Minnesota Legislature
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
Minnesota Session Laws - 1997, Regular Session
Key: (1) language to be deleted (2) new language
CHAPTER 86-H.F.No. 209
An act relating to human services; changing provisions
for placement of children; amending Minnesota Statutes
1996, sections 257.071, subdivisions 1a and 7;
257.072, subdivisions 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 9; 259.29;
259.57, subdivision 2; 259.77; 260.181, subdivision 3;
and 260.191, subdivision 1a.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 257.071,
subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. [PROTECTION OF HERITAGE OR BACKGROUND PLACEMENT
DECISIONS BASED ON BEST INTEREST OF THE CHILD.] The authorized
child-placing agency shall (a) The policy of the state of
Minnesota is to ensure that the child's best interests are met
by giving due, not sole, consideration of the child's race or
ethnic heritage in making a family foster care
placement. requiring an individualized determination of the
needs of the child and of how the selected placement will serve
the needs of the child being placed. The authorized
child-placing agency shall place a child, released by court
order or by voluntary release by the parent or parents, in a
family foster home selected by following the preferences
described in considering placement with relatives and important
friends consistent with section 260.181, subdivision 3.
(b) Among the factors the agency shall consider in
determining the needs of the child are those specified under
section 260.181, subdivision 3, paragraph (b).
When there is not a family foster home of the same race or
ethnic heritage available that can meet the needs of the child,
the agency must place the child in a home of a foster family
that is of different racial or ethnic heritage that can meet the
needs of the child. (c) Placement of a child cannot be delayed
or denied based solely on race., color, or national origin of
the foster parent or the child. Whenever possible, siblings
should be placed together unless it is determined not to be in
the best interests of a sibling.
Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 257.071,
subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. [RULES.] By December 31, 1989, The commissioner
shall revise Minnesota Rules, parts 9545.0010 to 9545.0260, the
rules setting standards for family and group family foster
care. The commissioner shall:
(1) require that, as a condition of licensure, foster care
providers attend training on the importance of protecting
understanding and validating the cultural heritage within the
meaning of Laws 1983, chapter 278, the Indian Child Welfare Act,
Public Law Number 95-608, and the Minnesota Indian family
preservation act, sections 257.35 to 257.3579 of all children in
their care, and on the importance of the Indian Child Welfare
Act, United States Code, title 25, sections 1901 to 1923, and
the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, sections 257.35 to
257.3579; and
(2) review and, where necessary, revise foster care rules
to reflect sensitivity to cultural diversity and differing
lifestyles. Specifically, the commissioner shall examine
whether space and other requirements discriminate against
single-parent, minority, or low-income families who may be able
to provide quality foster care reflecting the values of their
own respective cultures.
Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 257.072,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:
Subdivision 1. [RECRUITMENT OF FOSTER FAMILIES.] Each
authorized child-placing agency shall make special efforts to
recruit a foster family from among the child's relatives, except
as authorized in section 260.181, subdivision 3. In recruiting
placements for each child, the agency must focus on that child's
particular needs and the capacities of the particular
prospective foster parents to meet those needs. Each agency
shall provide for diligent recruitment of potential foster
families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of the
children in the state for whom foster homes are needed. Special
efforts include contacting and working with community
organizations and religious organizations and may include
contracting with these organizations, utilizing local media and
other local resources, conducting outreach activities, and
increasing the number of minority recruitment staff employed by
the agency. The requirement of special efforts to locate
relatives in this section is satisfied if the responsible
child-placing agency has made appropriate efforts for six months
following the child's placement in a residential facility and
the court approves the agency's efforts pursuant to section
260.191, subdivision 3a. The agency may accept any gifts,
grants, offers of services, and other contributions to use in
making special recruitment efforts.
Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 257.072,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER.] The commissioner of
human services shall:
(1) in cooperation with child-placing agencies, develop a
cost-effective campaign using radio and television to recruit
minority adoptive and foster families that reflect the ethnic
and racial diversity of children in the state for whom adoptive
and foster homes are needed; and
(2) require that agency staff people who work in the area
of minority adoption and foster family recruitment attend
participate in cultural sensitivity competency training; and.
(3) monitor the record keeping, licensing, placement
preference, recruitment, review, and reporting requirements of
the minority child heritage protection act, Laws 1983, chapter
278.
Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 257.072,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [MINORITY RECRUITMENT SPECIALIST.] The
commissioner shall designate a permanent professional staff
position for a minority recruitment specialist of foster and
adoptive families. The minority recruitment specialist shall
provide services to child-placing agencies seeking to
recruit minority adoptive and foster care families and qualified
minority professional staff. The minority recruitment
specialist shall:
(1) develop materials for use by the agencies in training
staff;
(2) conduct in-service workshops for agency personnel;
(3) provide consultation, technical assistance, and other
appropriate services to agencies wishing to strengthen and
improve service delivery to minority diverse populations; and
(4) conduct workshops for foster care and adoption
recruiters to evaluate the effectiveness of techniques for
recruiting minority foster and adoptive families; and
(5) perform other duties as assigned by the commissioner to
implement the minority child heritage protection act and the
Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, sections 257.35 to
257.3579.
Upon recommendation of the minority recruitment specialist,
The commissioner may contract for portions of these services.
Sec. 6. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 257.072,
subdivision 4, is amended to read:
Subd. 4. [CONSULTATION WITH MINORITY REPRESENTATIVES.] The
commissioner of human services shall, after seeking and
considering advice from representatives reflecting diverse
populations from the councils established under sections 3.922,
3.9223, 3.9225, and 3.9226, and other state, local, and
community organizations shall:
(1) review, and where necessary, revise the department of
human services social service manual and practice guide to
reflect the scope and intent of Laws 1983, chapter 278 federal
and state policy direction on placement of children;
(2) develop criteria for determining whether a prospective
adoptive or foster family is "knowledgeable and appreciative" as
the term is used in section 260.181, subdivision 3 has the
ability to understand and validate the child's cultural
background;
(3) develop a standardized training curriculum for adoption
and foster care workers, family-based providers, and
administrators who work with minority and special needs
children. Training must address the following subjects
objectives:
(a) developing and maintaining sensitivity to other all
cultures;
(b) assessing values and their cultural implications; and
(c) implementing the minority child heritage protection
act, Laws 1983, chapter 278, and the Minnesota Indian family
preservation act, sections 257.35 to 257.3579 making
individualized decisions that advance the best interests of a
particular child under section 257.071, subdivision 1a;
(4) develop a training curriculum for family and extended
family members of minority adoptive and foster children. The
curriculum must address issues relating to cross-cultural
placements as well as issues that arise after a foster or
adoptive placement is made; and
(5) develop and provide to agencies an assessment tool to
be used in combination with group interviews and other
preplacement activities to evaluate prospective adoptive and
foster families of minority children. The tool must assess
problem-solving skills; identify parenting skills; and, when
required by section 260.181, subdivision 3, evaluate the degree
to which the prospective family is knowledgeable and
appreciative of racial and ethnic differences has the ability to
understand and validate the child's cultural background.
Sec. 7. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 257.072,
subdivision 7, is amended to read:
Subd. 7. [DUTIES OF CHILD-PLACING AGENCIES.] Each
authorized child-placing agency must:
(1) develop and follow procedures for implementing the
order of preference prescribed by requirements of section
260.181, subdivision 3, and the Indian Child Welfare Act, United
States Code, title 25, sections 1901 to 1923;
(a) In implementing the order of preference requirement to
consider relatives for placement, an authorized child-placing
agency may disclose private or confidential data, as defined in
section 13.02, to relatives of the child for the purpose of
locating a suitable placement. The agency shall disclose only
data that is necessary to facilitate implementing the
preference. If a parent makes an explicit request that the
relative preference not be followed, the agency shall bring the
matter to the attention of the court to determine whether the
parent's request is consistent with the best interests of the
child and the agency shall not contact relatives unless ordered
to do so by the juvenile court; and
(b) In determining the suitability of a proposed placement
of an Indian child, the standards to be applied must be the
prevailing social and cultural standards of the Indian child's
community, and the agency shall defer to tribal judgment as to
suitability of a particular home when the tribe has intervened
pursuant to the Indian Child Welfare Act;
(2) have a written plan for recruiting minority adoptive
and foster families that reflect the ethnic and racial diversity
of children who are in need of foster and adoptive homes. The
plan must include (a) strategies for using existing resources in
minority diverse communities, (b) use of minority diverse
outreach staff wherever possible, (c) use of minority diverse
foster homes for placements after birth and before adoption, and
(d) other techniques as appropriate;
(3) have a written plan for training adoptive and foster
families of minority children;
(4) if located in an area with a significant minority
population, have a written plan for employing minority social
workers staff in adoption and foster care who have the capacity
to assess the foster and adoptive parents' ability to understand
and validate a child's cultural needs, and to advance the best
interests of the child. The plan must include staffing goals
and objectives;
(5) ensure that adoption and foster care workers attend
training offered or approved by the department of human services
regarding cultural diversity and the needs of special needs
children; and
(6) develop and implement procedures for implementing the
requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act and the Minnesota
Indian Family Preservation Act.
Sec. 8. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 257.072,
subdivision 9, is amended to read:
Subd. 9. [RULES.] The commissioner of human services shall
adopt rules to establish standards for conducting relative
searches, and recruiting foster and adoptive families of the
same racial or ethnic heritage as the child, and evaluating the
role of relative status in the reconsideration of
disqualifications under section 245A.04, subdivision 3b, and
granting variances of licensing requirements under section
245A.04, subdivision 9, in licensing or approving an individual
related to a child.
Sec. 9. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 259.29, is
amended to read:
259.29 [PROTECTION OF HERITAGE OR BACKGROUND BEST INTERESTS
IN ADOPTIVE PLACEMENTS.]
Subdivision 1. [BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD.] (a) The
policy of the state of Minnesota is to ensure that the best
interests of the child are met by requiring due, not sole,
consideration of the child's race or ethnic heritage in adoption
placements. For purposes of intercountry adoptions, due
consideration is deemed to have occurred if the appropriate
authority in the child's country of birth has approved the
placement of the child. individualized determination of the
needs of the child and of how the adoptive placement will serve
the needs of the child.
(b) Among the factors the agency shall consider in
determining the needs of the child are those specified under
section 260.181, subdivision 3, paragraph (b).
Subd. 2. [PLACEMENT WITH RELATIVE OR FRIEND.] The
authorized child-placing agency shall give preference, in the
absence of good cause to the contrary, to placing the child with
(a) a relative or relatives of the child, or, if that would be
detrimental to the child or a relative is not available, (b) an
important friend with whom the child has resided or had
significant contact, or if that is not possible, (c) a family
with the same racial or ethnic heritage as the child, or, if
that is not feasible, (d) a family of different racial or ethnic
heritage from the child which is knowledgeable and appreciative
of the child's racial or ethnic heritage. consider placement,
consistent with the child's best interests and in the following
order, with (1) a relative or relatives of the child, or (2) an
important friend with whom the child has resided or had
significant contact. In implementing the order of preference
this section, an authorized child-placing agency may disclose
private or confidential data, as defined in section 13.02, to
relatives of the child for the purpose of locating a suitable
adoptive home. The agency shall disclose only data that is
necessary to facilitate implementing the preference.
If the child's birth parent or parents explicitly request
that the preference described in clause (a), (b), or
(c) placement with relatives or important friends not be
followed considered, the authorized child-placing agency shall
honor that request consistent with the best interests of the
child.
If the child's birth parent or parents express a preference
for placing the child in an adoptive home of the same or a
similar religious background to that of the birth parent or
parents, in following the preferences in clause (a), (b), or
(c), the agency shall place the child with a family that also
meets the birth parent's religious preference. Only if no
family is available that is described in clause (a), (b), or (c)
may the agency give preference to a family described in clause
(d) that meets the parent's religious preference.
This subdivision does not affect the Indian Child Welfare
Act, United States Code, title 25, sections 1901 to 1923, and
the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, sections 257.35 to
257.3579.
Sec. 10. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 259.57,
subdivision 2, is amended to read:
Subd. 2. [PROTECTION OF HERITAGE OR BACKGROUND THE CHILD'S
BEST INTERESTS.] (a) The policy of the state of Minnesota is to
ensure that the best interests of children are met by
requiring due, not sole, consideration of the child's race or
ethnic heritage in adoption placements. For purposes of
intercountry adoptions, due consideration is deemed to have
occurred if the appropriate authority in the child's country of
birth has approved the placement of the child an individualized
determination of the needs of the child and how the adoptive
placement will serve the needs of the child.
(b) Among the factors the court shall consider in
determining the needs of the child are those specified under
section 260.181, subdivision 3, paragraph (b).
(c) In reviewing adoptive placement, the court shall
consider preference, and in determining appropriate adoption,
the court shall give preference, in the absence of good cause to
the contrary, to (a) consider placement, consistent with the
child's best interests and in the following order, with (1) a
relative or relatives of the child, or, if that would be
detrimental to the child or a relative is not available, to (b)
a family with the same racial or ethnic heritage as the child,
or if that is not feasible, to (c) a family of different racial
or ethnic heritage from the child that is knowledgeable and
appreciative of the child's racial or ethnic heritage. (2) an
important friend with whom the child has resided or had
significant contact. Placement of a child cannot be delayed or
denied based on race, color, or national origin of the adoptive
parent or the child. Whenever possible, siblings should be
placed together unless it is determined not to be in the best
interests of a sibling.
(d) If the child's birth parent or parents explicitly
request that the preference described in clause (a) or in
clauses (a) and (b) relatives and important friends not be
followed considered, the court shall honor that request
consistent with the best interests of the child.
If the child's birth parent or parents express a preference
for placing the child in an adoptive home of the same or a
similar religious background to that of the birth parent or
parents, in following the preferences in clause (a) or (b), the
court shall place the child with a family that also meets the
birth parent's religious preference. Only if no family is
available as described in clause (a) or (b) may the court give
preference to a family described in clause (c) that meets the
parent's religious preference.
(e) This subdivision does not affect the Indian Child
Welfare Act, United States Code, title 25, sections 1901 to
1923, and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, sections
257.35 to 257.3579.
Sec. 11. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 259.77, is
amended to read:
259.77 [FAMILY RECRUITMENT.]
Each authorized child-placing agency shall make special
efforts to recruit an adoptive family from among the child's
relatives, except as authorized in section 259.57, subdivision
2. Each agency shall provide for the diligent recruitment of
potential adoptive families that reflect the ethnic and racial
diversity of children in the state for whom adoptive homes are
needed. Special efforts include contacting and working with
community organizations and religious organizations and may
include contracting with these organizations, utilizing local
media and other local resources, and conducting outreach
activities. The requirement of special efforts to locate
relatives in this section is satisfied if the efforts have
continued for six months after the child becomes available for
adoption special efforts were made to recruit relatives when the
child was first placed in out-of-home care or if special efforts
have been satisfied and approved by the court pursuant according
to section 260.191, subdivision 3a. The agency may accept any
gifts, grants, offers of services, and other contributions to
use in making special recruitment efforts.
Sec. 12. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 260.181,
subdivision 3, is amended to read:
Subd. 3. [PROTECTION OF HERITAGE OR BACKGROUND THE CHILD'S
BEST INTERESTS.] (a) The policy of the state is to ensure that
the best interests of children are met by requiring due, not
sole, consideration of the child's race or ethnic
heritage individualized determinations of the needs of the child
and of how the selected placement will serve the needs of the
child in foster care placements.
(b) Among the factors to be considered in determining the
needs of the child are:
(1) the child's current functioning and behaviors;
(2) the medical, educational, and developmental needs of
the child;
(3) the child's history and past experience;
(4) the child's religious and cultural needs;
(5) the child's connection with a community, school, and
church;
(6) the child's interests and talents;
(7) the child's relationship to current caretakers,
parents, siblings, and relatives; and
(8) the reasonable preference of the child, if the court,
or in the case of a voluntary placement the child-placing
agency, deems the child to be of sufficient age to express
preferences.
(c) The court, in transferring legal custody of any child
or appointing a guardian for the child under the laws relating
to juvenile courts, shall place the child, in the following
order of preference, consider placement, consistent with the
child's best interests and in the following order, in the
absence of good cause to the contrary, in the legal custody or
guardianship of an individual who (a) (1) is related to the
child by blood, marriage, or adoption, or if that would be
detrimental to the child or a relative is not available, who
(b) (2) is an important friend with whom the child has resided
or had significant contact, or if that is not possible, who (c)
is of the same racial or ethnic heritage as the child, or if
that is not possible, who (d) is knowledgeable and appreciative
of the child's racial or ethnic heritage. Placement of a child
cannot be delayed or denied based on race, color, or national
origin of the foster parent or the child. Whenever possible,
siblings should be placed together unless it is determined not
to be in the best interests of a sibling.
(d) If the child's birth parent or parents explicitly
request that the preference described in clause (a), (b), or (c)
a relative or important friend not be followed considered, the
court shall honor that request if it is consistent with the best
interests of the child.
If the child's birth parent or parents express a preference
for placing the child in a foster or adoptive home of the same
or a similar religious background to that of the birth parent or
parents, in following the preferences in clause (a), (b), or
(c), the court shall order placement of the child with an
individual who meets the birth parent's religious preference.
Only if no individual is available who is described in clause
(a), (b), or (c) may the court give preference to an individual
described in clause (d) who meets the parent's religious
preference.
(e) This subdivision does not affect the Indian Child
Welfare Act, United States Code, title 25, sections 1901 to
1923, and the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act, sections
257.35 to 257.3579.
Sec. 13. Minnesota Statutes 1996, section 260.191,
subdivision 1a, is amended to read:
Subd. 1a. [WRITTEN FINDINGS.] Any order for a disposition
authorized under this section shall contain written findings of
fact to support the disposition ordered, and shall also set
forth in writing the following information:
(a) Why the best interests of the child are served by the
disposition ordered;
(b) What alternative dispositions were considered by the
court and why such dispositions were not appropriate in the
instant case;
(c) In the case of a child of minority racial or minority
ethnic heritage, How the court's disposition complies with the
requirements of section 260.181, subdivision 3; and
(d) Whether reasonable efforts consistent with section
260.012 were made to prevent or eliminate the necessity of the
child's removal and to reunify the family after removal. The
court's findings must include a brief description of what
preventive and reunification efforts were made and why further
efforts could not have prevented or eliminated the necessity of
removal.
If the court finds that the social services agency's
preventive or reunification efforts have not been reasonable but
that further preventive or reunification efforts could not
permit the child to safely remain at home, the court may
nevertheless authorize or continue the removal of the child.
Sec. 14. [EFFECTIVE DATE.]
Sections 1 to 13 are effective the day following final
enactment.
Presented to the governor May 2, 1997
Signed by the governor May 6, 1997, 11:05 a.m.
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes