ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - At the latest coronavirus briefing, a Minnesota health official debunked an internet rumor that claims Child Protective Services has been removing children who test positive from COVID-19 from their families.
Wednesday, Minnesota Department of Health Infectious Disease Director Kris Ehresmann says officials learned the latest rumor was circulating on social media.
"It’s hard to believe we’re at a point where such nonsense needs to be addressed, but let me state clearly, this rumor is false," said Ehresmann.
It's unclear how the rumor originated, but Ehresmann took the opportunity to encourage people to check their sources and to be wary of possible misinformation online.
"Misinformation sometimes start innocently as a legitimate message that gets misunderstood and garbled as it circulates online," she said. "Other times the misinformation may be intentionally sent around for one reason or another. The bottom line is we all need to exercise caution and not rely solely on social media and unverified website for our news."
Minnesota Department of Human Services guidance
The Minnesota Department of Human Services released the following statement after the press conference to provide more insight to families regarding its actual guidance amid COVID-19:
"Recently, many licensed child care and foster care providers received a survey from their county licensors. The purpose of the survey is to identify licensed providers who might be able to provide respite and short-term care for children whose parents are either incapacitated at home or hospitalized due to COVID-19. The intent was to identify providers who may not be operating currently due to COVID, not to encourage providers to bring potentially exposed children into their setting or close their program for this purpose. Unfortunately, this survey may have led to the misperception fueling a rumor on social media that children would be removed from their homes due to COVID-19. This rumor is not true. We are planning for how to support families in the situation in which a parent is incapacitated and no alternative care exists.
"In other states, countries, and communities in Minnesota, there have been parents who have become too ill with COVID-19 to care for their children for short periods of time. So far, counties and tribes in Minnesota have been able to identify relative and kinship care for families in this situation, which is typically the best option. However, as Minnesota perseveres through this public health crisis and the demographics of cases shift, we anticipate that more families may be faced with not having alternate care providers for their children. These circumstances present a need to begin planning for care for children who have been exposed to COVID-19 because their parents are either incapacitated at home or hospitalized due to the virus, and do not have alternative care available.
"The state has been working with counties and tribes to develop strategies to prevent children in this situation from unnecessarily entering the child welfare system or congregate settings. The state is exploring if there are individuals with experience working with children who may be interested in stepping up to provide 24-hour care for a couple of weeks for children whose families have been unable to identify a backup caregiver. Child care and foster families who have already passed background studies were surveyed to identify any interest in hearing more about this possible need. At this point, the state isn’t expecting to need very many people to provide this care. In the few cases in which this has happened so far, counties have reported being able to identify kin or relatives to care for children whose parents have been hospitalized without a current plan for the care of their children."
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