MFFN Public Policy Archive
Child Welfare Legislation Introduced. MFFN's work with a collaborative group has resulted in a bill this 2010 session that would help fathers in child protection cases. See the summary of the fathers' provisions here. View the latest version of the bill here. (March 16 2010)
Latest Bill Tracking for 2010 session here (March 16 2010).Handouts from Fathers to Forefront Event,
Public Policy Year-in-Review, July 2009
Child Welfare Legislation affecting fathers passed in 2009 Minnesota Legislative Session. MFFN 2-page summary here. Minnesota Department of Human Services Powerpoint Presentation on Historical Efforts in Engaging Fathers in Child Welfare here.
Three "Second Chance" bills passed in 2009 Minesota Legislative Session. Read the Council for Crime and Justice explanations: Ban the Box bill here, Safe Hiring bill here, and Higher Education Notice bill here.
Early Childhood Education: Read the Ready4K summary of the 2009 Minnesota Legislative Session here.
General Assistance Medical Care: Read a summary of what has happened with the elimination of the GAMC program here (provided by Legal Services Advocacy Project).
Custody and Parenting Time Legislation:
Side-by-side comparison of 3 bills introduced in the 2009 Minnesota
Legislature that would affect presumptions on custody and parenting
time for parents. Details here.
Child Support Legislation introduced in the 2009 Minnesota Legislature. Summary details here.
Federal Legislation Introduced in 2009:
Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2009, and Protecting
Adoption and Promoting Responsible Fatherhood Act of 2009, were introduced in 2009. Detailed summary here.
Bill Tracking: Read about bills proposed in the Minnesota Legislature that would impact fathers and families. Online here (as of April 23, 2009).
Minn. Legislature and Minn. Supreme Court 2008: Read about laws and decisions in 2008 that affect Minnesota's fathers, online here (4-pages, Aug. 2008).
Minn. Legislature passes father-related laws in 2007: Read about laws passed in 2007 that will impact Minnesota's fathers and families, online here (4-pages, Aug. 2007).
Minn. Fatherhood Leadership Initiative: Gov. Tim Pawlenty has proposed funding for innovative fatherhood services, in his budget proposal for 2008 and 2009. A description of the project is available here (2-pages, 1/29/2007).
Father-related bills advance: The following list includes father-related bills that have received hearings and have advanced further than many of the others proposed by the 2006 Minnesota Legislature, online here (1-page, 4/7/2006).
Minnesota bills have father-focus: In the first weeks of the 2006 Minnnesota Legislative Session, a number of bills were introduced that could potentially affect fathers, families, and the professionals who work with them. See a partial listing of relevant bills, online here (3-pages, March 2006).
The Status of Men in New Hampshire: Issued by the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Men, available here (Nov. 1, 2005).
The Child Support Program: An Investment That Works. Revised to include 2004 data, this article through the Center for Law and Social Policy reviews how child support enforcement programs can help families achieve self-sufficiency. (CLASP, July 2005).
Tough child support laws may deter single men from becoming fathers ( Univ. of Washington, June 2005).
Minnesota's child support changes signed by Gov. Pawlenty, June 2005.
Report on healthy marriage including an overview of marriage demonstration projects, the African American and Hispanic marriage initiatives, marriage research and other resources. Available here (June 2005, U.S. Admin. for Children and Families).
Handbook on Child Support Enforcement. The U.S. Office of Child Support Enforcement has posted the 2005 version of this federal publication, available here.
Minnesota bills that would affect fathers and families, February 2005 (2-pages).
State of Iowa: Fatherhood, Marriage and Family Supports Advisory Group Report and Recommendations. Presented to the Iowa General Assembly and Gov. Thomas Vilsack, January 2004.
Minnesota Family Assistance Guidebook: Released January 2004, this guide describes the federal and state programs that provide assistance to Minnesota families in the form of income, health care, food purchasing and housing.
MFFN cannot guarantee the accuracy of information on the websites and documents linked to this page.