Item Description:
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Establish Hennepin County Committee on Child Well-Being - Offered by Commissioners Goettel, Edelson, and Fernando
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WHEREAS, the well-being of children in Hennepin County is of paramount importance to the health and welfare of their families, and is essential for the long-term stability, safety and vitality of the communities in which they live; and
WHEREAS, Hennepin County provides, administers, and coordinates important and necessary programs to support children and their families in a wide range of child well-being domains, including mental health, juvenile justice, child protection, education, economic security, health, and substance use; and
WHEREAS, Hennepin County recognizes the critical importance of ongoing monitoring and evaluation of such programs to ensure that culturally appropriate supportive services are readily and timely accessible to children and their families and appropriately meet the needs of children; that data-driven practices are followed in both the design and delivery of services to children; and that the County’s commitment to eliminating disparities is embedded in the operations of all programs that serve children; and
WHEREAS, as Hennepin County seeks to implement new and best practices, build a more holistically designed child welfare system, and eliminate disparities for all residents regardless of background, we recognize that moving our work and investments further upstream towards preventative approaches will have immense beneficial impacts that will center child and family wellbeing in all our work, reduce involvement with county systems, and improve outcomes; and
WHEREAS, Hennepin County recognizes that as we implement new and best practices, build a more holistically designed child welfare system, and eliminate disparities for all residents, moving our work and investments further upstream towards preventative approaches will have immense beneficial impacts that will center child and family wellbeing in all our work, reduce involvement with county systems, and improve outcomes; and
WHEREAS, the Hennepin County Child Well-being Advisory Committee was established via BAR 17-0108 (March 2017) and amended via BAR 20-0063R1 (February 2020), which was informed by recommendations from the Child Protection Oversight Committee created by BAR 15-0244R1 (July 2015); and
WHEREAS, since 2017 the Hennepin County Child Well-being Advisory Committee has closely monitored the child protection program operated by the Hennepin County Children and Family Services Department, and in the period 2017-2023 also monitored the course and settlement of class action litigation against Hennepin County related to its child protection program; and
WHEREAS, the class action litigation, resulting consent decree, and settlement period have concluded, and reforms agreed to by the parties remain embedded in the Hennepin County child protection program; and
WHEREAS, although Hennepin County continues to address disparities in programs serving children through both its initiative to eliminate disparities for Native American Children in foster care placement and the implementation of the African American Family Preservation Child Welfare Disparities Act, disparities continue to affect the well-being of children in Hennepin County; and
WHEREAS, many children in Hennepin County have suffered from recent traumatic and violent events in their communities - including Operation Metro Surge, multiple school shootings, and mass violence incidents - and continue to be affected by long-standing disparities across child well-being domains.
Resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners recognizes the important work of the Child Well-Being Advisory Committee, acknowledges that the required activities for this Committee have been met, and extends gratitude to the members, partners, staff, volunteers, families, and residents who have contributed to this effort for the last decade; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners directs County Administration to establish the Hennepin County Committee on Child Well-being as an ongoing effort to focus more broadly on multiple child well-being service areas that align with Hennepin County’s mission and will best serve the children in Hennepin County; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that County Administration shall convene a working group comprised of staff leaders within child protection, mental health, juvenile justice, economic security, health, education, and substance use, as well as planning, facilitation, and coordination support or other necessary experts, to develop the organizational activities (mission, scope, work plan, etc) and to develop an approach to membership (criteria, selection, responsibilities, etc) for the Committee on Child Well-being; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the organizational activities shall draw from established indicators of child well-being and staff expertise that will allow the Committee to monitor trends, disparities in outcomes, access to services, and system involvement, and to use that information to inform recommendations to the County Board; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the mission, scope, and work plan shall continue to identify opportunities to improve coordination across County departments and with schools, cities, health care providers, community organizations, and other partners serving children and families; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Committee on Child Well-being shall provide an annual report to the Hennepin County Board regarding trends in child well-being, identified disparities and service gaps, progress on established priorities, and recommendations for County action; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Hennepin County Committee on Child Well-being shall be operational by July 1, 2027 - and that any activities of the Child Well-being Advisory Committee shall continue until the ongoing Committee is fully formed.