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Oct 16, 2024 | 
imprintnews.org | Alex Perez |Àlex Pérez
Parents accused of harming their children have a right to a court-appointed attorney in Minnesota and most of the country. But legal help is only guaranteed once allegations of abuse or neglect land in court through a formal petition submitted to a judge. Now, a new program in the state’s largest county offers parents counsel well before this stage, when child welfare workers are still deciding whether drug use, domestic violence or mental illness threatens a child’s health and safety.
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Sep 30, 2024 | 
imprintnews.org | Alex Perez |Nancy Spears |Nancy Marie
Amid drums, smudging and chants to “bring our children home,” supporters of the Indian Child Welfare Act gathered early this morning outside the Minnesota Capitol building, as the state’s highest court considered the latest legal threat to the bedrock 1978 law. The rally outside the Supreme Court today was deeply personal for Korina Barry, of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
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Sep 5, 2024 | 
imprintnews.org | Alex Perez
Last week, Minnesota’s state Supreme Court announced the launch of its first Council for Child Protection and Maltreatment Prevention. The 26-member group of experts will spend the next year recommending policies and laws to improve outcomes for kids and families in the child welfare system and those at risk of abuse and neglect. Supreme Court Justice Anne McKeig will chair the council.
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Aug 16, 2024 | 
imprintnews.org | Alex Perez
Each year hundreds of Minnesota moms lose custody of their children through the civil courts, accused of abuse or neglect. And once they’ve involuntarily lost one kid to the system, each subsequent birth will mean an automatic referral to child protective services and heightened scrutiny that could lead to another removal into foster care.
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Aug 9, 2024 | 
laprogressive.com | Alex Perez |Michael Fitzgerald |Rob Maurer |Alex Perez |Àlex Pérez
When the Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris, announced her choice for vice president Tuesday, she praised the smiling, understated midwestern governor as a champion of children and families. Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has made breakfast and lunch free in schools, provided one of the nation’s most generous tax credits for low-income parents and ensured paid family leave for almost all workers.
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Aug 7, 2024 | 
imprintnews.org | Alex Perez |Nancy Spears |Michael FitzGerald |Michael Fitzgerald |Nancy Marie
When the Democratic nominee for president, Kamala Harris, announced her choice for vice president Tuesday, she praised the smiling, understated midwestern governor as a champion of children and families. Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota has made breakfast and lunch free in schools, provided one of the nation’s most generous tax credits for low-income parents and ensured paid family leave for almost all workers.
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Jul 29, 2024 | 
imprintnews.org | Alex Perez
A team of more than two dozen members is working to better protect foster youth in the Land of 10,000 Lakes by granting them a tailor-made bill of rights. The youth advocates, law school students, foster parent representatives and state officials have hosted public meetings in the Minneapolis area since April as part of the endeavor, sifting through reams of feedback from young people statewide who have grown up in government custody.
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Jul 10, 2024 | 
sahanjournal.com | Alex Perez |Àlex Pérez |Trisha Collopy
This story is being co-published withThe Imprint, a national nonprofit news outlet covering child welfare and youth justice. At a ceremonial signing today in the governor’s chambers, Minnesota child welfare advocates, lawmakers and officials heralded passage of a new law that better protects families disproportionately represented in the foster care system. “This is the way governments should work,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation.
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Jul 10, 2024 | 
imprintnews.org | Alex Perez
At a ceremonial signing today in the governor’s chambers, Minnesota child welfare advocates, lawmakers and officials heralded passage of a new law that better protects families disproportionately represented in the foster care system. “This is the way governments should work,” said Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a citizen of the White Earth Nation. “It’s not just about one leader — it takes a village,” she added, giving a nod to the Black and Latino leaders among the several dozen assembled.
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Jul 2, 2024 | 
imprintnews.org | Alex Perez
A recent study unveiled a troubling discrepancy in the North Star State: while sexual exploitation of boys is widely known, just 15% appear to receive any help. “A significant theme that emerged from the data was the lack of identification and reporting of male victims of trafficking and exploitation compared to female victims,” states the study, And Minnesota Boys, Too, which was released in May.
