Child Safety and Family Preservation

Neglect, physical abuse, mental injury and sexual abuse are all considered child abuse in Minnesota. Each is defined in state law. Neglect is the most common form of maltreatment.

Call the county or Tribal social service agency, or the police, where the child lives if you believe that a child is being hurt or neglected.

Some people, whose jobs involve caring for children, such as doctors, teachers and ministers, are required by law to report suspected child abuse or neglect.

Other people, such as neighbors or relatives, are encouraged to report if they think a child is being abused or neglected. Your report is confidential and your name cannot be released to the family except by a court order.

Child protection workers assess reports for child safety, risk factors, and family strengths and needs. Extensive research has found that children are safer and families are healthier when family support services are quickly made available and targeted to specific needs.

Many reported incidents are successfully addressed using either the Parent Support Outreach program or the Family Assessment Response. These approaches connect families to counseling, parenting education, services like early childhood or special education, and programs to help them meet basic needs such as housing and food.

Other assessment factors

• Many reported incidents do not reach the legal standard of abuse or neglect, but there may be factors that put the children at potential risk. The Parent Support Outreach Program helps these children and their families get support to prevent future incidents of child maltreatment.
• Most of the children receive a Family Assessment Response, which secures children's safety while supporting families. Families must participate in working to resolve issues that may be contributing to the risk of child maltreatment.
• Counties and tribes still use Family Investigations for serious reports of child abuse and neglect. This includes cases where children are at imminent risk of harm.

Information about the child protection process, including what happens when a report of child maltreatment is accepted by the county or tribe, is explained in the Families' Guide to Child Protection  DHS-3247-ENG (PDF).

This brochure is also available in:

• Hmong - Families' Guide to Child Protection DHS-3247-HMN (PDF)
• Somali - Families' Guide to Child Protection DHS-3247-SOM (PDF)
• Spanish - Families' Guide to Child Protection DHS-3247-SPA (PDF)