SF 2428

2nd Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 05/04/2016 03:12pm

A bill for an act
relating to human services; extending the legislative task force on child
protection; amending Laws 2015, chapter 71, article 1, section 125.

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

Section 1.

Laws 2015, chapter 71, article 1, section 125, is amended to read:

Sec. 125. LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE; CHILD PROTECTION.

(a) A legislative task force is created to:

(1) review the efforts being made to implement the recommendations of the
Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children, including a review of the roles and
functions of the Office of Ombudsperson for Families;

(2) expand the efforts into related areas of the child welfare system;

(3) work with the commissioner of human services and community partners to
establish and evaluate child protection grants to address disparities in child welfare
pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, section 256E.28; and

(4) identify additional areas within the child welfare system that need to be addressed
by the legislature.;

(5) review and recommend alternatives to law enforcement responding to a
maltreatment report by removing the child, and evaluate situations in which it may
be appropriate for a social worker or other child protection worker to remove the child
from the home; and

(6) clarify the definition of "substantial child endangerment," and provide language
in bill form by January 1, 2017.

(b) Members of the legislative task force shall include:

(1) the four legislators who served as members of the Governor's Task Force on
the Protection of Children;

(2) two four members from the house of representatives appointed by the speaker,
one two from the majority party and one two from the minority party; and

(3) two (2) four members from the senate, including two members appointed by the
senate majority leader, one from the majority party and one from the minority party two
members appointed by the senate minority leader.

Members of the task force shall serve a term that expires on December 31 of the
even-numbered year following the year they are appointed. The speaker and the majority
leader shall each appoint a chair and vice-chair from the membership of the task force.
The gavel chair shall rotate after each meeting, and the house of representatives shall
assume the leadership of the task force first. The task force must meet at least quarterly.

(c) The task force may provide oversight and monitoring of:

(1) the efforts by the Department of Human Services, counties, and tribes to
implement laws related to child protection;

(2) efforts by the Department of Human Services, counties, and tribes to implement
the recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on the Protection of Children;

(3) efforts by agencies, including but not limited to the Minnesota Department
of Education, the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, the Minnesota Department of
Corrections, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, to work with the Department
of Human Services to assure safety and well-being for children at risk of harm or children
in the child welfare system; and

(4) efforts by the Department of Human Services, other agencies, counties, and
tribes to implement best practices to ensure every child is protected from maltreatment
and neglect and to ensure every child has the opportunity for healthy development.

(d) The task force, in cooperation with the commissioner of human services,
shall issue a an annual report to the legislature and governor by February 1, 2016. The
report must contain information on the progress toward implementation of changes to
the child protection system, recommendations for additional legislative changes and
procedures affecting child protection and child welfare, and funding needs to implement
recommended changes.

(e) The task force shall convene upon the effective date of this section and shall
continue until the last day of the 2016 legislative session.

(e) This section expires December 31, 2020.

EFFECTIVE DATE.

This section is effective the day following final enactment.

Sec. 2. REVISOR'S INSTRUCTION.

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