Description

Provides the following services: Adoption Services: Works to bring youth and parents together in permanent, stable family settings. All adoption services are provided free of charge and include: - Adoption home studies and home study updates - Child placement services - Child-specific recruitment services - Parent training and education - Post-adoption services - Relative adoption services Foster Care Services: Provides safe and nurturing foster homes while families work toward stability and reunification. Staff collaborate closely with each child's custodial team to support family reunification whenever possible. Services include emergency, short-term, long-term, and whole-family foster care options. - Foster parents receive ongoing support, including training, 24/7 crisis support, and respite care. Kinship Navigator: Provides support and connections for relative and kin families caring for children. Families first work with a Kinship Navigator who provides phone and in-person information, referrals, and assessments to identify community services such as childcare, food assistance, health services, housing, and transportation. - When additional assistance is needed, a Case Manager partners with families to provide side-by-side support while accessing services. Relative and Kin Support Services: Provides support for families caring for a relative's child by providing education, guidance, and connections to resources. Families may also receive assistance with obtaining foster care licensing if they wish to continue fostering kin or other children. Services include: - Connections to local support services - Education on mental health and youth trauma - Help understanding the complex human services system - Support navigating new or strained family dynamics Supervised Visitation: Provides youth in foster care with opportunities to spend time with their families in a safe and supportive environment. Services are available within approximately a one-hour radius of Waite Park, Minnesota. Services include: - Observation - Parent coaching with observation - Parent coaching without observation - Transportation - Virtual or phone observation STAY Program (Successful Transition to Adulthood for Youth): Provides independent living services for eligible youth ages 14 through 23 who are currently or were formerly in foster care and who are working with a county or tribal social worker. Services support youth in meeting independent living plan goals and may vary by county. Available services may include: - Age-appropriate activities - Education services - Employment services - Independent living skills training - Permanent connections with long-term mentors, significant individuals from the youth's past, relative searches, and contact with relatives or former foster parents - Room and board or housing assistance - Transportation costs

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