broadens petition opportunities to reestablish parental rights in certain circumstances, with new filing requirements and potential fee waivers.

How It Affects Families and Children

• For children of color, especially African American children, the bill seeks to reduce disparities by ensuring oversight, culturally informed practices, and more community involvement in placements and court decisions.
• Families will experience a stronger emphasis on keeping children with relatives or within their own communities whenever safe and possible, with enhanced supports and resources to make relative placements feasible.
• The bill requires agencies to engage more proactively with families, inform them of their rights and resources, and keep comprehensive records of outreach and placement decisions.

Potential Implications to Watch

• Increased training and involvement of community voices could lead to more culturally informed and collaborative case decisions.
• The higher standard of active efforts may require additional resources and coordination for services, case planning, and reunification activities.
• The focus on kinship and relative placements could affect placement timelines and permanency outcomes for some children.
• The emergency removal presumption related to synthetic opioids may influence decision-making in urgent situations.

Relevant Terms - Active efforts - African American or disproportionately represented child - out-of-home placement - ombudsperson - guardians ad litem - cultural diversity training - kinship / Northstar kinship assistance benefits - noncustodial parent - nonadjudicated parent - relative search notice - emergency removal / emergency placement - synthetic opioids - reunification - permanency placement with a relative - guardians ad litem - foster care - placement decisions - culturally responsive practices