Provide safe, stable, temporary care by becoming a licensed foster parent in Minnesota.
By opening your heart and home to a child in need, you are providing them with a committed and reliable environment during a critical time in their lives.
According to a 2023 report from MN Department of Human Services, over 10,000 kids experienced foster care in Minnesota last year.
The need is great, especially for caregivers open to caring for sibling groups and school-age kids.
Take the First Step: Complete Application Part 1Are you interested in becoming a foster parent, but don’t know where to start? Here are some answers to our most frequently asked questions:
A person who:
- Is single, married, divorced, or partnered.
- Has or does not have children.
- Owns or rents their home.
- Is age 21 or older.
Foster parents are as diverse as the kids needing care! The services of Children’s Home Society and Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (CH/LSS) are available to all people regardless of race, color, ethnicity, religion, disability, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
- Applications: You can complete the free Application Part 1 any time you are ready. This helps us get to know you better and build your record. Application Part 2 contains more paperwork specific to Foster Care and paperwork to complete required background checks. Please note: possessing a criminal record does not automatically disqualify you from being a foster parent. Contact us with any specific questions.
- Education & Training: This can begin any time! You will need to complete our Foster Care Adoption Orientation and Foster Care Adoption Education Classes prior to completion of Application Part 2. Additional free trainings and supports will be available throughout your foster journey.
- Home Study: After completion of Application Part 2 you will be assigned to an Adoption Worker who will be your main CH/LSS contact throughout the remainder of your process. During the home study process, you will have several visits with your worker and a visit to your home. Your worker will create a comprehensive document that includes information such as: your motivation to foster or adopt, your health, home, personal history, familial lifestyle, interests, and the type of child you are open to parenting. This process typically takes 3-4 months to complete.
- Licensing: Once your home study is complete, your home will be licensed to provide foster care.
- Placement: This is the term for a child entering your home for care. Foster care placements may last a short time or be more long-term depending on which type of care you are providing and each child’s situation. When a child is placed in your home, you should expect ongoing birth family reunification efforts.
- Permanency: This can look different depending on each child’s situation. For some, this will mean reunification with the birth family, for others it may mean placement with relatives or kin. Others may find permanency through adoption, after a termination of parental rights.
Here at CH/LSS we can license you to provide care through a variety of ways. You may be open to one or more, this will be discussed in more detail during the home study process and can be revisited later in your journey. Sometimes a placement may start as one type and evolve to another over time.
- Traditional Foster Care: Placements vary in length, need, urgency and outcome.
- Emergency Shelter Care: Short-term, immediate placements that can happen any time of day or night. These placements are typically shorter-term than traditional foster care.
- Respite: Short-term (such as several hours, overnight or weekend), generally pre-arranged care for kids experiencing foster care or who were adopted from foster care.
- Treatment Foster Care: Placements vary in length and outcome but require a higher level of care. To be licensed as a Treatment Foster Home, you must have provided Traditional Foster Care for 2 years and meet additional training requirements.
- Host Homes: In coordination with LSS’s Host Homes, we can license caregivers who are providing support to youth with 245D waivered services.
Yes! We can assist Minnesota residents to adopt from Minnesota foster care. Adoption from foster care can occur only after unsuccessful reunification efforts, and the termination of parental rights. You can be open to either providing foster care, or adoption, or both. If you are interested exclusively in adopting, please visit our Foster Care Adoption services.
Children of all ages and backgrounds can experience foster care. According to the MN Department of Human Services, the three most common reasons why children are removed from parental care in Minnesota are: caretaker drug abuse (27%), allegations of neglect (14%), allegations of physical abuse (11%), child mental health (9%); read the full MN DHS Fact Sheet.
While every child and situation is unique, the children experiencing foster care in Minnesota may have shared needs and characteristics including:
- Experience of trauma, abuse, neglect, grief, loss and disrupted attachments with caregivers.
- Behavioral, emotional and mental health needs
- A need for mentorship and guidance in building life skills, independence and creating healthy relationships as they launch into adulthood.
In Minnesota foster care, there is an over-representation of kids who are:
- BIPOC
- Between the ages of 12-18
- Part of a sibling group, needing to stay together or at least connected
- Identifying as LGBTQ+
- Living outside the Twin Cities metro area
Through our Child-Specific Recruitment Services we help advocate for children awaiting adoption from foster care.
Learn More About Kids Who WaitYou can work with either a public (county) or private (agency, CH/LSS) provider to become foster care licensed. When CH/LSS licenses a foster home, we work cooperatively with counties for the matching/referral and placement of children. In Minnesota, foster care and adoption services are administered at the county level.
Learn About Your Local County ServicesWe believe in support before, during and after placement. Our organizations have a long history that began with the mission of providing care for orphaned children in 1865 (LSS) and 1889 (Children’s Home).
Learn More About CH/LSSWhen working with CH/LSS, there are a variety of support services available:
- Monthly in-home post-placement supervision, providing support & offering resources (if needed).
- Family Support Coach that offers attachment-focused, holistic parent coaching.
- Access to our Community Closet for items that a child placed in your home may need.
- Support Groups for during and sometimes long after placement.
- Connect2Connect community events and other family-friendly opportunities to gather and connect throughout the year.
We Are Committed to Helping You!
We’re here to provide free one-on-one consultations, educational classes, training videos and more. There are many paths you can take to become a foster parent.
Choose the path that is right for you to get started:
Free On-Demand Educational Training Videos:
Continue your education and learn more about how you can support the needs of youth experiencing foster care. View our free library of on-demand training videos presented by child welfare and mental health professionals. You will gain valuable information about the challenges youth face and how you can become a consistent and reliable caregiver.
Dr. Grace focuses on the developmental impact of trauma on children and adolescents, specifically on current behavior and school performance, and how we can understand and support them. The well-documented and tragic long-term physical and mental health outcomes associated with early trauma are not inevitable. We can change those outcomes if we intervene early.
Watch HereResearch has consistently shown elevated rates of ACEs among children and adolescents who become involved in the juvenile justice system. Dr. Brown provides attendees with an overview of ACEs research, emphasizing its impact on mood, behavior, cognition, physical health, and even criminality. Additionally, Dr. Brown offers practical tips, strategies, and solutions.
Among the other relevant topics covered in Dr. Brown’s discussion are prenatal and postnatal trauma, attachment dysregulations, alexithymia, theory of mind deficits, chronic low-grade inflammation, cognitive dysfunction, internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems, gut-brain health dysfunction, head trauma, sleep disturbances, hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation, high-risk coping behaviors, food insecurity, and central nervous system dysregulation.
Watch HereDr. Brown also examines the implications of disruptive attachment patterns on mood, behavior, cognition, and physical health across the lifespan. Other relevant topics of Dr. Brown’s discussion includes prenatal and postnatal trauma, other life adversities, central nervous system dysfunction, allostatic load, biological despair, HPA axis dysregulation, inflammation, sleep disturbances, gut-brain health axis dysfunction, emotional dysregulation, internalizing and externalizing behaviors, amygdala dysfunction, executive functioning impairments, parental mentalization, parental reflective functioning, joint attention, social referencing, and harsh versus warm parenting practices.
Watch HereBrenda breaks down the model and shows how behavioral struggles are connected to trauma and experiences. Brenda examines the four principles laid out in the book and connects how stress, trauma, and behaviors can get in the way of healthy relationships—the most important thing when it comes to fostering healthy attachment and healing trauma. Brenda also looks at a few common behavioral struggles that parents have and some suggestions about how to parent through those in a therapeutic way. Brenda provides an understanding of how your emotional regulation can help or inhibit your relationship with your child.
Watch HereJoin this training, led by The Katallasso Group’s Lisa Welter, completing her doctorate in leadership at Bethel University in spring 2025. Lisa, with her extensive experience, will not only share theoretical knowledge but also guide you through practical steps to lead your family confidently through challenging moments. This training is designed to empower you with the tools to navigate conflict with empathy, understanding, and effective leadership, so you can foster healthier relationships that benefit everyone involved—especially the children in your care.
Watch HereIn this training, Lisa Welter, founder of the Katallasso Group, unpacks what the anatomy of a highly anxious family is and how to not place blame on parents but understand the family system surrounding them. Attendees will lean in as foster or adoptive parents to gain greater understanding of how to better respond to kids in our care, take care of ourselves, and find supportive resources through the season.
Watch HereThis workshop will provide a window into the nuanced first-hand narratives of adoptees through videos, anonymized case studies, and Angela’s personal stories. This workshop will leave you thinking about the role transracial adoption plays in our quest for racial justice in America.
Watch Here