Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act (MAAFPCWDA): Two Years Later. Revisiting What It Is, Why It Matters, and What’s Next

As we begin Black History Month, we want to revisit and reflect on Minnesota’s ongoing effort to address longstanding racial disparities in the child welfare system. One historic development related to this journey is the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act, often shortened to MAAFPCWDA or the Act.

What Is MAAFPCWDA?

The MAAFPCWDA is state legislation designed to end arbitrary and unnecessary removals of African American children and other disproportionately represented children from their families, and to improve family stability and reunification outcomes when child welfare intervention occurs. It creates higher standards for how child welfare systems respond to families who have been historically marginalized, including:

requiring “Active Efforts” to prevent out-of-home placements and promote reunification of families
prioritizing relative and noncustodial parent placement
limiting circumstances where termination of parental rights can occur
mandating data disaggregation and reporting so progress and disparities are transparent (Minnesota Revisor's Office)

The law is codified in Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 260.61–260.693 referred to in statute as the Minnesota African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act. (Minnesota Revisor's Office)

Why Was The Act Needed?

For many decades, African American children have been disproportionately represented in Minnesota’s child welfare system. (Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families)

MAAFPCWDA represents a policy shift toward prevention, cultural responsiveness, and equity; focused not just on reacting to child safety concerns but actively keeping families together and supported. It reflects community advocacy, deep engagement with practitioners, and a legislative commitment to correcting inequitable outcomes.

How Did The Act Come to Fruition?

The Act was introduced in the 2023–2024 legislative session (House File 912/Senate File 716) and was passed unanimously in the Minnesota House before being approved by the full Legislature during the 2024 session as Chapter 117 of Minnesota law. (Minnesota House of Representatives)

It builds on years of work within state agencies including the African American Child and Family Well-Being Unit, established in 2020 to identify disparity drivers in child welfare and advance culturally grounded practice improvements. (Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families)

What’s Happened Since The Act Passed?

Phase-In (2025–2027)
Implementation began on January 1, 2025 in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, allowing these counties to pilot the Act’s key requirements with dedicated funding and support. Other counties may participate, but funding is currently limited. (Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families)

The Act will go into effect statewide on January 1, 2027, meaning all counties, courts, and child welfare partners will be operating under its standards by that date. (Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families)

Active Efforts & Practice Standards
The law requires child welfare agencies to use active efforts including rigorous, culturally informed practices to prevent unnecessary removals and support family stability and reunification. These go beyond traditional “reasonable efforts” and center family involvement and cultural values. (MinnesotaRevisor's Office)

Reporting & Compliance
The legislature has directed the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) to establish a compliance portal, collect data, and report on how implementation is going, especially during the phase-in period through mid-2027. (Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families)

Advisory Structures
A statewide work group and the African American Child Well-Being Advisory Council have been established to guide implementation and ensure community and practitioner voices shape ongoing policy and practice evolution. (Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families)

How Does Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy Support The Act?

A cornerstone of statewide rollout is preparing Minnesota’s child welfare workforce on implementing the Act with integrity and cultural responsiveness.

The Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy and community partners developed Active Efforts Training: Family Preservation along with the MAAFPACWDA Framework. This is a specialized instructor-led course that does the following:

Active Efforts Training (CWTA X221)
- teaches the legal and practical foundations of the Act
- prepares workers to apply active efforts in casework
- emphasizes family engagement, cultural understanding, and relational practice

This training was first offered to Hennepin and Ramsey County staff as part of the 2025 phase-in, and has begun to expand to other counties for broader statewide training as 2027 approaches. (Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy)

Intercultural Exchange Resources
To support ongoing cultural competency development for child welfare workers , the Training Academy also has begun curating resources for the Intercultural Exchange, a bi-monthly newsletter packed with learning materials that can help fulfill cultural competency requirements while statewide offerings continue to expand. (Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy)

What’s Next?

As part of the legislation, the Training Academy brought together the MAAFPCWDA Vendor Selection Committee to name a curriculum developer through a competitive proposal process. After careful deliberation of eleven proposals, Public Knowledge from Lakewood New Jersey was selected to design and build the training curriculum for a course to be called Cultural Competency. Work began in November 2025 and training is anticipated to begin in June 2026.

As we approach Black History Month 2026, MAAFPACWDA is entering a critical phase of learning, adaptation, and expansion:

Statewide implementation is scheduled for January 1, 2027, requiring agencies, courts, and practitioners to embed these standards across systems. (Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families)
Training will scale beyond pilot counties, with new curricula and support materials becoming available statewide. (Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy)
Data and compliance reporting will help evaluate impact and guide future refinements. (Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families)
Ongoing community engagement and advisory input will continue to shape how the law serves families and communities in culturally affirming ways. (Minnesota Department Children, Youth, and Families)

This work is a transformation in how child welfare systems respond to inequity and support family well-being. Black History Month is an opportunity not just to reflect on the past, but to commit to lasting change that supports children, families, and communities into the future.

Over the past two years, the Minnesota Child Welfare Training Academy has developed various blogs and stories about reducing disparities. Check out the links below to learn more!