Benton County staff outline major hurdles to implementing Minnesota's Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act
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Summary
Human Services staff told the board that the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act (effective Jan. 1, 2027) lacks key definitions and statewide systems, will require intensive "active efforts" that greatly increase worker time, and currently has minimal county-directed funding and uncertain technology support.
Will Chu and other Benton County Human Services staff briefed the board on the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act, which the presenters referred to throughout as "the act." Staff said the law is set to take effect Jan. 1, 2027; Hennepin and Ramsey counties piloted elements of the program beginning in 2025. Key points presented to the board:
- The state has not yet defined "disproportionality," leaving counties uncertain about which populations will be covered.
- The act requires counties to perform case reviews on all active child-protection cases and produce annual summaries with trends and data analysis; staff said counties historically did not perform case review work at this scope and that this function has chiefly been tracked at the state level.
- The law mandates "active efforts," a higher standard than current reasonable efforts: active efforts may require county workers to arrange culturally competent services, sometimes providing transport and more intensive facilitation. Staff estimated active-efforts cases could add 40'50 extra worker-hours per case and suggested an example county caseload (about 168 cases per year) could translate into thousands of additional staff hours.
- Technology and data collection are immediate barriers: the state's SSIS system does not currently capture required fields such as culture and ethnicity in the ways the act requires; the state has deployed additional apps (e.g., Agile Apps) that do not integrate with SSIS, complicating reporting.
- Funding is limited: presenters noted a small allocation for pilots (reported $5 million between Hennepin and Ramsey) and uncertainty about additional statewide funding; staff said counties are being asked to implement many responsibilities without corresponding funding, and that litigation and subsequent statutory change are likely.
Presenters recommended waiting for the state's culturally specific training rollout, coordinating with county attorneys and law enforcement on threshold and court practices, collaborating regionally to build capacity, and developing county procedures for case reviews. Commissioners said they will raise the issue with legislators and AMC and asked that Human Services return with more granular cost and staffing estimates.
