Statement from Phillip C. Parrish, Candidate for Governor of Minnesota, 2026
Fellow Minnesotans,
As a candidate for Governor in 2026, I stand with families across our state who have lost trust in a child protection system that too often fails our children, mothers, and fathers. The evidence is clear: systemic failures in Minnesota’s child welfare system have led to heartbreaking outcomes—children unjustly removed from loving homes, parents stripped of their rights, and vulnerable youth exposed to the horrors of trafficking. These failures demand bold, immediate action to protect families, uphold parental rights, and safeguard our children.
Substantiated Issues and Systemic Failures
The Minnesota child protection system is broken, marred by systemic biases, misaligned incentives, and inadequate oversight:
• Racial Disparities: Black children are twice as likely, and Native American children 16 times as likely, to be removed from their families compared to white children. These disparities, highlighted in a 2024 civil rights complaint, reflect biased risk assessments and discriminatory practices.
• Overreach and Unjust Removals: In 2019, 6,431 children were removed from their homes, often due to poverty mistaken for neglect. Emergency 72-hour holds, used in over half of cases, lack consistent oversight, leading to unnecessary separations.
• Neglect of Fathers: Fathers, especially unmarried ones, face barriers to custody and inclusion in case plans. Cases like Terrence Gholston’s, where a father was denied custody, show how agencies prioritize mothers or foster care over capable fathers.
• Foster Care Risks: In 2024, 6,870 children were in foster care, with 23,160 reported missing nationally, 19% of whom were likely trafficked. Minneapolis, a trafficking hub with 34,000 online sex ads, underscores the danger to children in unstable placements.
• Parental Rights Erosion: In 2021, 960 parental rights terminations occurred, with only 2 of 17 restoration petitions granted, reflecting a system that prioritizes permanent separation over reunification.
• Lack of Consent: Families report feeling powerless, with procedures like medical interventions sometimes occurring without clear parental consent, eroding trust.
These failures stem from a social services culture that assumes agency authority over family rights, misaligned federal funding favoring foster care, and insufficient accountability for biased practices. The result is a system that tears families apart, sidelines fathers, and leaves children vulnerable to exploitation.
My Commitment to Action
As Governor, I will act decisively to expose these failures, protect families, and restore parental rights. My administration will prioritize mothers and fathers equally—married or unmarried—and place children’s safety and family unity above bureaucratic overreach. Here is my plan:
Immediate Actions (2027)
1. Independent Audit of Child Protection: I will commission a transparent audit of the Department of Human Services (DHS) and county agencies to expose racial biases, father exclusion, and trafficking risks. Results will be public within nine months, empowering families to demand change.
2. Transparency Dashboard: DHS will launch a quarterly public dashboard detailing removals, reunifications, and foster care outcomes by race, gender, and parental status, shining a light on disparities and neglect of fathers.
3. Statewide Pre-Petition Legal Aid: I will expand Hennepin County’s legal aid program to all 87 counties, providing free counsel to parents before court petitions, ensuring mothers and fathers can fight unjust removals.
4. Father-Inclusive Mandate: A new DHS policy will require agencies to engage fathers immediately, streamline paternity establishment, and consider them equally for custody, ending biases seen in cases like Gholston’s.
5. Anti-Trafficking Foster Care Protocol: I will fund real-time tracking of foster children, mandatory trafficking training for social workers, and partnerships with law enforcement to protect the 6,870 children in care from exploitation.
6. Parental Consent Executive Order: I will issue an order mandating written parental consent for all medical procedures involving children in state custody, except in life-threatening emergencies, to restore parental authority.
Long-Term Plans (2027–2031)
1. Family Preservation Act: By 2028, I will champion legislation to make reunification the primary goal, prohibit terminations based on poverty, and simplify parental rights restoration. This act will ensure mothers and fathers are treated equally, with clear protections for unmarried parents.
2. Cultural Reform in Social Services: By 2030, DHS will implement mandatory bias training on race, gender, and poverty, establish a Parent Advocacy Office to mediate disputes, and tie county funding to father engagement and reunification rates.
3. Funding Overhaul: By 2031, I will redirect $20 million annually from foster care reimbursements to preventive services like housing and addiction treatment, eliminating incentives for removals and keeping families intact.
4. Judicial Accountability: I will fund judicial training on parental rights and trafficking risks, create a review board for overreach complaints, and ensure courts scrutinize agency biases, protecting families from flawed petitions.
5. Parental Rights Task Force: A permanent task force, including parents and tribal representatives, will monitor reforms, recommend policies, and report annually on trafficking and abduction prevention, ensuring long-term accountability.
Safeguarding Children and Parental Rights
My administration will place parents’ rights at the heart of child welfare. Mothers and fathers—married or unmarried—deserve equal respect and opportunity to raise their children. I will ensure:
• Parental Consent: No medical procedure, from vaccinations to mental health treatments, will occur without explicit parental consent, except in emergencies, empowering parents over state authority.
• Father Inclusion: Agencies will treat fathers as equal partners, removing paternity barriers and prioritizing them as custodial options to keep children out of foster care.
• Child Safety: By reducing unnecessary removals and strengthening foster care oversight, we will protect children from trafficking and abduction, addressing the 19% trafficking risk among foster care runaways.
• Family Unity: Reunification will be the default, with clear, achievable case plans that support parents, not punish them for poverty or systemic inequities.
A Call to Action
The stories of families torn apart—like Latasha Bacon’s loss of her daughter in foster care or Dwight Mitchell’s 22-month separation—demand justice. As Governor, I will fight for every Minnesotan to raise their children free from government overreach. Together, we will rebuild a child protection system that protects families first, honors parental rights, and keeps our children safe from harm.
Vote for Phillip C. Parrish in 2026. Let’s restore trust and put Minnesota families first.
Sincerely,
Phillip C. Parrish
Candidate for Governor of Minnesota, 2026
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