Follow-up to 2024 children, youth, and families recodification; technical changes made.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn and 2 co-sponsors

HF 2551 makes technical corrections to the 2024 child, youth, and family recodification to fix wording, cross-references, and consistency with no policy changes.

Effective date 08/01/2025

#childrenandminors #family #humanservicesandhumanservicesdepartment

HF 2551 — Summary

HF 2551 is a technical follow-up bill to the 2024 recodification of laws governing children, youth, and families. The bill is described as making technical changes to implement and correct the recodification, with no stated broad policy shifts. It has an effective date of August 1, 2025, and its companion in the Senate is SF 2706.

Purpose and Intent

Provide technical corrections to the 2024 recodification of statutes related to children, youth, and families.

Correct drafting errors, mis-alignments, and cross-reference inconsistencies resulting from the recodification.

Ensure consistency across related statutes and with existing administrative practices.

Align with the companion Senate bill (SF 2706) to implement equivalent technical adjustments.

Key Provisions (High-Level)

Technical amendments to recodified sections affecting children and family services, including minor adjustments to wording, cross-references, and numbering.

Corrections intended to improve clarity, interpretability, and enforceability of the recodified provisions.

No explicit statements of substantive policy changes; intended to preserve the policy framework established by the 2024 recodification.

Administrative and definitional clarifications to support consistent implementation by relevant agencies, particularly the Department of Human Services and related family services statutes.

Affected Parties and Stakeholders

State agencies implementing child welfare, family services, and related programs (notably the Department of Human Services).

Service providers and professionals working within child welfare, youth services, family support, and related programs.

Individuals and families subject to laws governing children and minors, and the entities that interact with them (e.g., guardians ad litem, courts, service providers).

Legal professionals and advocates who rely on clear statutory language for casework and litigation.

Procedural Timeline and Status

Introduced: March 20, 2025.

House actions: Introduction and first reading (April 28, 2025); committee reporting and amendments (April 7, 2025); third reading and passage (April 25, 2025).

Senate actions: Received from House (April 28, 2025); referred to committees; passed Senate and returned to House (May 5, 2025); third reading and final passage (May 5, 2025).

Governor: Presented to Governor May 13, 2025; Governor approved May 15, 2025.

Chapter and Effective Date: Chapter 21, effective August 1, 2025.

Companion: SF 2706 (Senate counterpart).

Effective Date

The bill becomes effective on August 1, 2025, with Chapter 21 codified accordingly. The general expectation is that the technical corrections take effect concurrently with or shortly after the recodified provisions they address.

Notes

For exact statutory language and specific corrections, consult the official HF 2551 text and the companion SF 2706. This summary emphasizes the bill’s technical nature and its role in ensuring the 2024 recodification’s coherence.