CHIPS Petition Stearns County Attorney
County Attorney: Janelle P. Kendall
Most of the laws governing child protection can be found in Minnesota Statutes Chapter 260C.
It is the role of Human Services' Intake Unit social workers to assess reports of alleged abuse and neglect of children and to determine whether child protection services are required. The Intake Unit can be contacted at 320.656.6208; or the intake/evaluation process may begin by reporting the abuse/neglect to the local law enforcement agency.
If Human Services determines that abuse or neglect occurred:
- a child protection social worker is assigned to work with the family to provide services and to monitor the safety of the children,
- in cases where the child is in immediate danger or the parent fails to work cooperatively with Human Services, Human Services may work cooperatively with the Stearns County Attorney's Office to file a Child in Need of Protection Services (CHIPS) petition in Stearns County Juvenile Court to remove the child from the home.
After a hearing in which the parent admits or the evidence proves that the child needs protection or services, Human Services prepares a case plan which outlines the goals that the parent must meet before the child is returned to the parent's care. Case plan requirements may include services such as chemical dependency treatment, parenting classes, adequate housing, regular visitation, etc.
If the parent complies with the conditions outlined in the case plan, the child may be returned home. If the parent is unable or unwilling to meet the case plan goals, Human Services develops a long range plan for the child such as transfer of custody of the child to a relative, long term foster care or termination of parental rights and adoption.
Review a brief description of the Minnesota Rules of Juvenile Protection Procedure that apply to CHIPS cases (51 kb Adobe Acrobat PDF file)