|
|  |
|
| Children of all ages need permanent, stable, loving families. The Minnesota Department of Human Services ensures that Minnesota children placed for adoption within the state or across state or international lines benefit from all legal protections and that they and their families receive support and social services to meet their individual needs. |
| Adoption creates a legal parent/child relationship for: |
| • Children whose birth parents make an adoptive plan |
| • Children adopted from outside the United States |
| • Children adopted by stepparents |
| • Children who come under guardianship of the state. |
| Adoptive, foster and kinship parents and professionals working with them have an opportunity to learn from experts around the state at "Parenting Youth with Stressed Attachment: An Interactive Q&A with Therapists in Four Statewide Locations" on March 5, from 1-3 p.m., via audiovisual technology. Therapists Deena McMahon, in White Bear Lake, Rick Gertsema in Duluth, Ellen Saul in Albert Lea and Paul Buckley in Detroit Lakes will share their expertise and answer questions throughout the training. Cost is $30 per person. To register, visit the conference Web page or call (612) 746-5125, (612) 746-5126 or (866) 303-6276.Space is limited, so register early. Registration deadline is March 2. |
| The Homecoming Project, the Minnesota Department of Human Services’ (DHS) five-year demonstration project, funded by a federal Adoption Opportunities grant, supported the expansion and study of efforts to recruit permanent families for teenagers in foster care available for adoption. The Minnesota Adoption Resource Network administered the project under grant contract with DHS. Beginning in 2004, youth who were referred to the Homecoming Project received extensive one-on-one individualized recruitment services. At the end of the project, over half of the 100 youth served achieved permanency, including legal adoption for 31 percent of the participating youth. These adoption rates are about five times the rate of adoption of teenagers for the state at baseline. Moreover, when compared to a similar group of youth under state guardianship, Homecoming youth were significantly less likely to have been ordered into long-term foster care by the courts, to sign an affidavit saying they did not want to be adopted, and to age out of care. The project’s final report by Wilder Research, Finding Permanent Families for Teens Under State Guardianship, attributes the positive results to “the authentic engagement of youth” that characterized the Homecoming Project’s child-specific recruitment. |
| When courts terminate parents' rights, children are placed in foster care and committed to the guardianship of the state of Minnesota. The department's goal is to find permanent homes, preferably through adoption, for all children under state guardianship. The county social service agency caring for the child is responsible for identifying children's needs, finding an adoptive family and supporting the adoption placement. As of September 21, 2009, 1154 children under state guardianship were waiting to be adopted. |
| The process of adopting a child under state guardianship is: |
| • A court terminates parental rights and places a child under state guardianship |
| • County agencies select a family who can best meet a child’s needs |
| • Counties or private adoption agencies assist and support the creation of a new family |
| • The court finalizes the adoption. |
| Further assistance may be available to a child and their adoptive family. |
| Children are now being enrolled in a five-year study to test the impact of funding for families who might be interested in adopting or accepting legal custody of foster children. The purpose is to determine the advantages and disadvantages of a change in publicly funded benefits for families who may or may not choose to adopt or accept transfer of permanent, legal and physical custody of children in the state’s foster care system. For answers to questions about the project, click here. |
| | |
|
