Kandiyohi County proclaims April Child Abuse Prevention Month; children's services report shows fewer out-of-home placements

The Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners approved a proclamation recognizing April as Child Abuse Prevention Month and heard an overview of the county’s children’s services on April 1.

Health and Human Services Director Caroline Khan read the proclamation and asked the board to approve it; commissioners moved and seconded the request and the measure passed by voice vote. Commissioners used the proclamation moment to thank child-protection staff for their work.

Supervisors from the Children’s Services division presented operational data. Stacy Garris, who supervises intake and child-protection assessments, said the unit screened “well over a thousand” child-welfare reports in 2024, completed 169 family assessment responses and 251 traditional investigations, and uses statutory screening criteria to decide which reports merit investigation. She said reports screened out may still be offered voluntary child-welfare response services.

Nicole Munson, an ongoing child-protection supervisor, told the board that at the end of 2024 the department had 106 open child-protection ongoing cases and 65 open child-welfare cases for a total of 171 cases. She said 69 children were in out-of-home placement at the end of 2024, and that as of February 2025 there were 58 children in out-of-home placement.

Munson summarized common reasons for out-of-home placement in 2024: parental substance use (33% of entries), physical abuse and alleged neglect (each 12%), and psychological or emotional abuse and child mental-health issues (each about 9%). She said 9 adoptions were finalized in 2024 and eight children were transferred to relatives with permanent legal and physical custody.

Robin Stryker, supervisor for foster care licensing and children’s mental health, said the county had 62 open child-foster-care home licenses in 2024, 47 of which were relative placements; she reported 35 open foster homes so far in 2025, with 28 relative and 7 traditional homes.

Commissioners praised the children’s-services staff for reducing the number of out-of-home placements and for work to prevent escalation into court. Commissioner comments emphasized the workload’s emotional difficulty and thanked staff for their service.

The board’s action and the supervisors’ report provide a county-level snapshot of caseloads, placement types and service partnerships for 2024 and early 2025.