Establishment and Maintenance of Central Registries for Child Abuse or Neglect Reports - Minnesota

Establishment

Citation: Ann. Stat. §§ 260E.35, Subd. 1; 260E.03, Subd. 19

Effective July 1, 2024: Data acquired by the local welfare agency or the agency responsible for assessing or investigating the report during the assessment or investigation are private data on individuals and must be maintained.

'Report' means any communication received by the local welfare agency, police department, county sheriff, or agency responsible for child protection pursuant to this section that describes the maltreatment of a child and contains sufficient content to identify the child and any person believed to be responsible for the maltreatment, if known.

Purpose

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 260E.01; 260E.35 Subd. 6(b)

The legislature hereby declares that the public policy of this State is to protect children whose health or welfare may be jeopardized through maltreatment. While it is recognized that most parents want to keep their children safe, sometimes circumstances or conditions interfere with their ability to do so. When this occurs, the health and safety of the children must be of paramount concern. Intervention and prevention efforts must address immediate concerns for child safety and the ongoing risk of maltreatment and should engage the protective capacities of families.

A record of a report that was not accepted must contain sufficient information to identify the subjects of the report, the nature of the alleged maltreatment, and the reasons why the report was not accepted. Records under this paragraph may not be used for employment, background checks, or purposes other than to assist in future screening decisions and risk and safety assessments.

Contents

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 260E.03, Subd. 19; 260E.20

'Report' means any communication received by the local welfare agency, police department, county sheriff, or agency responsible for child protection pursuant to this section that describes the maltreatment of a child and contains sufficient content to identify the child and any person believed to be responsible for the maltreatment, if known.

Information collected includes, when relevant, information regarding the person reporting the alleged maltreatment, including the nature of the reporter's relationship to the child and to the alleged offender, and the basis of the reporter's knowledge for the report; the child allegedly being maltreated; the alleged offender; the child's caregiver; and other collateral sources having relevant information related to the alleged maltreatment.

Maintenance

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 260E.35, Subd. 6

Records derived from reports of maltreatment shall be retained as follows:

• For a report alleging maltreatment that was not accepted for an assessment or an investigation, a family assessment case, a noncaregiver sex trafficking assessment case, and a case where an investigation results in no determination of maltreatment or the need for child protective services, the record must be maintained for a period of 5 years after the date that the report was not accepted for assessment or investigation or the date of the final entry in the case record.
• All records relating to reports that, upon investigation, indicate maltreatment or a need for child protective services shall be maintained for 10 years after the date of the final entry in the case record.