Minnesota Family Law Reform

04/17/2026

Former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax murdered his wife before taking his own life. Here in Minnesota, cases like Maige Elizabeth Yang, who on January 9th, 2026 murdered her 18 month old daughter and attempted to take her own life after a temporary custody ruling, show similar patterns of escalation.

Family court highlights how systems follow process but lack clear reunification plans, mental health tracking, and outcome measurement. This isn’t just about custody or family court, it’s about prevention and protecting families before it’s too late.

by | Minnesota Family Law ReformFriday, April 17, 2026 at 1:43 AMThe Fairfax County Police Department confirmed Thursday that the deaths of former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax and his wife, Dr. Cerina Fairfax, are being investigated as a domestic-related murder-suicide.Police were called just af...

04/15/2026

The Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls groundbreaking event at the Capitol brought community leaders and families together to address accountability, visibility, and systemic gaps. The Office of Missing and Murdered Black Women and Girls was established in 2023 to address and prevent the systemic neglect and violence impacting Black women and girls across Minnesota. Kaleena Burkes is the director of the office and previously served for nearly seven years with the State Guardian ad Litem Board.

Community leaders and families stood up and shared their stories, stories of loss, resilience, and the urgent need for accountability. These weren’t just statistics. These were mothers, daughters, sisters, lives that mattered, voices that deserve to be heard, and systems that must do better.

Minnesota Family Law Reform (MNFLR) recognizes that domestic violence does not exist in isolation. It often intersects with family court cases, custody disputes, and systemic gaps that can either protect, or fail those most at risk.

We are committed to being part of the solution, and to providing unbiased advocacy that centers safety, accountability, and real outcomes for families.

Prevention starts upstream. It starts with systems that are designed to recognize warning signs, reduce conflict, prioritize safety, uphold truth, ensure due process, and implement preventative measures, before harm escalates.

We stand with the families, the advocates, and the leaders pushing for change. Your voices matter. Your stories matter. And they must lead to action.

04/12/2026

Solutions for Family Court Conference is live!

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04/12/2026

The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families has welcomed Mary Otto as Director of Tribal Relations, bringing experience working across agencies and Tribal Nations as sovereign governments.

Native American and American Indian children remain disproportionately represented, especially American Indian children, despite Tribal Nations holding their own authority over child welfare decisions.

Otto’s focus is clear: “My role is about uplifting the government-to-government relationship and honoring Tribal sovereignty.” She also recognizes that “every system touches the child.”

DCYF spans early childhood, education, child care, family support, food programs, and youth services, all centered around the child. For MNFLR, that reinforces the need for defined processes, measurable standards, and cross-system accountability, not siloed decision-making, because the same gaps we see across these systems, lack of coordination, inconsistent outcomes, and limited accountability, are the same gaps impacting families in family court.

Mary Otto, a citizen of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, White Earth Band, brings experience connecting Tribal Nations with state agencies to her new role as director of Tribal Relations at the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). Since 2021, she has served as the Tribal State....

04/09/2026

Custody interference isn’t just a violation of a court order, it’s a direct harm to a child’s relationship with their parent, and I’ve seen how easily it’s ignored or minimized in the system. Today, April 8th, MNFLR recognizes Interference with Child Custody Awareness Day to bring visibility to this issue, and we need to treat it for what it is, a criminal matter, because protecting parenting time means protecting children, and enforcement should never be optional.

Rosario Goze
Founder, MNFLR

04/08/2026

𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋 𝟖𝐓𝐇 𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐂𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐘 𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐃𝐀𝐘

Interference with child custody is a crime, and a 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐞 that causes real harm to children.

𝐈𝐧 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐭𝐚 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞.

Families are pushed into costly civil battles while violations continue without accountability, disrupting parent-child relationships and impacting children’s mental health.

𝐒𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Demand enforcement. Help us hold violations accountable and protect children. 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

The Problem In Minnesota, custody interference is treated as a civil issue, not a criminal one. If a court order is broken, law enforcement tells you have to take it to court and address it as a civil matter. That means parents can repeatedly violate court orders with little consequence, while the o...

04/08/2026

𝐀𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐥 𝟖𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲

Let’s be clear: interference with child custody is a 𝐜𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞, not just a family court issue. But MN family courts treat it as a 𝐜𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞.

This is why MNFLR created the 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐭𝐚 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥.

When a parent violates a court order and withholds a child, that’s not a disagreement, it’s interference.

Under Minnesota law, cases are overseen in civil court, and it is recognized alongside abuse and neglect because of the harm it causes to children.

This harm has long lasting mental and emotional impact on children and alienated parents. Children experience increased anxiety, confusion, attachment disruption, and long-term stress when a parent is removed from their life.

Yet families are still pushed into costly civil battles while violations continue without accountability.

Children pay the price.

At Minnesota Family Law Reform (MNFLR), we’re fighting for real enforcement, because protecting children means enforcing the law.

It’s time to treat this like what it is.

04/04/2026

A 50/50 shared parenting bill has now been introduced in South Carolina. Judges retain full discretion, this does not change. What’s missing is a consistent starting point.

When decisions begin from imbalance, conflict increases and outcomes suffer.

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘁𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘄 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘁𝗮 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗹.

Across the country, advocates are fighting for change, and Minnesota Family Law Reform is becoming part of that growing movement.

States like Kentucky and Arkansas have already seen reductions in domestic violence after implementing shared parenting laws.

The Minnesota Family Balance Standard establishes shared parenting as the baseline, with decisions guided by evidence.

**SEE COMMENTS FOR VIDEO LINK.

04/01/2026

Rosario Goze, founder of Minnesota Family Law Reform (MNFLR), was invited to speak at North Dakota’s Child Custody Review Task Force as they evaluate and consider modeling Minnesota’s family court system, where she testified that Minnesota’s current system is producing inconsistent and harmful outcomes due to structural gaps in oversight, accountability, enforceability, and affordability, and emphasized the need to bridge the gap between domestic violence and family court through a preventative domestic violence, child-centered, and due process–driven approach.

She underscored that these issues are systemic and require coordinated reform, and in response, MNFLR will introduce a comprehensive solution framework in the 2027 legislative session that includes strengthened oversight of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) processes, clearer enforcement pathways, and measurable standards for decision-making, while also working to ensure that services are accessible and affordable for families, with a focus on improving system reliability, protecting parent-child relationships, and strengthening long-term outcomes for children and families.

Rosario Goze, Founder of Minnesota Family Law Reform (MNFLR), shares her testimony on systemic failures within Minnesota’s family court system, highlighting ...

03/31/2026

Minnesota Family Law Reform was invited to speak at North Dakota's Child Custody Review Task Force as they attempt to model MN's family court system. Ariel Johnson, MNFLR Champion, is calling out what many families already know, Minnesota’s family court system isn’t working the way it should. Instead of reducing conflict and protecting kids, it often makes things worse. Custody orders go unenforced, cases drag on, and families are pushed into expensive mediation that fails in high-conflict or domestic violence situations. Meanwhile, programs meant to support children, like Guardian ad Litem, are underfunded and stretched thin. The result? Conflict escalates, and the impact on children can be long-term and serious.

The solution is accountability and prevention. Start with equal parenting when both parents are safe. Law enforcement to enforce custody parenting time orders. Create simple, clear consequences for interference. Invest in real support for kids. And stop relying on systems that allow conflict to continue unchecked. This isn’t about reacting after harm is done, it’s about fixing the system so harm doesn’t happen in the first place.

Ariel Johnson, advocate with Minnesota Family Law Reform (MNFLR), speaks on the broader impact of family court policies on children, families, and communitie...

03/29/2026

𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿.

Make Custody Orders Enforceable. Not Optional.

Right now in Minnesota, parents are forced back into court again and again to enforce orders, while violations continue and taxpayers cover the cost when law enforcement is called with no real authority to act.

That needs to change.

The Minnesota Interference Prevention Bill creates real accountability, allows law enforcement to issue citations, and helps reduce conflict before it escalates.

Sign the petition and demand enforcement: Make custody interference a criminal offense, not a civil inconvenience.

Support the Minnesota Interference Prevention Bill.

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/make-parenting-time-interference-a-criminal-matter?source=direct_link&

The Problem In Minnesota, custody interference is treated as a civil issue, not a criminal one. If a court order is broken, law enforcement tells you have to take it to court and address it as a civil matter. That means parents can repeatedly violate court orders with little consequence, while the o...