1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to human services; extending the legislative task force on child 
1.3 	protection;amending Laws 2015, chapter 71, article 1, section 125.
1.4 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.5 	Section 1. Laws 2015, chapter 71, article 1, section 125, is amended to read:
1.6 	Sec. 125. LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE; CHILD PROTECTION.
 1.7 	(a) A legislative task force is created to:
1.8 	(1) review the efforts being made to implement the recommendations of the 
1.9 	Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children, including a review of the roles and 
1.10 	functions of the Office of Ombudsperson for Families;
1.11 	(2) expand the efforts into related areas of the child welfare system;
1.12 	(3) work with the commissioner of human services and community partners to 
1.13 	establish and evaluate child protection grants to address disparities in child welfare 
1.14 	pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 256E.28; and
1.15 	(4) identify additional areas within the child welfare system that need to be addressed 
1.16 	by the legislature.;
1.17 	(5) review and recommend alternatives to law enforcement responding to a 
1.18 	maltreatment report by removing the child, and evaluate situations in which it may 
1.19 	be appropriate for a social worker or other child protection worker to remove the child 
1.20 	from the home; and
1.21 	(6) clarify the definition of "substantial child endangerment," and provide language 
1.22 	in bill form by January 1, 2017.
1.23 	(b) Members of the legislative task force shall include:
2.1 	(1) the four legislators who served as members of the Governor's Task Force on 
2.2 	the Protection of Children;
2.3 	(2) two four members from the house of representatives appointed by the speaker, 
2.4 	one two from the majority party and one two from the minority party; and
2.5 	(3) two (2) four members from the senate, including two members appointed by the 
2.6 	senate majority leader, one from the majority party and one from the minority partytwo 
2.7 	members appointed by the senate minority leader.
2.8 	Members of the task force shall serve a term that expires on December 31 of the 
2.9 	even-numbered year following the year they are appointed. The speaker and the majority 
2.10 	leader shall each appoint a chair and vice-chair from the membership of the task force. 
2.11 	The gavelchair shall rotate after each meeting, and the house of representatives shall 
2.12 	assume the leadership of the task force first. The task force must meet at least quarterly.
2.13 	(c) The task force may provide oversight and monitoring of:
2.14 	(1) the efforts by the Department of Human Services, counties, and tribes to 
2.15 	implement laws related to child protection;
2.16 	(2) efforts by the Department of Human Services, counties, and tribes to implement 
2.17 	the recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children;
2.18 	(3) efforts by agencies, including but not limited to the Minnesota Department 
2.19 	of Education, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, the Minnesota Department of 
2.20 	Corrections, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, to work with the Department 
2.21 	of Human Services to assure safety and well-being for children at risk of harm or children 
2.22 	in the child welfare system; and
2.23 	(4) efforts by the Department of Human Services, other agencies, counties, and 
2.24 	tribes to implement best practices to ensure every child is protected from maltreatment 
2.25 	and neglect and to ensure every child has the opportunity for healthy development.
2.26 	(d) The task force, in cooperation with the commissioner of human services, 
2.27 	shall issue a an annual report to the legislature and governor by February 1, 2016. The 
2.28 	report must contain information on the progress toward implementation of changes to 
2.29 	the child protection system, recommendations for additional legislative changes and 
2.30 	procedures affecting child protection and child welfare, and funding needs to implement 
2.31 	recommended changes.
2.32 	(e) The task force shall convene upon the effective date of this section and shall 
2.33 	continue until the last day of the 2016 legislative session.
2.34 	(e) The task force may establish a work group to review the Minnesota Assessment 
2.35 	of Parenting Children and Youth, the tool used by Minnesota county and tribal social 
3.1 	service agencies to determine Northstar Care for Children supplemental payment benefits. 
3.2 	Members of the work group shall be appointed by the cochairs of the task force and include:
3.3 	(1) two legislators;
3.4 	(2) two foster care providers;
3.5 	(3) one therapist who has experience providing services to foster children or foster 
3.6 	families;
3.7 	(4) one county social services agency staff member;
3.8 	(5) one tribal social services agency staff member; and
3.9 	(6) one staff member from the Department of Human Services who has experience 
3.10 	with the assessment tool.
3.11 	(f) The work group shall review use of the assessment tool and the results produced 
3.12 	in determining supplemental benefits. The work group may make recommendations to the 
3.13 	task force on changes that should be made to the assessment tool. The work group shall 
3.14 	issue its findings, recommendations, and a report to the task force by December 1, 2016.
3.15 	(g) This section expires December 31, 2020.

3.16 	EFFECTIVE DATE. This section is effective the day following final enactment.

3.17 	Sec. 2. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.
 3.18 	The revisor of statutes, in consultation with the commissioner of human services; 
3.19 	the Office of Senate Counsel, Research, and Fiscal Analysis; and House Research, shall 
3.20 	recodify the Maltreatment of Minors Act, Minnesota Statutes, section 626.556, and 
3.21 	related statutes in order to create internal consistency, eliminate redundant language, 
3.22 	separate provisions governing investigations of maltreatment in institutions, and otherwise 
3.23 	reorganize the statutes to facilitate interpretation and application of the law. The 
3.24 	recodification must be drafted in bill form for introduction in the 2017 session.