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Title

About the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act

Intro

The Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act (MAAFPCWDA) was passed in 2024 to help address longstanding disparities in Minnesota's child welfare system. The law is designed to strengthen families, improve transparency and accountability, and help ensure children can safely remain with their families whenever possible.

The Act recognizes that African American children, American Indian children and other disproportionately represented children have experienced unequal outcomes in the child welfare system. It establishes new requirements for child welfare practice, oversight and data collection to help reduce those disparities while improving outcomes for all children and families served under the Act.

Because these changes affect child welfare systems across Minnesota, implementation is occurring in phases.

Changes to child welfare practices

Widgets

Implementation of the Act began with a phase-in program in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, which started Jan. 1, 2025. Lessons learned during the phase-in program help inform statewide implementation, which begins July 1, 2027. To learn more, visit Implementing the Minnesota African American Family Preservation Child Welfare Disproportionality Act.

The Act:

  • Requires the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to annually identify which groups are disproportionately represented in Minnesota's child welfare system by comparing child welfare data with statewide child population data. The data includes race, culture, ethnicity, income and disability status.
  • Requires responsible social service agencies to make active efforts to prevent out-of-home placement, reunify families, and implement safety plans with specific requirements that allow children to remain safely in their homes whenever possible for children covered by the Act.
  • Limits the use of emergency removals, foster care placements and termination of parental rights to help ensure children are not unnecessarily removed from their homes, either temporarily or permanently.
  • Requires cultural competency training for case workers, supervisors, judges, guardians ad litem and attorneys working in Minnesota's child welfare system.
  • Requires responsible social service agencies to conduct case reviews and submit annual summary reports. Hennepin and Ramsey counties began reporting on Jan. 1, 2026. All other counties begin reporting on Oct. 1, 2029, using guidance issued by the commissioner beginning Nov. 1, 2028, and updated annually thereafter.
  • Establishes the African American and Disproportionately Represented Family Preservation Grant Program, with an ongoing appropriation of $1 million beginning in state fiscal year 2025.
  • Permanently establishes the African American Child Well-being Unit and the African American Child Well-being Advisory Council, including their duties, responsibilities and annual reporting requirements.

Additional requirements of the law