HF912 Summary

• Establishes the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act effective July 1, 2027, with a phase-in program in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties beginning July 1, 2024, requiring social services agencies to make "active efforts" to prevent out-of-home placement and promote family reunification for African American and disproportionately represented children.

• Requires safety plans before removal, prohibits out-of-home placement unless court finds clear and convincing evidence of serious emotional or physical damage, restricts termination of parental rights to cases involving sexual abuse or egregious harm, and reduces the foster care duration threshold from 48 to 24 months for certain conditions.

• Creates the African American Child Well-Being Advisory Council and Unit within the Department of Human Services to review child welfare data, conduct case reviews, develop cultural competency training, and administer family preservation grants to organizations led by African Americans and disproportionately represented communities.

• Establishes a publicly accessible compliance and feedback portal for reporting noncompliance and requires each county social services agency to conduct case reviews and submit annual reports on African American and disproportionately represented children's outcomes by October 1, 2029.

• Appropriates $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 ($2.5 million each to Hennepin and Ramsey Counties) for the phase-in program and requires development of cultural competency training available by January 1, 2027.