Senate advances bill letting counties use diversionary child‑welfare response for some attendance cases

Senators on the Minnesota Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted to advance legislation that would let counties use a diversionary child‑welfare response rather than a traditional child protection response for some reported cases of student attendance problems.

Senator Kunish, the bill’s author, told the committee the change would let counties “implement a child welfare response versus a traditional child protection response in reports of ed neglect, cases where no safety concerns exist.” She said the bill grew from a summer legislative study group and would allow local agencies to use community‑based providers, family resource centers, or county attorney diversion as alternatives and require evaluation…