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| Children thrive best in their families. Family preservation efforts are provided to prevent out-of-home placement whenever possible. Most often foster care is temporary and children are reunited with their parents within a short time. |
| In Minnesota, when children must enter foster care, relatives and kin are sought to care for their children. Preserving relationships with family members is crucial to a child’s sense of safety and well being. When relatives and kin are not available, county social service and private foster care agencies recruit community members to become foster families. In Minnesota, more than 70 percent of the children in out-of-home placement were in a home setting. |
| 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. |
| Since 1941, foster children have had the opportunity to participate in more activities and feel more a part of their foster families thanks to the Forgotten Children’s Fund. Initially established by the American Legion Auxiliary, the fund is now administered by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The Forgotten Children’s Fund is just one feature of Minnesota’s foster care system. It helps foster families purchase special items and services beyond food, clothing and shelter which are paid for by foster care payments. For example, it allows families to pay for things such as bikes, class rings, art supplies, sports equipment, driver’s education, graduation expenses, or pay camp registrations and fees for their foster children. Only county workers may make requests for funding.To donate to the fund, send a check and dated letter, specifying the amount of the contribution designated for the Forgotten Children’s Fund, to Thomas Campbell, Minnesota Department of Human Services, Child Safety and Permanency Division, P.O. Box 64943, St. Paul, MN 55164-0943. To access the fund, social workers should review current information about the fund and the rules regarding the funding process. Questions or comments about the fund are welcome at dhs.forgottenchildrensfund@state.mn.us. |
| Current and former foster youth are presenting a strong voice about how to improve the state’s foster care system to social workers, foster parents, judges, legislators and policymakers. Three Youth Leadership Councils in Minneapolis, Duluth and Willmar are regularly sharing their ideas about the implementation and evaluation of foster care policy and practices; developing a speakers’ bureau; and educating other youth, families, child welfare workers and the general public about foster care. The councils give a fresh perspective on what is working well and what needs more attention in Minnesota's foster care system. |
| Children need to feel safe and nurtured in order to learn and grow. Foster parents provide for the child’s educational, health, cultural and social needs. Foster parents bring children to doctor appointments, participate in the child’s education and attend cultural events in the community. In 2008, both relative and non-relative foster parents provided temporary care to approximately 9,834 children in family foster care in Minnesota. Of the children in out-of-home care, approximately 75 percent were reunited with their birth parents or found permanency with relatives. |
| Whenever possible, foster care enables children to: |
| • Remain in their communities |
| • Remain close to their siblings, other family members and friends |
| • Attend the same schools, team events, cultural and social activities. |
| Foster families play a critical role by caring for the child and providing support to the child’s family. This relationship can continue after the child returns home. Foster families may provide: |
| • Temporary, short-term care to children in crisis. They provide a bridge with birth parents to enable children to return safely home or to a new adoptive or another permanent family. |
| • Longer term care through Concurrent Permanency Planning. Foster families work with birth families to reunite children with their parents. When reunification is no longer possible, foster families may be asked to make a permanent commitment to their foster children by adopting them. |
• Respite care to children with special needs whose families may need a short break from their daily routine.
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