ST. PAUL – State Rep. Nolan West, R-Blaine, issued the following statement in response to children and families provisions passing the House on Monday as part of an omnibus package (SSHF2): (West is the Republican chair of the House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee and child protection provisions he authored after his own daughter suffered abuse at a childcare center are featured, including establishing posting requirements to four years for childcare maltreatment violations, requiring education on recognizing and reporting abuse for infants at a child’s first doctor’s appointment, and requiring childcare centers with active maltreatment violations to retain video footage for 28 days and have cameras in their infant and toddler rooms.)
“Safety is our government’s top obligation to the public and Minnesota hasn’t been doing enough to protect our children,” West said. “I can use my position in the House to bring awareness to this issue after my own family’s horrific experience. Immobile infants should not have bruises under any circumstances and these instances must be investigated. It might not necessarily be abuse – but parents need to find out. This has been my fight because we owe it to our children to do better. The bill we passed is not perfect, but it is a step forward as I continue working to address this.”
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