Minnesota Statutes

Minn. Stat. § 609.378 (2026)

Neglect Or Endangerment Of Child

✓ current as of May 2026

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Subdivision 1.Persons guilty of neglect or endangerment.

(a)(1) A parent, legal guardian, or caretaker who willfully deprives a child of necessary food, clothing, shelter, health care, or supervision appropriate to the child's age, when the parent, guardian, or caretaker is reasonably able to make the necessary provisions and the deprivation harms or is likely to substantially harm the child's physical, mental, or emotional health is guilty of neglect of a child and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 364 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both. If the deprivation results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental, or emotional health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both. If a parent, guardian, or caretaker responsible for the child's care in good faith selects and depends upon spiritual means or prayer for treatment or care of disease or remedial care of the child, this treatment or care is "health care," for purposes of this clause.

(2) A parent, legal guardian, or caretaker who knowingly permits the continuing physical or sexual abuse of a child is guilty of neglect of a child and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 364 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.

(b) A parent, legal guardian, or caretaker who endangers the child's person or health by:

(1) intentionally or recklessly causing or permitting a child to be placed in a situation likely to substantially harm the child's physical, mental, or emotional health or cause the child's death; or

(2) knowingly causing or permitting the child to be present where any person is selling, manufacturing, possessing immediate precursors or chemical substances with intent to manufacture, or possessing a controlled substance, as defined in section 152.01, subdivision 4, in violation of section 152.021, 152.022, 152.023, 152.024, or 152.0262; is guilty of child endangerment and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 364 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.

If the endangerment results in substantial harm to the child's physical, mental, or emotional health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.

This paragraph does not prevent a parent, legal guardian, or caretaker from causing or permitting a child to engage in activities that are appropriate to the child's age, stage of development, and experience, or from selecting health care as defined in subdivision 1, paragraph (a).

(c) A person who intentionally or recklessly causes a child under 14 years of age to be placed in a situation likely to substantially harm the child's physical health or cause the child's death as a result of the child's access to a loaded firearm is guilty of child endangerment and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than 364 days or to payment of a fine of not more than $3,000, or both.

If the endangerment results in substantial harm to the child's physical health, the person may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years or to payment of a fine of not more than $10,000, or both.

Subd. 2.Defenses.

It is a defense to a prosecution under subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clause (2), or paragraph (b), that at the time of the neglect or endangerment there was a reasonable apprehension in the mind of the defendant that acting to stop or prevent the neglect or endangerment would result in substantial bodily harm to the defendant or the child in retaliation.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 59 cases (7 in the last 5 years), 1990–2026 · leading case: State v. McKown, 475 N.W.2d 63 (Minn. 1991).

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State v. McKown, 475 N.W.2d 63 (Minn. 1991). · cites it 22× “I fully concur in the majority's determination that nothing in the language of either Minn.Stat. § 609.378 (1988), the child neglect statute, or Minn.”

State v. Jackson, 742 N.W.2d 163 (Minn. 2007). · cites it 8× “1(1), 2(1) (2006), and two counts of child endangerment in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(b)(2) (2006).”

State v. Perry, 725 N.W.2d 761 (Minn. Ct. App. 2007). · cites it 28× “Appellant challenges her conviction of misdemeanor child endangerment on the grounds that the language of Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(b)(2) (2000), requires proof of actual danger to a child’s person or health and that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to…”

Lundman v. McKown, 530 N.W.2d 807 (Minn. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 16× “Those appellants first assert that two statutes found relevant in deciding McKown I Minn.Stat. §§ 609.378 (1988) and 626.556 (Supp.”

State v. Jones, 745 N.W.2d 845 (Minn. 2008). · cites it 7× “1(3) (2006); neglect of a child, Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(a)(1) (2006); and endangerment of a child, MinmStat.”

State v. Auchampach, 540 N.W.2d 808 (Minn. 1995). · cites it 8× “1 (1992); count IX, endangerment of a child, Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1 (1992); and count X, neglect of a child, Minn.”

State v. Tice, 686 N.W.2d 351 (Minn. Ct. App. 2004). · cites it 14× “The state charged respondents with child neglect and child endangerment, in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(a)(1), (b)(1) (2000).”

State v. Hokanson, 821 N.W.2d 340 (Minn. 2012). · cites it 4× “185(a)(5) and Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(a)(1) (2010); (4) second-degree murder while committing a felony (assault in the third degree), under Minn.”

State v. Peck, 773 N.W.2d 768 (Minn. 2009). · cites it 4× “2(1) (2008), and child endangerment under Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(b)(2) (2008).”

State v. Fraga, 898 N.W.2d 263 (Minn. 2017). · cites it 4× “185 (d) (2016) (defining "child abuse” as including a violation of Minn. Stat. § 609.378 (2016)). A legal guardian or caretaker is guilty of neglect or endangerment of a child when that individual "willfully deprives a child of necessary food, clothing, [or] shelter .”

State v. Cyrette, 636 N.W.2d 343 (Minn. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 12× “A jury found Cyrette guilty of gross-misdemeanor child neglect, a violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(a)(1) (1998).”

State v. Hatfield, 627 N.W.2d 715 (Minn. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 16× “2(1) (2000); and child endangerment in violation of Minn.Stat. § 609.378, subd. 1(b)(1) (2000).”

Show all 59 citing cases →

— Minn. Stat. § 609.378(1) — 1 case

United States v. Vaughan, 58 M.J. 29 (C.A.A.F. 2003).

— Minn. Stat. § 609.378(2) — 1 case

State v. Jackson, 944 P.2d 403 (Wash. Ct. App. 1997).

— Minn. Stat. § 609.378(a) — 1 case

State v. McKown, 475 N.W.2d 63 (Minn. 1991). “I fully concur in the majority's determination that nothing in the language of either Minn.Stat. § 609.378 (1988), the child neglect statute, or Minn.”

— Minn. Stat. § 609.378(b) — 2 cases

Ibarra v. Holder, Jr., 736 F.3d 903 (10th Cir. 2013).

Ibarra v. Holder, Jr., 721 F.3d 1157 (10th Cir. 2013).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.