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Committee places bill on general register to bar child‑protection screening where no treatment is available
Summary
House File 16 14 would put into statute a Department of Human Services policy preventing counties from screening families into child protection when the reason is lack of available treatment for a child with severe mental‑health needs; the committee placed the bill on the general register.
Representative Kraft and advocates including NAMI Minnesota told the Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee that House File 16 14 would codify a Department of Human Services policy to avoid screening families into child protection when the true issue is lack of available treatment or residential placements for children with severe mental‑health needs.
Testimony from Sue Abderholden, NAMI Minnesota’s executive director, and Michelle Wood, a parent with direct experience, described families repeatedly seeking help, long wait lists for residential treatment, and instances where hospitals referred families to child protection because discharge options were limited. Advocates said screening such families into child protection can risk custody and employment without producing services because child protection cannot create the missing treatment capacity.
Committee members asked about the prevalence of the problem and fiscal impacts; witnesses said the issue arises a few times per month statewide and the bill carried a fiscal note of $0 in the committee packet. The committee approved placing House File 16 14 on the general register.
