1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to children's supervised visitation 
  1.3             facilities; amending Minnesota Statutes 1994, sections 
  1.4             256F.09, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, and by adding a 
  1.5             subdivision; and 517.08, subdivisions 1b and 1c; 
  1.6             repealing Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256F.09, 
  1.7             subdivision 4. 
  1.8   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.9      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256F.09, 
  1.10  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  1.11     Subdivision 1.  [PURPOSE.] The commissioner shall issue a 
  1.12  request for proposals from existing local nonprofit, 
  1.13  nongovernmental organizations, to use existing local facilities 
  1.14  as pilot children's safety centers supervised visitation 
  1.15  facilities, which may also be used for visitation exchanges.  
  1.16  The commissioner shall award grants in amounts up to $50,000 for 
  1.17  the purpose of creating to fund new and existing 
  1.18  children's safety centers supervised visitation facilities in an 
  1.19  effort to reduce children's vulnerability to violence and trauma 
  1.20  related to family visitation, where there has been a history of 
  1.21  domestic violence or abuse within the family.  At least one of 
  1.22  the pilot projects shall be located in the seven-county 
  1.23  metropolitan area and at least one of the projects shall be 
  1.24  located outside the seven-county metropolitan area, and The 
  1.25  commissioner shall award the grants to provide the greatest 
  1.26  possible number of safety centers children's supervised 
  2.1   visitation facilities and to locate them to provide for the 
  2.2   broadest possible geographic distribution of the centers 
  2.3   facilities throughout the state.  
  2.4      Each children's safety center visitation facility must use 
  2.5   existing local facilities to provide a healthy interactive 
  2.6   environment for parents who are separated or divorced and for 
  2.7   parents with children in foster homes to visit with their 
  2.8   children.  The centers facilities must be available for use by 
  2.9   district courts who may order visitation to occur at a safety 
  2.10  center supervised visitation facility.  
  2.11     The centers facilities may also be used as drop-off sites, 
  2.12  so that parents who are under court order to have no contact 
  2.13  with each other can exchange children for visitation at a 
  2.14  neutral site.  Each center facility must provide sufficient 
  2.15  security to ensure a safe visitation environment for children 
  2.16  and their parents.  A grantee must demonstrate the ability to 
  2.17  provide a 25 percent local match, which may include in-kind 
  2.18  contributions.  
  2.19     Existing facilities that can demonstrate a 35 percent local 
  2.20  match shall receive ongoing funding based on demonstrated need. 
  2.21  Ongoing funding is contingent on each children's visitation 
  2.22  facility diligently exploring and pursuing all available funding 
  2.23  options in an effort to become self-sustaining.  Those efforts 
  2.24  must be reported to the commissioner when applying for ongoing 
  2.25  funding. 
  2.26     Subd. 2.  [COUNTY INVOLVEMENT.] Each county or group of 
  2.27  counties is encouraged to provide supervised visitation services 
  2.28  in an effort to fill the gap in the court system that orders 
  2.29  supervised visitation, but does not provide a facility to 
  2.30  accomplish the supervised visitation as ordered.  Each county or 
  2.31  group of counties is encouraged to either financially contribute 
  2.32  to an existing supervised visitation center in the area, or 
  2.33  establish a new facility if there is not one in the area, 
  2.34  possibly through county social services.  In creating a new 
  2.35  facility, the county may collaborate with other counties, other 
  2.36  supervised visitation facilities, family services 
  3.1   collaboratives, court services, and any other entity or 
  3.2   organization.  The goal is to provide supervised visitation 
  3.3   facilities statewide.  The county shall apply for funding that 
  3.4   may be available through the federal government, specifically 
  3.5   for family preservation or family reunification purposes, or any 
  3.6   other source of funding that will aid in developing and 
  3.7   maintaining this vital service. 
  3.8      Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256F.09, 
  3.9   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  3.10     Subd. 2.  [PRIORITIES.] In awarding grants under the 
  3.11  program, the commissioner shall give priority to: 
  3.12     (1) areas of the state where no children's safety 
  3.13  center supervised visitation facility or similar facility 
  3.14  exists; 
  3.15     (2) applicants who demonstrate that private funding for the 
  3.16  center facility is available and will continue; and 
  3.17     (3) facilities that are adapted for use to care for 
  3.18  children, such as day care centers, religious institutions, 
  3.19  community centers, schools, technical colleges, parenting 
  3.20  resource centers, and child care referral services. 
  3.21     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256F.09, 
  3.22  subdivision 3, is amended to read: 
  3.23     Subd. 3.  [ADDITIONAL SERVICES.] Each center supervised 
  3.24  visitation facility may provide parenting and child development 
  3.25  classes, and offer support groups to participating custodial 
  3.26  parents and hold regular classes designed to assist children who 
  3.27  have experienced domestic violence and abuse. 
  3.28     Sec. 4.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256F.09, is 
  3.29  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.30     Subd. 5.  [ADMINISTRATION.] In administering the grants 
  3.31  authorized by this section, the commissioner shall ensure that 
  3.32  the term "children's supervised visitation facility" is used in 
  3.33  all applications, publicity releases, requests for proposals and 
  3.34  other materials of like nature. 
  3.35     Sec. 5.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 517.08, 
  3.36  subdivision 1b, is amended to read: 
  4.1      Subd. 1b.  [TERM OF LICENSE; FEE.] The court administrator 
  4.2   shall examine upon oath the party applying for a license 
  4.3   relative to the legality of the contemplated marriage.  If at 
  4.4   the expiration of a five-day period, on being satisfied that 
  4.5   there is no legal impediment to it, the court administrator 
  4.6   shall issue the license, containing the full names of the 
  4.7   parties before and after marriage, and county and state of 
  4.8   residence, with the district court seal attached, and make a 
  4.9   record of the date of issuance.  The license shall be valid for 
  4.10  a period of six months.  In case of emergency or extraordinary 
  4.11  circumstances, a judge of the county court or a judge of the 
  4.12  district court of the county in which the application is made, 
  4.13  may authorize the license to be issued at any time before the 
  4.14  expiration of the five days.  The court administrator shall 
  4.15  collect from the applicant a fee of $65 $71 for administering 
  4.16  the oath, issuing, recording, and filing all papers required, 
  4.17  and preparing and transmitting to the state registrar of vital 
  4.18  statistics the reports of marriage required by this section.  If 
  4.19  the license should not be used within the period of six months 
  4.20  due to illness or other extenuating circumstances, it may be 
  4.21  surrendered to the court administrator for cancellation, and in 
  4.22  that case a new license shall issue upon request of the parties 
  4.23  of the original license without fee.  A court administrator who 
  4.24  knowingly issues or signs a marriage license in any manner other 
  4.25  than as provided in this section shall pay to the parties 
  4.26  aggrieved an amount not to exceed $1,000. 
  4.27     Sec. 6.  Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 517.08, 
  4.28  subdivision 1c, is amended to read: 
  4.29     Subd. 1c.  [DISPOSITION OF LICENSE FEE.] Of the marriage 
  4.30  license fee collected pursuant to subdivision 1b, the court 
  4.31  administrator shall pay $50 $56 to the state treasurer to be 
  4.32  deposited in the general fund as follows:  $50 in the general 
  4.33  fund, and $6 in the special revenue fund and appropriated to the 
  4.34  commissioner of human services for supervised visitation 
  4.35  facilities under section 256F.09.  The department of human 
  4.36  services shall provide information to counties and all 
  5.1   supervised visitation facilities in the state regarding federal 
  5.2   funding sources available to fund the facilities.  The county 
  5.3   shall apply for potential funding, and shall coordinate efforts 
  5.4   in completing the application for funding with representatives 
  5.5   from the supervised visitation center in the area, in order to 
  5.6   continue receiving the state funding under this subdivision.  If 
  5.7   a county fails to timely apply for federal funding that is 
  5.8   available for a facility in the county, state funding to the 
  5.9   county will terminate June 30, 1996. 
  5.10     Sec. 7.  [REPEALER.] 
  5.11     Minnesota Statutes 1994, section 256F.09, subdivision 4, is 
  5.12  repealed.