Safe Passage: Minnesota child maltreatment fatalities rose; report urges stronger standards and data transparency

Maggie Carney, board member of Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota, presented the organization's third report on child maltreatment fatalities, which reviewed 44 deaths that occurred between June 1, 2023 and December 31, 2024.

Carney said the review found an approximate 40 percent increase in fatal maltreatment compared with the prior reporting period and reported that 28 fatalities (about 63 percent) were attributed to neglect. She told the committee that children age 3 and under represented about 75 percent of deaths studied and that "1 in 5 child deaths studied died from fentanyl toxicity." Carney also noted caregiver substance use co‑occurred in about 40.9 percent of cases and domestic violence co‑occurred at about 52.27 percent.

Safe Passage recommended treating neglect with equal seriousness to other types of abuse, improving responses to domestic violence, limiting repeated short family assessments where risks persist, expanding child advocacy centers, mandating multidisciplinary cooperation, and increasing data transparency so patterns can be identified and addressed. "Data transparency can be the agent for life saving changes that improve the child welfare system," Carney said.

Rich Grama, former executive director and founder of Safe Passage, urged the committee to require the state Department of Children, Youth, and Families to post findings on the agency website instead of making reports available only on request. Outside expert Marie Cohen, a policy researcher, also testified that Minnesota technically meets CAPTA requirements but that the state's disclosure framework is too restrictive because findings are available only upon request.

The committee thanked Safe Passage for the report and acknowledged the group's recommendations; committee members indicated interest in pursuing improved reporting and possible statutory changes.