For this week’s podcast we present Rich's interview this week with Mary Pat Lee, Executive Director of the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery.

===========

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them. Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

www.safepassageforchildren.org

For this week’s podcast we present our Executive Director’s address on the “State of Child Welfare in Minnesota."

===========

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

www.safepassageforchildren.org

A recent study by Child Trends showed that government programs such as the Earned Income Tax Credit reduced child poverty from 27.9% to 11.4% between 1993 and 2019.  Since poverty is correlated with child maltreatment, this should have prompted a corresponding reduction in abuse and neglect. In fact it did. Join Rich for a full discussion and analysis on this in this week's podcast.

===========

Join us for our annual fall breakfast on 10/13/22! In-person in St. Paul, MN or livestreamed to anywhere-- RSVP today! https://bit.ly/spbreakfast2022

Sign up for Minnesota's Inaugural Conference on Family Violence. It's free and virtual, here: https://safepassageforchildren.salsalabs.org/mnsinauguralconferenceonfamilyviolence/index.html

===========

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Read the blog's transcript at https://safepassageforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Reduction-in-Child-Poverty-Yields-Reduction-in-Child-Maltreatment-with-podcast-narrative.pdf

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

www.safepassageforchildren.org

Last week the Child Welfare Training Academy hosted the Grand Opening of its Roseville center. 

Child welfare facilities are often utilitarian at best, communicating that the work is barely worth paying for.

But this building practically shouts “Our staff are valued!”  It has state-of-the-art equipment, business-world-like huddle spaces where staff can do impromptu problem-solving, and simulated client living rooms where workers can hone their skills through videotaped interviews with professional actors.

This joint effort by the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the University of Minnesota’s Center for the Advanced Study of Child Welfare (CASCW) delivers foundational training to 500 new workers annually plus advanced skills to 150 staff monthly at Roseville and four regional locations.

Since 2015 DHS and CASCW have worked tenaciously to get the Academy funded, design the facility, and blend their technologies. The result is “Wow!”

This week's podcast captures Rich Gehrman's recent interview with Jennifer Sommerfeld, who is the Director of Legislation and Internal Affairs for the Department of Human Service's Child and Family Services Administration. Jennifer provided an inside look at the annual cycle of how the Department of Human Services determines its legislative priorities.

===========

Join us for our annual fall breakfast on 10/13/22! In-person in St. Paul, MN or livestreamed to anywhere-- RSVP today! https://bit.ly/spbreakfast2022

Sign up for Minnesota's Inaugural Conference on Family Violence. It's free and virtual, here: https://safepassageforchildren.salsalabs.org/mnsinauguralconferenceonfamilyviolence/index.html

===========

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

www.safepassageforchildren.org

Catching most experts by surprise, a census-based study by Child Trends shows that child poverty decreased by 59% between 1993 and 2019, from one child in four to one in 10. The authors attribute this largely to increased minimum wages, fewer teen births, low unemployment, single mothers entering the workforce, children living with grandparents on social security, and federal programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit and housing subsidies.  BIPOC children benefitted similarly to White children. As caveats, most experts don’t think the federal poverty level covers basic needs. Also, children in deep poverty, defined as less than 50% of the federal level, made fewer gains. Nevertheless, this appears to represent major progress. Since poverty is the biggest driver of child maltreatment, rates of abuse and neglect should also have declined.  In fact they have. Join Rich for a full discussion and analysis on this in this week's podcast.

===========

Join us for our annual fall breakfast on 10/13/22! In-person in St. Paul, MN or livestreamed to anywhere-- RSVP today! https://bit.ly/spbreakfast2022

Sign up for Minnesota's Inaugural Conference on Family Violence. It's free and virtual, here: https://safepassageforchildren.salsalabs.org/mnsinauguralconferenceonfamilyviolence/index.html

===========

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Read the blog's transcript at https://safepassageforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Podcast-script-analyzing-Child-Trends-report-on-the-dramatic-reduction-in-child-poverty-9-23-22.pdf

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

www.safepassageforchildren.org

Last month a Senior Fellow from the Child Welfare League of America, Paul DiLorenzo, wrote this response to a Farrah Mina article in The Imprint about interviewing children in front of their alleged abusers. For the first time that we know of, a child welfare opinion piece has challenged the decades-old Progressive oversimplification that child protection workers are typically racist and that child removals from their families are often unnecessary. Why respond after all this time? Join Rich for a full discussion and analysis on this in this week's podcast.

===========

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Read the blog's transcript at https://safepassageforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Are-Child-Welfare-Professionals-Finally-Pushing-Back-Against-Criticisms-with-narrative-for-podcast.pdf

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

www.safepassageforchildren.org

At our October 13th fundraiser and October 14th follow-up conference, Andrew Campbell, a pioneer in the emerging field of family violence, will explore the interrelationships among animal abuse, domestic violence and child maltreatment. Join Rich for a full discussion and analysis on this in this week's podcast.

===========

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Read the blog's transcript at https://safepassageforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Fall-Events-Will-Address-Family-Violence-with-narrative-for-podcast.pdf

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

www.safepassageforchildren.org

The Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) just issued a report on removing children from their families. Read their study or the Star Tribune editorial and summary of the report. OLA discovered that practices vary widely among counties, including the rate of removals, social services/law enforcement cooperation, and the availability of preventive services. This finding echoes other studies showing variability in related service areas. The result is that children and families are being treated differently depending on where they live. Join Rich for a full discussion and analysis on this in this week's podcast.

===========

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Read the blog's transcript at https://safepassageforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Legislative-Auditor-Report-on-Removing-Children-from-Home-with-narrative-for-podcast.pdf

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

www.safepassageforchildren.org

Seventeen child welfare experts from places such as Harvard Law School and the Hudson Institute published  “What Child Welfare is For”, a thoughtful response to the abolish child welfare movement.  It was written for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). The AEI has a political agenda, so we are somewhat uneasy about this arrangement. Join Rich for a full discussion and analysis on this in this week's podcast.

===========

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Read the blog's transcript at https://safepassageforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Why-Are-Mainstream-Academics-Writing-for-a-Conservative-Think-Tank-with-narrative-for-podcast.pdf

www.safepassageforchildren.org

Child protection standards in Minnesota only exist for the initial maltreatment report. All other decision points, for example when to investigate, when to take a case to court, and when to remove children or return them home, are informed by non-mandatory and often insufficiently detailed Department of Human Services Guidelines. As a result every county, unit, and caseworker are making decisions based on their own experience and local values. This means that families are being treated differently depending on where they live, which additionally opens the door to unequal treatment based on race. Join Rich for a full discussion and analysis on this in this week's podcast.

===========

Support Safe Passage's work for Minnesota's most vulnerable children at www.safepassageforchildren.org/donate

Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota’s nonprofit mission is to strengthen the Minnesota child welfare system so children are safe and can reach their full potential. If you know someone who cares about children, be sure to share this podcast with them.

Rich Gehrman is the founder and Executive Director of Minnesota nonprofit organization Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota. He is the 2021 winner of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Minnesota’s 2021 "Mark Proctor Hero for Children Award."

Read the blog's transcript at https://safepassageforchildren.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/What-Do-Standards-Have-to-Do-with-Equity-transcript.pdf

www.safepassageforchildren.org