Bill to address children ‘boarding’ in hospitals, detention moves forward with stakeholder support

Senator Mann introduced Senate File 1561, a multi-part package aimed at reducing the number of children who are “boarding” — remaining in hospitals, juvenile detention centers or county facilities while awaiting appropriate mental-health placements.

Sponsor remarks and multiple witnesses described the magnitude of the problem. Senator Mann said children sometimes wait days, weeks or months for appropriate care and recounted a case in which a small rural hospital sheltered a child for weeks because no treatment setting was available. “In 2023, children across the state spent 12,000 avoidable days boarding in hospitals waiting for the right level of care,” Senator Mann said. Kristin Anderson, executive director of Aspire Minnesota, walked the committee…