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| Almost 5,400 children were abused and neglected in Minnesota in 2008. Research has shown that children who have been abused or neglected are far more likely to perform poorly in school, get involved in criminal activities, and abuse or neglect their own children. The Minnesota Department of Human Services works closely with the state’s 87 counties and 11 American Indian tribes which provide direct services to families and children in the child protection system. More information is available in the 2009 Fact Sheet. |
| The purpose of child protection services is to help protect children from physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse, and to help families get the services they need to change their behaviors. The program is mandated by law (Minnesota Statute 626.556, the Reporting of Maltreatment of Minors Act). |
| That same law requires the commissioner of DHS to establish a process to review deaths and near fatalities of children from maltreatment or suspected maltreatment. These reviews are completed by multi-disciplinary teams that include county workers and community agencies involved in the protection of children. These reviews often lead to recommendations for improvements. For further information about the child mortality review process, contact dhs.Child.Safety-Permanency@state.mn.us. |
| A Web-based data dashboard that provides an at-a-glance performance summary of key indicators on child welfare indicators is now available. The child welfare data dashboard permits the comparison of key performance points across child welfare using aggregate data for all 87 counties, as well as for the tribes participating in the American Indian Child Welfare Initiative. It is available as an Excel document. Users are advised to click “open” (file), then “enable macros” in answer to the security dialogue-box question. For those with Microsoft Excel version 2007, the scroll box is disabled. Users must manually insert the county/tribal entity selections. |
| Minnesota law requires workers in a number of professions, including health care, social service, psychological treatment, child care, education, corrections, law enforcement and clergy, to report suspected child maltreatment. To help mandated reporters better understand the law and reporting requirements, An Interactive Informational Guide for Mandated Reporting is now available. This comprehensive training is organized in six modules: an overview of Minnesota’s child protection system, the intersection of poverty and neglect and a discussion of racial disparities, the basics of mandated reporting, physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. The training is flexible, allowing users to navigate to any module at any time. After downloading the file, users are advised that if the navigation toolbar does not display at the bottom of the screen, to reduce the computer’s task bar. Using the mouse, place the cursor on the top edge of the task bar until a double-headed arrow appears. Then drag downwards to collapse the toolbar and a navigation toolbar for the presentation will become visible. Visually impaired users can obtain the same information in this text-only document. |
| Voluntary supportive services to families with a child younger than 10 at risk of child maltreatment are available in many Minnesota counties. A flyer about the Parent Support Outreach Project is now available in ready-to-print and customizable formats. |
| While the link between economic stress and child abuse is well known, there is less agreement about which specific supports can be the most helpful. MFIP Family Connections is a three-year pilot to examine the impact of early intervention services on low-income families at risk of child maltreatment or other poor outcomes for children. Launched in October 2007, the pilot is targeting families receiving MFIP, have at least one child age 10 and younger and live in Beltrami, Cass, Crow Wing, Dakota, Olmsted, Polk, Ramsey or Sherburne Counties. About 1,900 families are expected to participate voluntarily over the course of the project. Services will include parenting education, family and crisis counseling, and positive parent-child interaction activities. A program brochure provides further information. |
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