Foster Care/Foster to Adopt

Foster Care

Please see the Commissioner’s Designated Format for Completion of an Adoption and Child Foster Care Study on the Department of Human Services website for more information.

The job of a foster caregiver is to provide temporary care for a child whose family of origin is experiencing problems and cannot adequately care for a child. The goal of foster care is to reunite the child with his or her birth family as quickly and as safely as possible. In Minnesota, the statutory time limit for reunification is 12 months.

Foster care providers receive a monthly stipend to help provide for the child in their temporary care. The stipend varies and is determined by the child's needs. Being a temporary resource for a child can also include providing respite foster care, shelter foster care, treatment foster care and emancipation home foster care. The process and requirements for becoming a foster care provider varies depending on the county of residence. For more detailed information about foster care contact your county social services agency.

Kinship Care

Kinship care is similar in many ways to foster care except that a relative (kin) cares for the child. The goal of kinship care is to provide care for the child and support to the family within the context of an extended family relationship. For more information about kinship contact your county social services agency.

Concurrent Planning Foster Care

Concurrent planning, also called permanency planning foster care, provides foster care for a child and is willing to work closely with the child's birth family toward reunification. However, should the child's reunification with the birth parents become impossible, the permanency planning family is willing to become the permanent legal family for the child. Most of the children who have this option as part of their case plans are under the age of eight years old.

Permanency planning resource families must be able to support a child with a "dual track" case plan. This may be a good alternative for families interested in adoption a young child or infant.