The Child Protection Process

The Child Protection Process

On this page:
Flow Chart: "From-Petition-to-Permanency"
Child Protection Timeline
Federal Guidelines

Flow Chart: Child Protection Process"From-Petition-to-Permanency"

Minnesota Statutes (Chapter 260C) and Rules of Juvenile Protection Procedure establish a sequence of events and timeframes that should be followed for every child protection case in Minnesota. Click below to view a flow chart depicting the events and timeframes.

Child Protection Flow Chart Part I (Adobe PDF)
Child Protection Flow Chart Part II(Adobe PDF)

Child Protection Timeline

Minnesota Statutes and Juvenile Protection Rules establish certain timelines that must be met during the course of a child protection case. Click below for an at-a-glance list of the timelines.

Timeline (Adobe PDF)

Federal Guidelines

In 1995, in response to a number of federal laws dealing with improving practice in child protection cases that had been enacted beginning in 1980, the National Council of Family and Juvenile Court Judges (NCJFCJ) published a best practices manual entitled "Resource Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases." The purpose of the Resource Guidelines is to "set forth the essential elements of properly conducted court hearings." The Resource Guidelines also "describe the requirements of juvenile protection courts in fulfilling the role placed upon them as a result of the federal and state laws."

The Resource Guidelines manual is available at:http://www.pppncjfcj.org/pdf/Resource_guide/resguide.pdf

In 2000, the NCJFCJ published a second manual entitled "Adoption and Permanency Guidelines: Improving Court Practice in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases." Building upon the foundation of the Resource Guidelines, the purpose of theAdoption and Permanency Guidelines is to "set forth the essential elements of best practice for the court processes that lead to a permanent home for children who cannot be reunified with their families."

The Adoption and Permanency Guidelines manual is available at: http://www.pppncjfcj.org/pdf/A-PGuidelinesBooka.pdf

Minnesota's Rules of Juvenile Protection Procedure are based upon the principles of the Resource Guidelines and the Adoption and Permanency Guidelines.

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