Foster Youth Rights

What is a Right?

Rights are laws that describe how people should be treated. They ensure you get what you are entitled to. Rights also protect you when needed. Foster youth have extra rights that are specific to being in foster care in Minnesota.

If you have a concern about your rights:

If it is safe and comfortable, you might think about talking to:

Your social worker
Your Guardian ad Litem
Your attorney
A trusted adult or family member

If you don't know who to talk to, or what next step to take, contact us! Foster youth are encouraged to reach out to OOFY directly.

Minnesota Foster Youth Rights

Who to Talk To
- I have a right to a Guardian ad Litem. Their role is to gather information about me and my family to tell the judge what they think is in my best interest, to help the judge make decisions.
- I have the right to go to all court hearings.
- Once I am 10 years old, I have a right to an attorney. I do not need to pay for the attorney. My case worker is required to tell me about this right, either when I enter foster care or when I turn 10. My attorney can tell the judge what I want to have happen, to help them make decisions about me.
- I have the right to be heard, to present evidence and to question witnesses in court hearings.
- I have the right to make a complaint to the place I am living.
- I have the right to contact the Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson no matter where I live. A facility or family foster home cannot make negative changes or punish me because I contacted the Ombudsperson.
Personal Rights
- I have a right to participate in extracurricular, social, or cultural activities that are typical for my age and abilities.
- I have the right to basic services and treatment, including:
  - Food and drink that promotes my health.
  - Shelter, adult supervision, and privacy.
  - Medical, mental health, and dental care.
  - Spiritual and religious practices.
  - My own bed to sleep in, in a room that is normally used for sleeping.
  - To bring, own, accumulate, and leave with my clothes and personal belongings.
  - To have the house rules and behavior expectations explained to me when I am in a foster home.
  - Safe and healthy family life when I am in a foster home.
  - To be included in the daily life of my foster family, including eating meals together and participating in recreational activities.
  - To be free from secondhand smoke exposure while I am living in a foster home.
- I have the right to be free from:
  - Verbal abuse
  - Physical discipline
  - Withholding of my basic needs
  - Restrictions on my communications with others as a form of discipline, including my case worker, Guardian ad Litem, attorney, and family members.
  - Being punished for other children’s behaviors.
- If I experience human trafficking or sexual exploitation, I have the right to receive supportive services.
- If I run away, I have the right to have issues that made me run away be addressed, whenever possible and appropriate.
- If I am missing, I have the right to be reported missing and searched for immediately.
- If I leave foster care and I am over 14 years old, I have the right to receive a copy of my health and education records.
- I have the right to receive unspent gifts, benefits, and inheritances that the county/agency has received on my behalf, at the time I leave foster care or I am adopted.
Family Connections
- I have the right to stay connected to family and kin. This includes:
  - To be placed as close as possible to my family if I am removed from their care.
  - To maintain sibling connections, which are further outlined in the Sibling Bill of Rights.
  - To have my caseworker provide me a copy of the Sibling Bill of Rights to me, my adult siblings, and to my foster parent.
  - To visit and communicate with my family according to my case plan.
  - To ask the court to consider a relative, important friend, or foster parent as a supportive connection or placement option for me.
  - The right to be placed with a relative or close family friend before being placed with a foster family I do not know.
- I have a right to be told privately if my birth parent dies, if the agency is aware of the death.
Education
- I have a right to receive a free education.
- In most cases, I have the right to stay in the school I attended before entering foster care and for transportation to be provided to help make this happen.
Case Planning
- I have the right to provide input on my case planning, including both my out-of-home placement plan and independent living plan. I have the right to sign these plans.
- Once I am 14, my case worker should explain certain rights to me as part of creating my Independent Living Plan. This includes my rights about education, health care, visitation, safety and protection from exploitation, and court participation, and receipt of an annual credit report.
- Once I am 14, I have the right to have an annual credit check and receive a copy of the report.
- Once I am 14, I have the right to pick 2 people, who are not my foster parent or caseworker, to be on my family and permanency team.
- Once I am 14, I have the right to select one member of the case planning team to be my advisor and advocate for me about participating in extracurricular, social, and cultural activities.
- If I am 14 years or older, I have the right agree or disagree to an adoption plan.
Health: General Health; Sexual and Reproductive Health; Mental Health
- I have the right to a physical exam every year.
Preparing for Adulthood and Money Management
- Once I turn 14 and up until I am 23, I have the right to receive support to prepare for the transition to adulthood.
- When I am 17 and a half, my caseworker must talk to me about the option to enter Extended Foster Care (EFC) until I am 21 years old, as long as I meet certain requirements. Extended Foster Care means I may be able to live independently and receive financial support, or stay in traditional foster care.
- Before I turn 18, I have the right to request an updated Independent Living Plan and continue receiving services needed to support my plan.
- Once I turn 18, I have the right to be given a copy of my social, education and medical history at no cost to me.
- If I decide not to enter Extended Foster Care (EFC) leave foster care when I am 18, I have the right to a personalized transition plan to help prepare me for adulthood. This plan can include:
  - housing options;
  - health insurance, including medical assistance;
  - education options, mentoring opportunities;
  - workforce supports and employment services;
  - a copy of my consumer credit report;
  - health care directive;
  - contact information if I need help with a crisis situation before I am 21 years old;
  - documentation to show I was in foster care.
- If I decide not to enter EFC when I turn 18, or I leave for any reason, I have the right to re-enter up until age 21. I contact the county that handled my foster care case for help with this process.
- If I am between the ages of 18 and 23, I have the right to be told 30 days before case management services will end. I have the right to file a motion asking the court to review the termination of case management services in my case within 10 days of the notice.
- If I choose not to enter Extended Foster Care at age 18, I have the right to be told 30 days before foster care ends.
- If my Extended Foster Care services will be ending for any reason, I have a right to be told about this 30 days before it happens. I have the right to file a motion asking the court to review the termination of case management services in my case within 10 days of the notice
- I have the right to receive support services from the county agency after I leave foster care. I can ask for:
  - my records, including my background, health and placement history.
  - help finding and contacting my relatives.
  - counseling or referral to counseling related to foster care.
LGBTQ2S+ Rights
- LGBTQ2S+ Know Your Rights Guide: This Know Your Rights guide was envisioned LGBTQ2S+ Leaders from Foster Advocates who identified the need to clarify LGBTQ2S+ rights in foster care to support their peers in the Minnesota child welfare system.

Foster Youth Bill of Rights

The Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson is working on a bill of rights for foster youth.

Currently, Foster rights are spread across multiple chapters of Minnesota statutes. A clear, consolidated Bill of Rights ensures that everyone, in every county in Minnesota, is operating from the same standard and there is clarity on the protections for young people who are often the most vulnerable.

To stay updated, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out all previous OOFY newsletters here.

State Policies and Procedures

The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (formerly a part of the Minnesota Department of Human Services) provides policies and procedures to guide the work that is done by county and tribal social service agencies. These policies and procedures can be found on the DHS website.