Every Child Death Should Count in Minnesota

Earlier this week, a Minnesota mother was charged with murdering two of her children, neglecting a third child, and setting her home on fire.

Because the crime occurred on tribal land, the deceased children likely won’t be counted in the state’s child fatality database.

We have a problem with that.

Minnesota is likely underreporting the number of children who die each year due to maltreatment. Furthermore, the state doesn’t publish individual case reviews or summaries.

We believe the information surrounding child fatalities should be transparent and consistent, which is why we’ve been advocating for HF4697 / SF 4877.

Until we see changes at the state level, we can reference a new database called CANDID, which provides data on child fatalities from publicly available sources, such as media reports. Click on Minnesota to view a list of names and associated media reports of children who have died from abuse or neglect since 2022.

Every victim’s death should count toward prevention.

CANDID is a project of Lives Cut Short, which is a joint effort by the American Enterprise Institute and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Safe Passage’s founder, Rich Gehrman, serves on the advisory board and has been actively involved in its development.

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