A new federal report shows that incidents of child abuse and neglect are rising in many parts of the country, including here in Minnesota.
State agencies received over 82,000 reports about possible neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and other forms of child maltreatment in 2023 – an increase of 4 percent from 2021.
During that same time period, however, the number of reports being screened in (meaning they were deemed to warrant extra attention or investigation) decreased by 3.5 percent.
This could mean one of two things: Either Minnesota’s child welfare system is doing a better job of distinguishing legitimate concerns from false alarms than it did in past years, or the system is dismissing more genuine reports of children facing harm and hazard.
In light of a sharp increase in child fatalities, we fear more reports of true concerns are simply being screened out.
In 2023, at least 32 children died from maltreatment in Minnesota – the fifth year in a row of increases. That’s almost three children per month who spent their final hours in crisis; their deaths were entirely preventable.
Clearly many of the state’s policies and practices are not working, including its commitment to “help professionals shift from a focus on reporting families to focusing on identifying family strengths and providing support as needed,” as indicated on page 28 of Minnesota’s Child and Family Services 2025-2029 plan.
Safe Passage for Children will continue to monitor policies, educate decision makers, ask tough questions and demand accountability.
We invite you to join our efforts to advocate for vulnerable children by making a donation and/or joining us for our upcoming events at the Capitol in April.
Protection and prevention are key.
Safe Passage is advocating not only for data transparency, but also for improvements in our child welfare system. As the only government watchdog group of its kind in Minnesota, we invite you to join us in looking out for kids.