For years, children who have been caught in the vicious cycle of sex trafficking and prostitution were lost in the shuffle of the juvenile justice system and penalized as offenders. However, in 2011, that changed with the enactment of Minnesota's Safe Harbor legislation. Designed to protect children, Safe Harbor 2011 provides that children involved in sex trade will be protected and receive the services and support they need, rather than being treated as criminals. Human rights advocates, prosecutors, law enforcement and other social service agencies participated in a mandated stakeholder engagement process, which resulted in this effort to create a model that would protect the rights of children. The law has not been fully implemented — provision of resources is the task of this year's legislature.

Rodrigo Sanchez-Chavarria and his wife have three children, ages 8, 6 and 2, but they both work during the day, so for the past six years they have been doing what many young parents do: taking their children to their grandmother for caretaking.

Only five out of the six day treatment kids in your group get off of the buses and enter the classroom. You’re wondering where seven year-old Donavan is.

House members on Tuesday considered two bills that would take similar steps to expand access to child care assistance for low-income families.