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.
1.6BE 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
1.9specified 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
1.11food, clothing, shelter, health, medical, or other care required for the child's physical or
1.12mental 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
1.14physical or mental health when reasonably able to do so, including a growth delay, which
1.15may be referred to as a failure to thrive, that has been diagnosed by a physician and is due
1.16to parental neglect;
1.17 (3) failure to provide for necessary supervision or child care arrangements appropriate
1.18for a child after considering factors as the child's age, mental ability, physical condition,
1.19length of absence, or environment, when the child is unable to care for the child's own basic
1.20needs 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
1.22260C.163, subdivision 11, which does not include a parent's refusal to provide the parent's
1Section 1.
REVISOR DTT H1614-1HF1614 FIRST ENGROSSMENT
State of Minnesota
This Document can be made available
in alternative formats upon request
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
H. F. No. 1614
NINETY-FOURTH SESSION
Authored by Kraft, Hicks and Hanson, J.,02/26/2025
The bill was read for the first time and referred to the Committee on Children and Families Finance and Policy
Adoption of Report: Amended and re-referred to the Committee on Judiciary Finance and Civil Law03/27/2025 2.1child with sympathomimetic medications, consistent with section 125A.091, subdivision
2.25;
2.3 (5) prenatal exposure to a controlled substance, as defined in section 253B.02, subdivision
2.42, used by the mother for a nonmedical purpose, as evidenced by withdrawal symptoms in
2.5the child at birth, results of a toxicology test performed on the mother at delivery or the
2.6child at birth, medical effects or developmental delays during the child's first year of life
2.7that medically indicate prenatal exposure to a controlled substance, or the presence of a
2.8fetal 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
2.11for 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
2.13functioning of the child which may be demonstrated by a substantial and observable effect
2.14in the child's behavior, emotional response, or cognition that is not within the normal range
2.15for 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
2.17because the child's parent, guardian, or other person responsible for the child's care in good
2.18faith selects and depends upon spiritual means or prayer for treatment or care of disease or
2.19remedial care of the child in lieu of medical care.
2.20 (c) This chapter does not impose upon persons not otherwise legally responsible for
2.21providing a child with necessary food, clothing, shelter, education, or medical care a duty
2.22to provide that care.
2.23 (d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to mean that a child who has a mental,
2.24physical, or emotional condition is neglected solely because the child remains in an
2.25emergency department or hospital setting because services, including residential treatment,
2.26that are deemed necessary by the child's medical or mental health care professional or county
2.27case manager are not available to the child's parent, guardian, or other person responsible
2.28for the child's care, and the child cannot be safely discharged to the child's family.
2Section 1.
REVISOR DTT H1614-1HF1614 FIRST ENGROSSMENT