HF3027 Summary

• Modifies parental contribution requirements for children with chronic illness or disability under medical assistance, adjusting income thresholds and sliding scale percentages for determining contribution amounts.

• Renames "guardianship assistance" to "Northstar kinship assistance" throughout Minnesota Statutes and Rules related to the Northstar Care for Children program under chapter 256N.

• Expands eligible child foster care placements to include licensed child foster parents and unlicensed emergency relative placements, while requiring background studies for tribal organizations conducting child foster care licensing to meet federal Title IV-E requirements.

• Restricts reassessments of Northstar kinship assistance and adoption assistance agreements for up to two years after all parties sign the agreement, allowing caregiver-initiated requests only after six months have elapsed.

• Updates adoption-related provisions to clarify Northstar Care for Children eligibility, background study requirements for prospective adoptive parents, and adds disqualifying criminal convictions for adoption assistance eligibility.

• Modifies infant safe sleep requirements in licensed child care settings to require safe sleep spaces readily available for each infant, and allows sudden unexpected infant death and abusive head trauma training to be combined into a single two-hour course.