1st Engrossment - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020) Posted on 03/15/2019 08:42am
A bill for an act
relating to human services; requiring the commissioner of human services to ensure
certain minimum standards for children in foster care; proposing coding for new
law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 260C.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
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The commissioner shall ensure that each child placed in foster care is entitled to certain
minimum standards while in foster care. Each child placed in foster care shall receive
notification of these minimum standards immediately upon out-of-home placement or during
the child's first meeting with a county social worker, in a document that is age and
developmentally appropriate. The document shall include the address and telephone number
of the Office of Ombudsman for Families and a brief statement describing how to file a
complaint with the office concerning a violation of any minimum standard. A child's social
worker must review the document annually with the child in an age and developmentally
appropriate manner. The commissioner shall develop a form outlining these minimum
standards and providing additional guidance, and issue a bulletin listing these minimum
standards and the requirements for responsible social services agencies as soon as is
practicable. The commissioner shall include the information required under this paragraph
in training materials for adoption and foster care workers and administrators. The
commissioner shall ensure that a child in foster care has:
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(1) the basic support that every child needs, which includes a family, a safe home with
appropriate sleeping arrangements, nutritious food, clothing, hygiene products, the child's
own belongings, and access to a working phone;
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(2) safety, which includes respectful treatment, appropriate discipline, protection from
maltreatment, and communication with trusted adults without fear of retaliation;
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(3) contact with caring people, which includes visiting or communicating with family
and friends, and participating in activities with peers;
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(4) health care, which includes routine checkups, doctor visits when the child is sick,
and access to medical, dental, or mental health providers as necessary;
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(5) education, which includes attending age-appropriate educational classes or
extracurricular activities;
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(6) access to legal resources, which includes appointment of and access to an attorney,
guardian ad litem, or social worker, notification of court proceedings, orders, or
determinations;
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(7) placement in an environment that meets the child's needs, which includes a placement
in close proximity to the child's family, reasonable access to a bedroom, fair rules with
explanations, not using detention as respite or emergency placement, and stability;
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(8) age-appropriate decision-making authority, which includes participation in case
planning discussions and the ability to express the child's gender, sexual identity, religion,
or culture; and
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(9) access to transitional support information, which includes materials for aging out of
care and for accessing records.
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This section is effective for each child in foster care on or after
August 1, 2019, regardless of when the child entered foster care.
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