Make a Complaint

Is this an emergency or suspected child abuse or neglect?

If this is an emergency, call 911. If you are in crisis or thinking about hurting yourself and you need to speak to someone immediately, call 988. 

To report concerns about child abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse, contact the county or reservation where the child lives during business hours. Contact us / Minnesota Department of Human Services (mn.gov). If the child is in immediate risk of harm, please contact your local law enforcement agency or dial 911.

If you have reported abuse and neglect to the proper authorities and believe your rights are being violated or ignored, reach out to our office for assistance.

Who should I reach out to before making a complaint?

It is best to think of our Office as a last resort — someone who will try to help when other approaches have failed. If you have a problem, first discuss it with the person or agency involved, if you feel safe doing so. This gives them a chance to fix the problem. In fact, agency staff can solve most problems more quickly and easily than we can.

If that does not resolve matters, contact the worker's supervisor, program manager, or agency director. We usually expect you to contact the agency with your complaint before you make a complaint to us.

A list of County and Tribal Children’s Services Supervisors and Managers can be found here: County/Tribal Children's Services Supervisors/Managers (state.mn.us)

A list of county websites is available here: County Websites / mn.gov // Minnesota's State Portal

You can also talk to a trusted adult who can try to help you resolve your problem. This could be your parent, kinship caregiver, foster parent, caseworker, foster care worker, the caseworker or foster care worker's supervisor, your Guardian ad Litem (GaL), or other professional working with you.

If you don’t know who to talk to, or what next step to take, contact us. We can point you to the right person and suggest a way to go about solving your problem. If you have already made a reasonable effort and your problem has not been addressed, contact us.

You can also contact us directly if you don’t feel safe making a complaint to the people suggested here.

What kind of complaint can I submit to the Office of the Ombudsperson for Foster Youth?

We handle complaints for people in Minnesota foster care regarding: 

• services you are receiving or should be receiving. 
• rights that are being violated or ignored. 
• concerns about living conditions. 

You can submit complaints regarding: 

• An agency, including employees of the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the responsible social services agency, or a licensed child-placing agency. 
• A family foster home, custodian, parent, or facility licensed by the state, including a residential treatment facility and secured detention facility. 
• A policy or procedure you would like to see changed. 
• A situation that happened in the past that you would like us to be aware of. 

We can help you figure out if your complaint is something we can help with. If we can’t help directly, we will do our best to provide advice, information, and referral to the right place. You may want to review other possible complaints bodies here. 

What will I need to submit a complaint?

You will need to tell us:

• Who and what your complaint is about.
• What steps you have already taken and what happened as a result.
• What you think should happen to resolve your complaint.

We'll also ask you to share any related documents for your complaint (letters, emails, photos, or other documents) and anyone else it may be helpful for us to contact. We will need all the evidence you have to assess your complaint.

Making a complaint is free.

Who can make a complaint?

Any person can file a complaint, if their concern is about the rights, care, safety, placement, or services of someone in Minnesota foster care. Complaints from people currently in the Minnesota foster care system are our priority. This includes people in Extended Foster Care and those who have recently aged out of foster care. If someone currently or recently in foster care submits a complaint, we will process it within two business days. Any trusted person is welcome to help submit a complaint form. Making a complaint is free.

How do I make a complaint?

When you're ready, there are several ways you can submit your complaint:

• Submit complaint online here. 
• Call us to make an anonymous complaint. 
• Email your complaint to info.oofy@state.mn.us. 

If you experience any technical difficulties while trying to submit your complaint online or need further assistance, please call us at 651-946-2940. We are available by phone Monday through Friday, 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.

What should I expect after I submit a complaint?

We review each case to determine if it needs further investigation. Some complaints may be referred to other places for resolution. If you submit a complaint, we will communicate with you as soon as possible regarding the status of your complaint. See here for more information.