The last article in the Star Tribune’s four-part series “In Harm’s Way” takes a closer look at substantial changes taking place in Hennepin County, the state’s largest child protection agency.
Equipped with more funding, additional staff and extended training, the county is seeing encouraging results: Reports of repeated maltreatment have dropped to less than 5 percent in 2022.
Additional staff have been added to the county’s Parent Support Outreach Program (PSOP), which connects at-risk families with various resources. And more workers have been added to the review team for screening in reports and recommending either Family Assessment (FA) or investigation.
Of course, more work needs to be done at Hennepin County and across the state. But these changes underscore the need for increased funding for child protection.
“In the end, leadership is so key,” said Judith Meltzer with the Center for the Study of Social Policy, who has worked with states across the nation on child welfare reform.
If government officials do not prioritize spending to support families and protect children, she said, “years of hard work just fall aside.”