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Dr. Janna Gewirtz O'Brien testified virtually on March 26, 2024 in favor of Senate File 3746. This bill, spearheaded by Assistant Majority Leader Mary Kunesh, mandates the adoption of health education academic standards in Minnesota schools. These standards encompass crucial topics like mental health education, vaping awareness, and education regarding sexually transmitted diseases.

Restorative justice approaches are increasingly being adopted in communities to address harmful and criminal behavior by young people. These practices involve trained practitioners working with those impacted and those who caused the harm to determine healing and restoration. These approaches help young people develop empathy, understand multiple perspectives, and live in accordance with their values, while shifting the narrative about criminal behavior to one where society and community share responsibility. Studies have shown promising results, with some counties achieving higher success rates and lower re-referral rates.

Dr. Rebecca Shlafer, in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota, describes her work on the impact of incarceration on children and families during a Feb. 3, 2023 meeting of the House Corrections Division and House Early Childhood Finance and Policy Division.

Photo by Mike Cook, Copyright Minnesota House of Representatives, used with permission.

In May of 2023, Dr. Judith Eckerle traveled to South Korea with a small group of focused, professional Korean adoptees to advocate for change in order to help children who are in orphanages or permanent foster care. Goals of the work include removing family registry requirements, creating Safe Haven Laws that allow women to bring their child to a safe place without retribution or criminal charges, and loosening laws that currently block abandoned children from being adopted. Throughout their time in Korea they spoke with former Korean ambassadors, heads of state, various CEOs and politicians and attended National Adoption Day events. This group doesn't advocate for or against adoption specifically, rather a chance for children to grow up in a family.