Programs and services

Become a foster parent

Foster parents play a crucial role in supporting children and their families through challenging times. When a child needs foster care, ideally they can be cared for by family or friends. When that’s not possible, they need foster parents who will help keep them connected to people and places that are important to them. Minnesota is especially in need of foster parents:

Able to keep sibling groups together
Committed to supporting youth affected by trauma and mental health conditions
Excited about helping teenagers navigate identity and independence needs
Who reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of children who are in need of foster and adoptive homes.

Learn the steps to become a foster parent in Minnesota.

Additional support for foster families

Licensing resources/information
Training for foster parents
Normalcy and reasonable and prudent parent standard training
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act amended federal foster care Title IV-E, requiring states to support normalcy for all children in foster care. Children and youth in foster care need to experience the same types of developmentally appropriate and social activities that their friends, families and classmates — who are not in care — experience. This law permits foster parents, designated corporate foster care staff and residential staff to allow foster children to participate in normal childhood activities, including…, by applying the Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard.

This two-hour training is required for child welfare case managers of foster care placements, child foster care licensing staff, child foster care parents, and designated staff at corporate or residential facilities.
- PowerPoint slides from the May 24, 2016 Virtual Presence Communication (VPN), Normalcy and Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard Training (PDF)
- Minnesota’s Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard Guidance DHS-7684 (PDF)
- Training Certificate (PDF)
- Normalcy and Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard Training” VPN, YouTube link from May 24, 2016
Programs for current or former foster youth moving to adulthood

For current foster youth between 14-18, or former foster youth over 18, there are programs and services to help them prepare for adulthood. These programs can help with tuition assistance, job skills training, finding work, medical assistance, and more. Each program has different eligibility requirements, and may be provided by the county, Tribe, or community agencies. Please see our Adolescent Services page for a full list of programs.
Permanency planning and supports for children
When children enter foster care, reunification with their family is the primary goal. Approximately 50% of children return home to parent from whom they were removed. When a child is unable to return home, paths to permanency include adoption or a transfer of permanent legal and physical custody, with a relative whenever possible.

Financial support for children is available to eligible families through a program called Northstar Care for Children. Various supports are available depending on a family's situation. Northstar Adoption Assistance or Northstar Kinship Assistance were enacted in 2015 to address the evolving needs of Minnesota families.

Other available resources for foster parents listed below: