MINNESOTA
Fox 9
By: Tim Blotz
POSTED:FEB 04 2016
ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) – Lawmakers in St. Paul are considering initiatives to better protect children who are either neglected or abused. It’s driving a huge discussion at the Capitol to change laws, and also give families, social workers, and foster parents more support.
This is largely inspired by a single case back in 2013 when a young boy named Eric Dean died at the hands of his step-mother. The abuse was reported to Pope County 15 times, yet his case still fell through the cracks. To this day, it’s still a case that haunts lawmakers.
According to the legislative child protection task force that met Thursday, 604 children were taken out of their homes by the courts in 2014, and there were 70,000 reports. 77 percent of the abuse claims were directed against a biological parent.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.