In the 18 months following the March 2015 Governor’s Child Protection Task Force, only three children were reported to be killed by their caregivers. But so far this year there have been seven, including five since June.
In coming weeks we will explore factors that contribute to child fatalities, including several that may be driving this development:
- All the children were three or younger. We need new practices to get eyes on infants and toddlers in high-risk situations.
- Media interest may be waning. For example the names and ages of two victims were not initially known, but the usual follow-up stories with more details never appeared.
- Minnesota counties seldom comply with the law requiring them to make fatality review reports public, or share permitted information with reporters.