Child Foster Care

Overview

Purpose

Foster care is meant to give children a safe and stable home when they can't stay with their own family. The goal is for kids to return to their parents when it's safe, or to find a permanent home with relatives or adoptive parents.

While they are in foster care, most kids still visit their parents and family until they can go back home.

Goal

The ultimate goal of foster care is to remedy the home situation and return the children to their natural parents. Sometimes foster families are asked to provide permanent foster care If reunification with a parent or relative is not possible. Children can be in foster care for as little as 24 hours or up to a year or more.

Emergency / Short-Term Care

Sometimes children need a safe place to stay right away, even in the middle of the night. Emergency foster families take in children with little or no warning and care for them until a relative or longer-term home can be found.

Respite Care

Respite care is a short break for parents or foster parents who care for children with difficult behaviors. Respite care providers go through the same licensing steps as other foster parents. They are often asked to care for a child one or two weekends a month or for a week at a time.

Concurrent Planning

Minnesota law says that children under 8 years old in foster care should have a permanent home within six months. While trying to help parents fix the problems that caused the placement, social workers also make a second plan in case the children can’t return home. This might include finding relatives or close family friends to care for the children. If that’s not possible, foster families may have the option to become the child’s permanent home through long-term foster care, legal custody, or adoption.

Relative / Kinship Foster Care

Relative / Kinship foster care is when someone the child or guardian already knows and trusts becomes a licensed foster parent. This person could be a family member, or a close family friend.

Permanent Foster Care

Permanent foster care (also called concurrent care) is for foster parents who are open to giving a child a permanent home if the child can't go back to their parents. This includes foster parents who are interested in adopting a child from the foster care system.