Minor Parents

Le Sueur County offers services to the following groups of mothers and pregnant women:

1. Minors who are pregnant or already have a child;

2. Mothers who did not have prenatal care;

3. Mothers who request assistance in establishing paternity for their children;

4. Women who request assistance in deciding whether they want to parent their child; or

5. Mothers who are referred to the local agency because they have physical, mental, or emotional problems which effect the care they are able to provide for their children.

Minor mothers are offered help from our agency upon receipt of a notification form from the hospital after the minor has given birth. The local agency’s income maintenance unit must refer MFIP parents under 18 to the local agency’s social services unit for help in developing a social services plan when the minor is an applicant for or recipient of MFIP. 

Le Sueur County will contact each minor mother referred by the income maintenance unit or reported by the hospital for services. Our agency will first determine if the minor parent has a plan for herself and her child. If a plan is already in place at the time of the report or referral, the plan must be reviewed by the minor mother and the assigned case worker to update and ensure that all of the requirements are being met. The case worker will provide the services needed to support the minor mother’s school attendance.

If the minor mother is living independently, the case worker will also assist the minor mother with a social service plan.

If the minor mother does not have a plan, the case worker will help her to develop a plan and provide case management services as needed to assure that resources and services are available to meet the plan’s requirements.

The plan may include:

  1. the age of the minor parent;
  2. the degree of involvement of the minor's parents or other adults who provide active, ongoing guidance, support, and supervision;
  3. the degree of involvement of the father of the child, including steps being taken to establish paternity, if appropriate;
  4. whether the minor intends to parent her child or place the child for adoption;
  5. completion of high school or GED;
  6. current economic support for the minor parent and child and plans for economic self-sufficiency;
  7. parenting skills of the minor parent;
  8. living arrangement of the minor parent and child;
  9. child care and transportation needed for education, training, or employment;
  10. ongoing health care; and
  11. other services as needed to address personal or family problems or to facilitate the personal growth and development and economic self-sufficiency of the minor parent and child.

If a minor mother refuses to plan for the above, or fails without good cause to follow through on an agreed upon plan, the local agency may file a petition in Juvenile Court alleging that the minor parent and/or child of minor parent is dependent and in need of protection or services.