1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to child welfare;
modifying neglect definition to clarify when a child is
1.3 considered to be without the
special care made necessary by a physical, mental,
1.4 or emotional
condition;amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 260E.03,
1.5 subdivision 15.
1.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.7 Section 1. Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 260E.03, subdivision 15, is amended to read:
1.8 Subd. 15.Neglect.
(a) "Neglect" means the commission or omission of any of the acts
1.9 specified under clauses (1)
to (8), other than by accidental means:
1.10 (1) failure by a person
responsible for a child's care to supply a child with necessary
1.11 food, clothing, shelter,
health, medical, or other care required for the child's physical or
1.12 mental health when reasonably
able to do so;
1.13 (2) failure to protect a child
from conditions or actions that seriously endanger the child's
1.14 physical or mental health when
reasonably able to do so, including a growth delay, which
1.15 may be referred to as a failure
to thrive, that has been diagnosed by a physician and is due
1.16 to parental neglect;
1.17 (3) failure to provide for
necessary supervision or child care arrangements appropriate
1.18 for a child after considering
factors as the child's age, mental ability, physical condition,
1.19 length of absence, or
environment, when the child is unable to care for the child's own basic
1.20 needs or safety, or the basic
needs or safety of another child in their care;
1.21 (4) failure to ensure that the
child is educated as defined in sections 120A.22 and
1.22 260C.163, subdivision 11, which
does not include a parent's refusal to provide the parent's
2.1 child with sympathomimetic
medications, consistent with section 125A.091, subdivision
2.2 5;
2.3 (5) prenatal exposure to a
controlled substance, as defined in section 253B.02, subdivision
2.4 2, used by the mother for a
nonmedical purpose, as evidenced by withdrawal symptoms in
2.5 the child at birth, results
of a toxicology test performed on the mother at delivery or the
2.6 child at birth, medical
effects or developmental delays during the child's first year of life
2.7 that medically indicate
prenatal exposure to a controlled substance, or the presence of a
2.8 fetal alcohol spectrum
disorder;
2.9 (6) medical neglect, as
defined in section 260C.007, subdivision 6, clause (5);
2.10 (7) chronic and severe use of
alcohol or a controlled substance by a person responsible
2.11 for the child's care that
adversely affects the child's basic needs and safety; or
2.12 (8) emotional harm from a
pattern of behavior that contributes to impaired emotional
2.13 functioning of the child which
may be demonstrated by a substantial and observable effect
2.14 in the child's behavior,
emotional response, or cognition that is not within the normal range
2.15 for the child's age and stage
of development, with due regard to the child's culture.
2.16 (b) Nothing in this chapter
shall be construed to mean that a child is neglected solely
2.17 because the child's parent,
guardian, or other person responsible for the child's care in good
2.18 faith selects and depends upon
spiritual means or prayer for treatment or care of disease or
2.19 remedial care of the child in
lieu of medical care.
2.20 (c) This chapter does not
impose upon persons not otherwise legally responsible for
2.21 providing a child with
necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, or medical care a duty
2.22 to provide that care.
2.23 (d) Nothing in this chapter
shall be construed to mean that a child who has a mental,
2.24 physical, or emotional
condition is neglected solely because the child remains in an
2.25 emergency department or
hospital setting because services, including residential treatment,
2.26 that are deemed
necessary by the child's medical or mental health care professional or county
2.27 case manager are not
available to the child's parent, guardian, or other person responsible
2.28 for the child's care,
and the child cannot be safely discharged to the child's family.
