SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Today in the House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee, Rep. Dawn Gillman (R-Hutchinson) presented HF4407, a bill seeking to delay the implementation of the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act statewide by one year, to January 1, 2028.
Rep. Esther Agbaje (DFL-Minneapolis), who ushered the initiative’s passage in the House in 2024, spoke out against the attempt.
“To delay this effort is to discredit almost a decade worth of work from our communities to ensure that more families have the opportunity to stay together,” said Rep. Agbaje. “Rep. Gillman’s bill does nothing to support reunification or address the racialized constructs that enable the overrepresentation of Black and Brown children in the child welfare system. All Minnesotan families deserve the dignity to care for their children and keep them within their kin and community to prevent further trauma and separation.”
Lawmakers passed the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2024.
Implementation began with the launch, on Jan. 1, 2025, of a phase-in program in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties. The counties were tasked with developing ways to implement provisions of the act related to focusing on family reunification, keeping children with safe adults in their kin network, and providing culturally competent training to county workers.
Based on recommendations from those implementing the phase-in, Rep. Agbaje introduced HF4125, on March 20, 2026, in the House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee. Republicans killed the bill on a party-line vote, preventing it from moving forward and stalling essential funding targeted for counties.
Democrats blocked the attempted delay from advancing out of the committee with a 7-7 vote. Additional information and documents from the hearing are available on the committee webpage.
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