8-205 - Health and Welfare Holds for Juveniles

The purpose of this policy is to establish guidelines for placing health and welfare holds on juveniles.

Situations involving juveniles in crisis

1. Situations involving juveniles in crisis shall be handled in accordance with P&P 7-803, including the potential need for a Transport Hold.

2. Health and Welfare 72-Hour Holds are distinct from Transport Holds for individuals in crisis. If a child or juvenile in crisis is going to be transported in accordance with the section in P&P 7-803 on Transportation for Emergency Admission, and is found in surroundings or conditions meeting the criteria of MN Statute section 260C.175, determinations for a Health and Welfare Hold will have to be made at the health care facility.

Officer responsibility

1. The decision to place a child on a Health and Welfare 72-hour Hold is solely the responsibility of the officer placing the hold. MN Statute section 260C.175 allows only a peace officer or judge (via court order), to take a child into immediate custody “when a child is found in surroundings or conditions which endanger the child’s health or welfare, or which such peace officer reasonably believes will endanger the child's health or welfare.”

2. Social workers may only request that a child is placed on a Health and Welfare Hold. Officers dispatched to place a child on a Health and Welfare Hold at the request of medical personnel or social services shall document the circumstances, surroundings, or conditions which necessitate the hold be placed. This must be done to ensure that the hold is legal.

Decision not based on cooperation

The decision to place a Health and Welfare Hold on a child shall not be based upon a parent or legal guardian’s cooperation (or lack of) with any police investigation.

List of Child Welfare Services

MN Statute section 260C.175 mandates that whenever a law enforcement officer takes a child into custody in regard to a health and welfare hold, the officer must provide the parent or legal guardian a list of social service agencies that offer child welfare services. If the parent or legal guardian is not present, a copy of the “Rights as Parents” brochure shall be left in a conspicuous location on the premises. This brochure is available in multiple languages on the MPD’s intranet site.

Hold Process

If officers determine it is necessary to place a Health and Welfare Hold on a child, the following procedures shall be followed:

Complete Hold Notice

1. Complete the Notice of 72-Hour Police Health and Welfare Hold (HC 12434).

2. When a child is admitted to a hospital for care, a copy of the 72-Hour Hold shall be left in an envelope with the child’s chart. Officers should complete the 72-Hour Hold by listing “HCMC” (or other local hospital name) and the Children and Family Services coordination center as the receiving facility in order to avoid the need for a separate 72-Hour Hold to be completed.
3. The blue copy or printout of the electronic version of the 72-Hour Hold shall be forwarded to First Response at the 4th Precinct and the canary copy of the 72-Hour Hold shall be forwarded to the Crimes Against Children unit.

Provide Notice and Resource List to Parent or Guardian

The copy of the “brochure” listing of social service agencies and the pink copy or printout of the electronic version of the 72-Hour Hold shall be given to the parent or guardian or posted conspicuously in the home if the parent or guardian is not available. Officers shall document in the Police Report where the notices were left.

Contact CPS

1. Contact Child Protection Services Intake at 612-348-3552 to advise the hold and to receive information regarding the transport destination.

2. CPS staff will determine whether the child will be transported or if a Rapid Response CPS staff member will respond to the scene and take custody of the child to process the hold (response time is generally within an hour).
3. If the child will be transported, CPS staff will let the officer know where to bring the child (such as an out-of-home placement or a family placement per an investigation).
4. If the officer is unable to reach CPS, or CPS could not find a suitable transport destination, the child should be transported to the Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s hospital.

Transports to Hospital

Transport for medical attention

1. If the child requires medical attention or a medical assessment, officers shall transport the child to Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) whenever possible, using an ambulance if necessary. If the child is transported via ambulance, an officer shall accompany the child in the ambulance.

2. An officer shall stay with the child at the hospital until relieved by an investigator from the Crimes Against Children unit or Car 710.

Transport due to neglect or unsafe surroundings

If a child must be transported to a hospital because the officer could not reach CPS or CPS could not find a suitable destination, and the child cannot safely care for themselves in the current surroundings, the officer should transport the child to the Fairview University of Minnesota Masonic Children’s hospital.

Form completion

In accordance with the section on completing the Hold Notice, the officer shall list both the hospital and the Children and Family Services coordination center as the receiving facility in order to avoid the need for a separate 72-Hour Hold to be completed. A copy of the form shall be left with the child’s chart.

Contact MECC

Contact MECC and provide the nature of the incident and the location where the child is being transported to help prevent a Missing Juvenile Report from being filed when not appropriate.

Complete a Report

Police Report with the code HLTWEL shall be completed. Officers shall articulate the reasons for the Health and Welfare Hold and state what crime was committed: neglect, medical neglect, child endangerment, criminal sexual conduct, malicious punishment or deprivation of parental rights.

Releasing the Hold

1. The “police hold” can be released before the 72-hour period expires.

2. The procedure is for First Response to request that the hold be removed by contacting the Crimes Against Children unit.
3. During the hours that the Crimes Against Children unit is not staffed, this request may be made to Car 710.

• Crisis: An event or situation where a person's safety and health may be threatened by behavioral health challenges, to include mental health conditions, intellectual or developmental disabilities, substance use, or overwhelming stressors. A crisis can involve a person's perception or experience of an event or situation as an intolerable difficulty that exceeds the person's current resources and coping mechanisms and may include unusual stress in their life that renders the person unable to function as they normally would.
• First Response: First Response (Community Based First Response) social workers are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. First Response handles emergency shelter placements, telephone assessments of families in crisis and takes child & adult protection reports.
• Investigation: A structured process of gathering, examining, and evaluating facts and evidence to determine what occurred, assess compliance with laws and policies, and support appropriate actions or decisions.
• Juvenile: An individual who is under the age of eighteen (18) years.
• MECC: Minneapolis Emergency Communications Center is the city's 911 center that answers emergency and non-emergency calls and coordinates the appropriate response by public safety services.
• Medical Neglect: Medical neglect is the failure to provide appropriate health care for a child, thus placing the child at risk for serious disability, disfigurement or death. Concern is warranted not only when a parent/legal guardian refuses medical care for a child in an emergency or for an acute illness, but also when a parent/legal guardian ignores medical recommendations for a child with a treatable chronic disease or disability, resulting in frequent hospitalizations or significant deterioration.
• Parent/Legal Guardian: "Parent" means the birth or adoptive mother or father of a child and does not apply to a person whose parental rights have been terminated in relation to the child. A legal "guardian" is a person who has been appointed by a judge or social services agency, to take care of a minor child (to include foster parents).
• Police Report: A report or statement in a report that sets forth the officer's account of an incident and is entered into the MPD's Records Management System.
• Transport Hold: When a peace officer or health officer takes a person into custody and the person is transported to a hospital for emergency admission and held until they are evaluated, under the authority from MN Statute section 253B.051, Subd. 1.