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Contact Us:
Anoka County County Attorney's Office Protective Services Unit 2100 3rd Avenue Anoka, MN 55303
General Information: Phone: 763-323-5550 Fax: 763-323-5928 E-mail: rs-attorney@co.anoka.mn.us
Office Hours: Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
The Protective Services Unit provides legal services to the Anoka County Community Social Services and Mental Health Department in the areas of civil commitment, adult protection, adult and child foster care licensing and family child care licensing.
Topic Categories:
Is a license required to provide foster care or family child care?
Yes, with a few exceptions, such providing family child care for a relative, or providing non-residential child care for children from just one unrelated family.
How do I know if a child or foster care home is licensed?
Call (763) 422-7146 to check into license status for family child care, (763) 422-7070 for adult foster care and (763) 422-7144 for child foster care.
What is the purpose of requiring a license?
The children and adults receiving care in child and foster care homes in Minnesota are among the most vulnerable citizens in our community. To receive a license, the provider, staff and others who will be in contact with the persons being cared for must pass a criminal history check, and meet certain requirements to ensure the safety of the children or vulnerable adults being served. Providers are required to attend training sessions pertaining to the needs of the persons being served in their homes, and keep training up to date. Their homes are inspected on at least an annual basis, more often if there are problems.
What if I suspect that a family is providing child care without a license?
It is a misdemeanor-level criminal offense in Minnesota to provide child care without a license, unless an exception applies. If you suspect someone of providing unlicensed care you should call your local police department, or call the child care licensing division in Anoka County at (763) 422-7146. The provider will be informed of the obligation to obtain a license, and the process for obtaining a license. If the provider does not follow through with obtaining a license, the police will investigate to see if the provider continues to provide care. If the provider is still providing child care without a license, the matter will be referred to the city attorney for prosecution.
What if I have concerns about the health and safety of persons being served by licensed child and foster care providers in Anoka County?
For concerns about family child care call (763) 422-7146, for child foster care call (763) 422-7144 and for adult foster care call (763) 422-7070. A specially trained social worker will investigate the situation and take appropriate action.
What sanctions are imposed if the investigation indicates that the health or safety of the persons being served is at risk?
Depending on the situation, and the level of risk, the sanctions can range all the way from a corrective order (an order to correct the situation- with a follow up visit to assure the correction has been made), to immediate suspension and revocation of the license in the most dangerous situations.
Where can I find more information about the licensing process?
See:
Adult Foster Care
Child Foster Care
Family Child Care Licensing
What is civil commitment?
Civil commitment is court-ordered treatment for persons who are mentally ill, chemically dependent, mentally retarded, or sexually dangerous. The commitment process may result in the person being confined in a state-operated facility, community hospital or community treatment center, or may result in court-ordered treatment on an outpatient basis, depending on what is most appropriate.
If I think someone should be committed, do I have to go through the county, or can I file my own petition with the court?
You are required to go through the county. You can start the process by calling pre-petition screening at (763) 422-7070. If the person is in the hospital and the person’s doctor believes that a civil commitment is needed, hospital staff will contact pre-petition screening. A team of mental health professionals will screen the case to determine if a commitment petition is appropriate, or if there are other less-restrictive alternatives that will meet the person’s treatment needs. If the pre-petition screening team believes that a commitment petition is appropriate, they will prepare a written report and submit it to the County Attorney’s Office, along with a doctor’s statement supporting the commitment. If the County Attorney’s Office determines that legal criteria are met for filing a petition, a petition will be filed, with the pre-petition screening report and examiner’s statement attached, and the matter will be set on for hearing. The County Attorney’s Office will represent the petitioner in the civil commitment proceeding. A court-appointed attorney will represent the patient.
What if the pre-petition screening team does not support commitment?
A person seeking commitment of another person can appeal the decision of the pre-petition screening team to the County Attorney’s Office. The County Attorney’s Office will examine the facts of the case and decide whether or not to file a petition. This analysis can only be done after the completion of the pre-petition screening process, since a pre-petition screening is a pre-requisite to the filing of a civil commitment petition. Because the pre-petition screeners are very knowledgeable about the legal standards for commitment, it is unusual for the County Attorney’s Office to accept a petition when the team did not recommend commitment.
What criteria must be met for a petition to be filed?
For mental illness or mental retardation
For a mentally ill or mentally retarded person, it must be demonstrated by recent behavior that the person’s mental illness or mental retardation poses a substantial likelihood of physical harm to self or others. The person must have recently caused or threatened to cause physical harm to self or others, or caused significant damage to substantial property, or demonstrated failure or inability to provide necessary food, clothing, shelter or medical care. Failure to take psychiatric medication or exhibition of the symptoms of mental illness or mental retardation is not enough alone to petition for court-ordered treatment without the showing of danger to self or others.
For chemical dependency
For a chemically dependent person, it must be demonstrated by recent behavior that the person’s habitual and excessive use of alcohol, drugs, or other mind-altering substances causes the person to be incapable of self-management or management of personal affairs, and that it poses a substantial likelihood of physical harm to self or others. The person must have recently caused or threatened to cause physical harm to self or others, or evidenced recent serious health problems related to the chemical use, or demonstrated failure to provide necessary food, clothing, shelter or medical care. A pregnant woman can be committed if during her pregnancy she has engaged in habitual or excessive use, for a non-medical purpose, of any of the following controlled substances or their derivatives: cocaine, heroin, phencyclidine, methamphetamine or amphetamine.
For a sexually dangerous person, or sexual psychopathic personality
Pre-petition screening is not required for these petitions. The respondents in these cases are often referred to the County Attorney’s Office for possible civil commitment by the Department of Corrections. Most often, but not always, the persons have been serving a prison sentence for a sexual misconduct crime. To be committed as a sexually dangerous person or a sexual psychopathic personality, it must be proven that the person has engaged in a course of (multiple incidences of) harmful sexual conduct in the past, and that it is highly likely that without court-ordered treatment, the person will engage in harmful sexual conduct in the future. If committed, the person is committed on an indeterminate basis to a secure, locked facility that specializes in treatment of sex offenders.
Can the court require a mentally ill person to take antipsychotic medication?
Because citizens have a fundamental right to refuse treatment, the court will not impose involuntary treatment with antipsychotic medication unless a civil commitment petition has been filed, or the person is under guardianship. Before treatment can be administered against the person’s will (except in the case of emergency), the court must first decide whether the person has the capacity to make decisions regarding use of the medications. If the court finds that the person’s mental illness interferes with the person’s being able to understand the illness, the purpose of the medication and the risks and benefits of the medication, and if the court finds that the medication is necessary and reasonable for the person’s treatment, the court can authorize the treatment facility to administer medication without the patient’s consent during the period of the civil commitment. If the patient is willing to take the medication, but does not have the capacity to make decisions about medications, a substitute decision maker is appointed by the court to make the decision for the patient.
Do persons who are civilly committed lose any rights/privileges of citizenship?
Persons who are civilly committed continue to have the rights they otherwise would have had to dispose of property, sue and be sued, enter into legal contracts, vote and hold a driver’s license. However, if a person has ever been confined in a treatment facility as a person who is mentally ill, mentally retarded or mentally ill and dangerous to the public, or has been found in criminal court to be incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of mental illness, the person is prohibited from possessing a firearm, unless the person obtains a certificate of a medical doctor or other proof that the person is no longer suffering from the disability for which the person was confined.
If a person is found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty of a crime due to mental illness or mental retardation, is the person automatically committed to a treatment facility?
No. A commitment petition must still be filed and a hearing held in civil court, before the person can be committed, and the criteria for civil commitment must still be met. It is therefore possible for a person to have engaged in criminal activity, be incapable of participating in the criminal proceeding, or be found not guilty due to mental illness or mental retardation, and at the same time, not be subject to commitment in a civil commitment proceeding. This is most likely to happen in the case of crimes that do not involve physical harm to self or others.
When does the County Attorney’s Office become involved with adult protection matters?
The County Attorney’s Office becomes involved when there has been a finding of financial exploitation, neglect and/or physical or emotional abuse of a vulnerable adult, and legal action initiated by the county is necessary to protect the vulnerable adult from further exploitation, neglect or abuse.
What is a vulnerable adult?
A vulnerable adult is a person 18 years of age or older who has a physical, mental or emotional dysfunction that impairs the individual’s ability to provide adequately for the individual’s own care without assistance, including the provision of food, shelter, clothing, health care or supervision; and because of the dysfunction and the need for assistance, the individual has an impaired ability to protect the individual from maltreatment.
What kind of judicial action can be taken to protect vulnerable adults?
If the vulnerable adult is incompetent to take care of personal needs such as provision of reasonable housing, medical care, or food, a petition to appoint a guardian of the person may be brought. If the vulnerable adult is incompetent to make decisions regarding financial affairs, a petition to appoint a conservator of the person’s estate can be brought. If a guardian or conservator is appointed, that person has the obligation to assist the individual with management of the individual’s affairs, whether it be managing the person’s bank account, or finding the person a safe place to live, and arranging for the person’s admission and move to the new residence.
Another legal remedy that does not result in the vulnerable adult being placed under guardianship or conservatorship is an action for injunctive relief, where the petitioner requests a court order requiring a party to do or refrain from doing a particular action that is harmful to the vulnerable adult. These legal actions may be brought by attorneys in the County Attorney’s Office’s Protective Services Unit, as part if their responsibility under the Vulnerable Adults Act.
If a finding is made of maltreatment of a vulnerable adult, the perpetrator of the maltreatment will be disqualified from employment working with vulnerable adults or children. The perpetrator could be liable for civil damages in a private lawsuit.
In a criminal proceeding, action can be taken by the State against a person charged with financial exploitation, criminal neglect, or abuse of a vulnerable adult. These matters would be handled in the Criminal Division of the County Attorney’s Office.
Can private individuals file their own guardianship/conservatorship petitions, without the involvement of the County Attorney’s Office?
Yes. In fact, the great majority of guardianship and conservatorship petitions are filed by private individuals, without any involvement by the County Attorney’s Office. Private lawyers who practice in the areas of probate, elder law and estate planning often bring guardianship/conservatorship proceedings on behalf of their clients. Petitioners can and often do represent themselves, as well. Forms and instructions for filing a guardianship or conservatorship petition can be found on the Minnesota Courts Web site at www.courts.state.mn.us/forms.
Regardless of whether the petition is filed by the County Attorney’s Office, a private attorney or a pro se party, the county Social Services department becomes involved, since the court is required to appoint a court visitor, usually a county social worker, to visit the proposed ward/conservatee and file a report and recommendation with the court.
What can private citizens do to assist with the protection of vulnerable adults?
It is often said that the quality of a society can be judged by the way it protects its most vulnerable citizens. Financial exploitation, abuse and/or neglect of a vulnerable adult is a crime, just as child abuse or neglect is a crime. Similar to children who are subjected to abuse and neglect, vulnerable adults are often not able to report the crime or extricate themselves from the situation they are in.
Citizens who suspect that a vulnerable adult is being neglected, abused, or financially exploited should report the matter to law enforcement, and make a report to the county Adult Protection office (for Anoka County, call (763) 422-7168). Abuse or neglect may be at the hands of a family member who has accepted the responsibility to provide care for the vulnerable adult, or at the hands of a professional caregiver who cares for the vulnerable adult. A not uncommon example of financial exploitation involves an unemployed adult child living with an elderly, mentally or physically impaired parent, who uses the parent’s money for the child’s own purposes, such as to feed a drug or alcohol addiction, while failing to pay the necessary expenses of the parent.