SF 4001

1st Engrossment - 93rd Legislature (2023 - 2024) Posted on 03/13/2024 10:05am

A bill for an act
relating to child protection; directing a fiscal analysis of and practice
recommendations for the child welfare system; requiring a report; appropriating
money.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1. DIRECTION TO COMMISSIONER OF HUMAN SERVICES; CHILD
WELFARE FISCAL ANALYSIS AND PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS.

Subdivision 1.

Child welfare system analysis and recommendations.

(a) By October
1, 2024, the commissioner of human services must contract with the third-party independent
consultant selected pursuant to subdivision 2 to conduct an independent fiscal analysis of
the child welfare system in Minnesota, including an analysis of available funding sources
for federal, state, county, and Tribal systems, and to provide a comprehensive set of practice
and programmatic recommendations for the child welfare system.

(b) Before the fiscal analysis is conducted, the third-party independent consultant must
sign a statement that the consultant does not receive any money from any child welfare
provider in the state, the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, any
county, or any Tribal Nation, except the consultant may receive money from any of those
sources for conducting the fiscal analysis under this section.

Subd. 2.

Consultant selection.

By September 1, 2024, the legislative task force on child
protection, in consultation with the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, must select a
third-party independent consultant to conduct the fiscal analysis in subdivision 1. The
consultant must have national expertise in transforming child welfare systems and conducting
fiscal analyses, including experience conducting a similar fiscal analysis of another state's
claim processes under the Family First Prevention Services Act and the state's federal Title
IV-E and Title IV-B reimbursement processes.

Subd. 3.

Child welfare fiscal analysis.

When conducting the fiscal analysis under this
section, the consultant must evaluate:

(1) statewide data sharing in the child welfare system, including state juvenile courts;

(2) financial systems in the child welfare system and funding sources available to the
child welfare system;

(3) current staff responsible for child welfare system budgeting and reimbursement in
the state, counties, and Tribal Nations, and the staff skills and resources necessary to obtain,
manage, and distribute federal funds to counties and Tribal Nations;

(4) state access to, use of, and reimbursement of funding under Title IV-E, Title IV-B,
the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, TANF, Medicaid, the federal Social
Services Block Grant Program, and other federal funds for expenses related to child welfare,
including legal representation, training, and prevention services;

(5) relevant information needed to secure available federal funds for the child welfare
system;

(6) the implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act and related claim
processes;

(7) the social service information system, including the system's ability to efficiently
integrate child welfare information and to manage, track, and share information between
the state, counties, and Tribal Nations;

(8) Title IV-E attorney and training reimbursements in the state and all allowable Title
IV-E administrative costs; and

(9) the Tribal consultation policy under Minnesota Statutes, section 10.65, and how
often the consultations occur.

Subd. 4.

Child welfare practice and programmatic recommendations; practice
model development.

The consultant must develop a comprehensive set of practice and
programmatic recommendations that provide a framework for the child welfare system. In
providing these recommendations, the consultant must develop a practice model for the
child welfare system in Minnesota that includes:

(1) statewide program goals for child welfare case management and service delivery;

(2) strategies to strengthen relationships between the court system, probation, state
agencies, counties, Tribal Nations, and community partners;

(3) recommendations to increase access to programs that assist vulnerable families with
prevention services, including culturally relevant services;

(4) identifying services for youth with unmet complex needs;

(5) an effective pre-petition legal representation process for parents, relatives, and
children; and

(6) recommendations for work force retention at state and county levels.

Subd. 5.

Working group.

(a) A working group is established to support and advise the
consultant during the fiscal analysis under subdivision 3 and development of the practice
model under subdivision 4. The consultant must meet regularly with the working group
during the fiscal analysis in subdivision 3, the development of the practice model under
subdivision 4, and the writing of the report in subdivision 6. The working group must assist
the consultant in obtaining data and information needed for the fiscal analysis, provide
advice and support to the consultant regarding the goals and timeline of the fiscal analysis,
and advise the consultant as needed for the duration of the fiscal analysis. The working
group must consult with Minnesota's Tribal Nations throughout the duration of the fiscal
analysis. A Tribal Nation may opt out of participating in the fiscal analysis and may refuse
to provide data or information to the working group and consultant.

(b) The working group shall consist of 11 members, appointed as follows:

(1) two members who are employees of the Department of Human Services with expertise
in child welfare, appointed by the commissioner of human services;

(2) two members appointed by the Minnesota Association of County Social Service
Administrators;

(3) one member appointed by the foster youth ombudsperson;

(4) one member appointed by the Minnesota Children's Justice Initiative;

(5) one member appointed by the Children's Cabinet;

(6) two members appointed by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council; and

(7) two members of the public who work in the children's prevention services community,
appointed by the governor.

Subd. 6.

Report.

By June 30, 2026, the consultant must submit a final report to the
commissioner of human services and to the chairs and ranking minority members of the
legislative committees with jurisdiction over the child welfare system. The final report must
include the findings from the fiscal analysis in subdivision 3, the practice model under
subdivision 4, and recommendations on whether Minnesota should increase state investment
in the child welfare system. The final report must also include proposed legislation for any
necessary statutory changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Sec. 2. APPROPRIATION; CHILD WELFARE FISCAL ANALYSIS AND
PRACTICE RECOMMENDATIONS.

$500,000 in fiscal year 2025 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of human services to contract with a third-party independent consultant selected by the
legislative task force on child protection and the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council to conduct
a fiscal analysis of Minnesota's child welfare system and provide practice recommendations
for the child welfare system. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30,
2026.