ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- The legislative auditor says Minnesota's county-based child welfare system needs more consistency statewide when it comes to figuring out which child abuse and neglect cases to investigate.
The Star Tribune reports that the audit gives child welfare agencies credit for making reasonable decisions about allegations. But the report suggests ways to make the decisions more uniform statewide.
Auditors found that in 2010, some counties "screened out" none of their abuse and neglect complaints -- meaning they thought all of them merited investigation. Others screened out 89 percent of complaints.
The Legislature encouraged the audit to clarify which situations would merit child welfare involvement. The report found that different agencies have different approaches.
