West bills to protect children advancing in House
ST. PAUL – A series of child protection bills authored by Rep. Nolan West, R-Blaine, after his own daughter suffered abuse at a childcare center is gaining traction in the House.
West said his family’s experience, reported last July, is the impetus for legislation he has authored to address child maltreatment in childcare. He is tackling this subject on multiple fronts, from increasing penalties for abuse of children under 4 to requiring camera monitoring in childcare, and improving parental education on recognizing and reporting abuse.
“As awful as my family's situation was, I am lucky,” West said. “As a legislator, I can do something about what happened to my daughter, and give parents of other abused children a voice here in the legislature. Sadly, we have discovered incidents like this are more common than we’d like to admit. We don't do enough to protect kids in Minnesota. Addressing this issue is my top priority this session. I am so thankful that I have been named chairman of the Children and Families Committee in the House so I can elevate and move on these issues.”
Legislation West has drafted on this topic include:
- PENALTIES: H.F. 1590 increases mandatory minimum penalties for malicious punishment of a child under 4. It stipulates that, if somebody is guilty of felony malicious treatment of a child, they will get a one-year mandatory minimum sentence. If substantial bodily harm is involved, it’s a two-year minimum. Also if an individual is convicted of gross misdemeanor malicious treatment of a child under 4, their second gross misdemeanor conviction is elevated to a felony.
- CAMERAS: H.F. 1915 requires childcare centers to have cameras in toddler and infant rooms and in outdoor fenced in areas – and retain the footage for 60 days. West said his child’s provider had cameras, but only kept it for a week, which he said creates a barrier to making felony charges make it to sentencing.
- PARENTAL EDUCATION: H.F. 953 requires health care providers to educate parents of infants on recognizing signs of abuse and how to report it. Parents would receive this information at their child's first well visit, typically within the first two months after birth.
- BACKGROUND CHECKS: H.F. 2226 enhances background studies for prospective workers in childcare settings by consulting the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children database. This allows those who shouldn’t be around children, but my not yet be charged with a crime, to be blocked from working in childcare.
“Each of these bills takes a different approach: prevention, detection, and seeking justice” West said. “This truly has become a bipartisan endeavor, and I am grateful for the support I have received from across the aisle, on all but one of these bills.”
West’s bills on enhanced penalties and parental education have cleared the committee process and remain viable for inclusion in omnibus bills later this session. His bills on video footage and enhanced background checks have passed out of one committee and both are set for hearings in the House judiciary committee at 3 p.m. Thursday.
The bill raising penalties for child mistreatment received a hearing Wednesday. West indicated primary testifiers were unable to attend because of a scheduling conflict with the court after a plea agreement was reached with one of the two abusers in his daughter’s case that involved many families.
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