DHS official claims she was punished for reporting wrongdoing with state contracts

A compliance officer at the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) said she was the victim of retaliation after she raised alarms about the legality of contracts at the social services agency.

Faye K. Bernstein, a lead contract specialist at DHS, said she was verbally reprimanded and sidelined from her duties after she pointed out “serious non-compliance issues” with a group of contracts approved by leaders in the agency’s behavioral health division, which awards millions of dollars each year in contracts for mental health and substance use treatment and services.

More >> DHS official claims she was punished for reporting wrongdoing with state contracts

Eagan woman pleads guilty to 2017 death of foster child in her care

An Eagan woman pleaded guilty Thursday in the death of a foster child in her care in 2017.

Zeporia Fortenberry, age 32, admitted to a charge of second-degree manslaughter for child neglect and knowingly permitting the abuse of 3-year-old Zayden Lawson.

More >> Eagan woman pleads guilty to 2017 death of foster child in her care

• Foster mom pleads guilty, sentenced in death of 3-year-old in Dakota County

Gov. Walz signs parental rights law with concerns from child welfare experts

After it passed both the House and Senate unanimously, Governor Tim Walz on Monday signed a bill into law that will give Minnesotans a chance to have their parental rights restored.

While lawmakers aren't split on the new law, child welfare experts are.

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Minnesota Father Who Lost Children Seeks Change in Laws Governing Child Protective Services Custody Seizures

Dwight Mitchell, a management consultant whose family once lived in Apple Valley, saw his role as father abruptly shift to a desperate mission to get his children back when child protective services took custody following a 2014 incident. The subsequent ordeal convinced him to file a lawsuit, and that drew calls for help from other parents in similar straits.

Mitchell’s encounter with the state came about when a family babysitter reported to officials that Mitchell had spanked his 11-year-old son. The babysitter reported the incident to Dakota County MN child protection workers who, Mitchell’s suit alleges, removed his children from the family home. Mitchell said he intended for the spanking to give his son guidance for stealing, disobeying his parents and failing to do assigned school work. He called it an act of love.

More >> Minnesota Father Who Lost Children Seeks Change in Laws Governing Child Protective Services Custody Seizures

Advocates say Oregon foster child abandoned, drugged at Montana facility

A 9-year-old Oregon girl in foster care has been largely abandoned by state regulators charged with her care and sometimes drugged in an out-of-state facility, advocates say.

It's a case that illustrates the ongoing challenge lawmakers and state officials face as they work to find appropriate places of care for Oregon's most vulnerable children — and recover from years of scandal and allegations that kids are not being protected.

More >> Advocates say Oregon foster child abandoned, drugged at Montana facility

Minnesota woman convicted of fracturing infant foster son's leg

A Champlin, Minnesota woman will be sentenced next month on a third-degree assault conviction for injuring her infant foster son.

A jury found 40-year-old Melissa Sondrol guilty of fracturing the femur of the seven-week-old boy in October of 2017. Sondrol testified that she did not mistreat the boy and claimed he must have had weak bones. Her claim was supported by an Illinois-based orthopedic surgeon.

More >> Minnesota woman convicted of fracturing infant foster son's leg

Man pleads guilty in death of 3-year-old foster child

A man charged in connection to the death of a three-year-old foster child pleaded guilty Friday.

According to court records, 31-year-old Bryce Dirk pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder. He originally pleaded not guilty in September 2018.

More >> Man pleads guilty in death of 3-year-old foster child

Minnesota lawmakers push to reduce foster placement of African-American children

Two Minnesota legislators reintroduced a bill Monday aimed at limiting out-of-home placements for African-American children and keep families involved in child protection cases together as much as possible. The so-called Minnesota African-American Family Preservation Act would also establish greater oversight when black children are moved to foster families.

More >> Minnesota lawmakers push to reduce foster placement of African-American children

Federal judge dismisses child protection lawsuit

Dwight Mitchell filed suit after two of his three children were temporarily removed from his custody by Dakota County child protection workers in 2014, when he was living in Apple Valley. On Tuesday, a judge dismissed the suit.

Mitchell, who now lives in New Jersey, alleged, in part, that county workers discriminated against him because he is African-American. He later formed a racially diverse group of Minnesota parents who claimed county agencies illegally placed their children out of home. That group, called "Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping," was added as a plaintiff.

More >>  Federal judge dismisses child protection lawsuit

Minnesota appeals court upholds family rights in foster care cases

In a victory for relatives of children placed in foster care, a Minnesota appeals court has ruled that child welfare agencies in Minnesota must go through a formal court proceeding before ruling out family members as adoptive parents for neglected children.

A three-judge panel of the Minnesota Court of Appeals decided last month that Anoka County Social Services violated state law when it denied a woman's petition to be the adoptive parent of her three grandchildren without first obtaining a court order expressly excluding her.

More >> Minnesota appeals court upholds family rights in foster care cases

Babysitter pleads not guilty in connection to foster home death of 3-year-old

A woman charged in connection to the death of a 3-year-old she was babysitting pleaded not guilty in court Monday.

According to court documents, Laronna Bourne pleaded not guilty in Hennepin County to third-degree assault and malicious punishment of a child.

More >> Babysitter pleads not guilty in connection to foster home death of 3-year-old

Man Arrested In Death Of 17-Month-Old Foster Child

Authorities in the southwest metro say a man was arrested Tuesday in connection to the death of a 17-month-old foster child in his care.

The Scott County Sheriff’s Office says 30-year-old Jason Robert Betlach, of Jordan, was taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies and booked into the county jail on suspicion of second-degree homicide.

More >> Man Arrested In Death Of 17-Month-Old Foster Child

In Federal Court, Oral Arguments Commence in Minnesota Child Protection Services “Kidnapping” case

For the first time in modern history, an association of Minnesota parents brought a civil rights lawsuit against state and county agencies enforcing Minnesota’s child protection laws on April 24, 2018. Dwight Mitchell and the group Stop Child Protection Services from Legally Kidnapping Children, a 501(c)(3) association of 4,800+ parents, allege that Minnesota’s child protection laws are unconstitutionally vague and overbroad, triggering unnecessary investigations and putting children at risk for being removed from their homes unnecessarily based solely on allegations and social worker discretion. This is the first civil rights lawsuit to challenge the statues and definition of a Child in Need of Protection or Services (CHIPS). 200 Parents with matching t-shirts and signs will gather at the federal building from 8:00 am to Noon to show support during the oral arguments.

More >> In Federal Court, Oral Arguments Commence in Minnesota Child Protection Services “Kidnapping” case

‘Legal kidnapping’: CPS took infant from mother for four months; judge rules ‘disinformation’ used

Amanda Weber brought her 10-month-old son Zayvion to the emergency room at Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, Minnesota, in May because he’d been constantly coughing and previously had been treated for sleep apnea, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

More >> ‘Legal kidnapping’: CPS took infant from mother for four months; judge rules ‘disinformation’ used

Judge: 'Disinformation' from nurse led to child being separated from mother

A 14-month-old baby is back with his mother after a judge ruled last week that her child was unnecessarily taken from her and placed in foster care in May.

Amanda Weber, 25, said Tuesday her son was traumatized by the four-month-long separation. Weber’s attorneys are calling for changes to state law to protect others from going through a similar ordeal.

More >> Judge: 'Disinformation' from nurse led to child being separated from mother

Little Falls mom regains custody of her son; parents' group cries 'victory'

A mother of three regained custody of her youngest child in Little Falls last week after he spent nearly four months in foster care.

More >> Little Falls mom regains custody of her son; parents' group cries 'victory'

Death of 18-month-old foster care child near Jordan being investigated

Authorities are investigating the Sunday death of an 18-month-old child in foster care at a home on Morlock Drive in Sand Creek Township, just outside of Jordan.

Scott County Dispatch received a call that the baby was having trouble breathing, so deputies and emergency responders were dispatched to the scene to find an unresponsive child, according to a press release from the Scott County Sheriff's Department. The baby was airlifted to St. Francis Hospital in Shakopee and later airlifted to Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, where she died.

More >> Death of 18-month-old foster care child near Jordan being investigated

Police investigating death of 18-month-old child in foster care near Jordan

Authorities are investigating the death of an 18-month-old child who was in foster care at a residence in Scott County, Minnesota.

The Scott County Sheriff's Office issued a press release saying its deputies were dispatched to a home in Sand Creek Township, near Jordan, around 4:40 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 26 on a report of a child having trouble breathing.

More >> Police investigating death of 18-month-old child in foster care near Jordan

Teen accuses Mayo Clinic of ‘medical kidnapping’

In a jaw-dropping moment caught on video, an 18-year-old high school senior rushes to escape from the hospital that saved her life and then, she says, held her captive.

At the entrance to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic, the young woman’s stepfather helps her out of a wheelchair and into the family car.

More >> Teen accuses Mayo Clinic of ‘medical kidnapping’

Escape from the Mayo Clinic: Parents break teen out of world-famous hospital

One winter afternoon last year, Duane Engebretson sat in his stepdaughter's hospital room at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, trying to figure out how she could escape.

More >> Escape from the Mayo Clinic: Parents break teen out of world-famous hospital