A rush to finalize before a teen turns 18 On a cold Thursday in January, Jeff received the call that started a flurry of events to adopt his fourth son. He had been home study approved for about a year and a half and was specifically waiting for a teen who needed a family. “When
Join us for Fidgety Fairy Tales, The Mental Health Musicals
Come join us Monday, April 8 for Fidgety Fairy Tales This year Minnesota Association for for Children’s Mental Health joins us again in their 11th musical where familiar fairy tales are re-imagined to raise awareness about children’s mental health. With great music and gentle humor, this hour-long musical is fun for the whole family. This
A Millennial’s Guide to Foster Care and Adoption
If someone would have told me 10 years ago that I’d be married to my high school sweetheart and have two kids at 25, I would have said, “You’re nuts.” But, that’s exactly what happened. I met my husband in the summer of 2008. We were 17 and just about to start our senior year
Your Child in Foster Care Could Qualify for Social Security Benefits
If you have a child in foster care, he or she might qualify for benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The SSA oversees different benefits programs. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) reports that about 24,000 of the 400,000 children in foster care on any given day receive some form of Social Security benefits. That
Infographic | What happens when kids age out of foster care?
Older youth are often overlooked because we, as a society, believe they don’t need a family. We have convinced ourselves that these kids have made it on their own for this long, they should be able to make it as adults as well. It’s true, these kids have been without a permanent family for a
Co-Parenting in Foster Care | How to Establish a Relationship with Birth Parents
This content was originally published by Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit. Studies have shown that one of the best ways to reduce trauma for children in foster care is to co-parent with the biological family. For many of us, this is easier said than done. Co-parenting can be one of the hardest
3 Things You Can Do If You’ve Been Inspired by Instant Family
Instant Family premieres this weekend amidst a flurry of conversations in the adoption and foster care community. The movie is based on the true story of a couple, played by Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne, who decide to foster a sibling group of three. Thanks to the generosity of Paramount Pictures a number of our
A Very Foster Christmas and an Adoptive New Year
Joyful Noize Productions is putting together a show celebrating the foster/adoption community and YOU are the stars. They have an open call for story tellers who want to share their first-person foster or adoption story—these can be foster/adopted youth, grown up youth, siblings, parents, and kinship folks. As a story teller, you will tell your
Tips for Blending Foster, Biological & Adopted Children
This content was originally published by Creating a Family, the national infertility education and support nonprofit. Blending a foster child with children already in the home is one of the biggest challenges many foster parents face. Regardless whether the kids already in the home are by birth or adoption, the addition of a new foster
Children Need Emergency Shelter Care: Can you help?
Every day children find themselves without a home. In 2017, over 16,000 children in Minnesota experienced out-of-home care, according to the Department of Human Services (DHS). Often these children enter foster care unexpectedly. At a moment’s notice they are removed from the homes they know and, based on their age and situation, brought to a
