A recent Star Tribune commentary by the co-leaders of Lives Cut Short raises concerns about a new Minnesota law meant to better protect children of color.
The law, passed in 2024, expands key provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to nearly all children in the state. Its goal is to reduce racial disparities in the child protection system by making it harder to remove children from their families.
But advocates of child safety argue the law may actually put children at greater risk for harm and even death.
In May of 2024, 2-year-old Niindonis Goodman, a Native American child, died of fentanyl poisoning in a Minneapolis shelter. Despite her mother’s long history of drug abuse and child protection involvement, the toddler spent just two months in foster care before being returned to her mother.
Under the new law, higher standards—like “clear and convincing” evidence and mandatory “active efforts” to reunify families—will make it more difficult for the state to intervene, even in dangerous situations.
As an example, after Niindonis died, “active efforts” were employed to return her sibling to the home despite the mother’s ongoing drug use and other red flags. The county paid for hotels and pizza while her mother missed treatment and visits, according to court records obtained by Safe Passage.
Although Native American children make up less than 4 percent of the state’s child population, they account for around 17 percent of child maltreatment-related deaths. Similarly, Black children account for 11 percent of the state population and about 36 percent of maltreatment deaths.
If our goal is to reduce disproportionality in the system, we should pass laws that prioritize child safety.
Safe Passage will be monitoring this new law’s rollout and outcomes. Because we believe every child — regardless of race or ethnicity –deserves equal protection.