Minnesota

Facilities in Minnesota

Residential facilities providing religious, behavioral, and mental health treatment to children exist in all 50 states. Some of these facilities are known to be part of the Troubled Teen Industry, while others have not yet been verified. Any facility where children live and receive care requires additional oversight. This directory helps communities monitor local programs and advocate for accountability.

Reporting abuse in Minnesota

Minnesota keeps a separate board for each profession, so check which licence the person holds before you file. Two things are worth knowing. Any person may voluntarily report a child who is being abused, or who has been abused in the past three years - that lookback is stated in the state's own guidance. And a maltreatment investigation by the Office of Health Facility Complaints ends in a narrative report that is shared with law enforcement, prosecutors and the licensing boards of everyone involved, so one report can reach several places at once.

Time limits in Minnesota: a general guide

This was correct as far as we could tell when we checked it on 28 September 2026. Laws on time limits change often, sometimes every legislative session, so some of what follows may have been updated since. It is a starting point, not legal advice: please check with a lawyer before relying on any date here. A time limit on a lawsuit or a criminal charge is also not a time limit on telling someone, and most of the places listed below will still take a report.

Time limits for abuse of a child often run from the survivor's 18th birthday, or from when they came to understand what happened, rather than from the day the program closed. Many states have lengthened them, removed them for child sexual abuse, or reopened claims that had already expired. A criminal charge, a lawsuit and a licence complaint each have their own time limit, so one having passed does not necessarily mean the others have.

Lawsuits

Physical abuse or injury: Less certain Two years from the injury for assault, battery or false imprisonment. Negligence claims (for example, a program's negligent supervision) have six years. Minn. Stat. § 541.07(1); Minn. Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(5)
If it happened before you turned 18: Less certain The clock is paused while the injured person is under 18, but the extra time is capped at one year after turning 18. In practice a child's claim must be filed by the later of the normal deadline or the 19th birthday. Minn. Stat. § 541.15(a)(1)
If the program was run by or for the government: Written notice of the claim must be given within 180 days after the injury is discovered: to the attorney general for claims against the state, or to the city or county governing body for claims against a municipality. Minn. Stat. § 3.736, subd. 5; Minn. Stat. § 466.05, subd. 1
Child sexual abuse: CSA: There is no civil SOL for CSA claims against any defendant. Trafficking: There is no civil SOL for trafficking claims that fall under the CSA statute. Remaining trafficking claims have an SOL of age 24 under the general personal injury SOL. CSAM: The civil SOL is age 24 for CSAM claims. CHILD USA's summary

Criminal charges

Physical child abuse: Three years from the crime for malicious punishment of a child, child endangerment, or assault on a child. The clock does not wait until the child turns 18. Minn. Stat. § 628.26(l); Minn. Stat. § 609.377
Assault: Three years from the crime for felony assault (first through third degree) and for misdemeanor assault. Minn. Stat. § 628.26(l)
Child sexual abuse: CSA: In Minnesota, there is no SOL for criminal sexual conduct and prostitution. The SOL for other felonies and misdemeanors is 3 years from the offense. Trafficking: There is no SOL for sex trafficking. CSAM: The SOL for CSAM violations is 3 years from the offense. CHILD USA's summary

The injury, assault and physical abuse lines are our reading of the statutes linked, as they stood on 28 September 2026. The child sexual abuse lines are CHILD USA's summary as it stood on 28 September 2026; their page may be more current than ours. In them SOL means statute of limitations, CSA child sexual abuse, and CSAM child sexual abuse material. "Less certain" marks a line where the law is unclear or where our reading has not been confirmed, so please treat it with extra care. Exceptions, court rulings and the details of what happened can all change which time limit applies, and some of these may be longer or shorter for you than they look here. CHILD USA's statute of limitations tracker, updated as each state changes its law. A lawyer can tell you which time limit applies to you, and many offer a free first consultation.

The therapist's licensing board

Holds the individual clinician's licence and can suspend or revoke it.

Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy

Multiple professions

Licenses and disciplines professional counselors and alcohol and drug counselors in Minnesota. Its reach covers licensees, temporary permit holders, applicants, and people practising without a licence or claiming to hold one of its licences.

It does not licence every mental health profession. Psychologists, social workers and marriage and family therapists each have their own board.

Use this whenA licensed professional counselor or alcohol and drug counselor, or somebody claiming to be one.

HowDownload the Board's complaint form and complete it. Complaints must be in writing, and can go by post, email or fax.

Minnesota Board of Psychology

Psychologist

Licenses and disciplines psychologists in Minnesota.

Use this whenA licensed psychologist.

HowFile through the Board's complaints page.

Minnesota Board of Marriage and Family Therapy

Marriage and family therapist

Licenses and disciplines marriage and family therapists in Minnesota.

Use this whenA licensed marriage and family therapist.

HowFile through the Board's complaints page.

The agency that licenses the program

Inspects the facility itself and can cite, fine, suspend or close it.

Minnesota Office of Health Facility Complaints (OHFC)

The Department of Health's lead investigative agency under the Maltreatment of Minors Act as well as the Vulnerable Adults Act. It investigates complaints against facilities the Department licenses and produces a narrative report finding maltreatment substantiated, inconclusive or unsubstantiated.

Use this whenA facility licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health.

HowFile a complaint against the facility through the Office's complaint page.

Its finished report is shared with law enforcement, medical examiners, criminal prosecutors and the licensing boards of everyone involved in the incident. One report can therefore reach several channels without you filing again.

Law enforcement and legal channels

Child protection, the Attorney General, and the criminal side.

Minnesota child maltreatment reporting

Starts a child protection response. Reports go to the child protection agency in the county or Tribal Nation where the child lives, and intake screeners decide the response path.

Use this whenA child at a Minnesota program. Any person may report voluntarily if they know or suspect a child is being abused or neglected, or has been in the past three years.

HowContact the county or Tribal Nation child protection agency. If a child is in immediate danger, call 911. Mandated reporters must report within 24 hours and follow up in writing within 72.

Oversight and advocacy

Bodies with a right to investigate, and advocates who can act for you.

Minnesota Disability Law Center

Minnesota's Protection and Advocacy agency, with federal authority to investigate abuse and neglect of people with disabilities in facilities, a right of access to them, and free legal advocacy.

Use this whenA Minnesota program where the young person has a disability or a mental health diagnosis.

HowContact the intake line.

1-800-292-4150 Main line 612-334-5970.
More about this body

National reporting channels, and the same list for other states