Minnesota post-adoption support

Below are post-adoption and guardianship support services available to families who live in Minnesota. Services may not be available in all areas and/or may be dependent upon the circumstances of the placement. Please check with your post-adoption services provider about the availability of specific post-adoption or guardianship support services for your family. You can also visit Child Welfare Information Gateway for information on Adoption and Guardianship Assistance, as well as additional information on post-adoption support.

Post-adoption/guardianship support services

In Minnesota, families have access to the following services through the state’s post-adoption service programs:

Child/youth assessment of needs and strengths
Information (websites, fact sheets, articles, etc.)
Navigation, advocacy, referral to services
Birth family mediation and/or adoption search
Peer support for parents
Peer support for children/teens
Mentoring for parents
Mentoring for children/teens
Case management
Training/other development
Education support/advocacy
Camps, retreats, events
Financial/materials support (other than adoption assistance)
Community-based therapeutic services
In-home therapeutic services
Residential therapeutic services
Crisis intervention

Who is eligible for these services?

Most services are available to all adoptive and foster families in the state, and families who took guardianship of a child from foster care. Specific eligibility is available at https://permanencyhubmn.org/find-a-service/.

Who provides these services?

Post-adoption services in Minnesota are provided through contracts with multiple agencies, each offering different services.

Provider	Service provider	Service area
Adoption Medicine Clinic	Comprehensive child well-being assessments for children and youth in foster care, adoption and kinship care	Statewide
Ampersand Families	Support groups for children and youth, family retreats, buddy families, child assessments based on the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics	Statewide
Children’s Home Society	Assessment and supportive coaching for adoptive families	Statewide
Evolve	Heritage camps for transracial families	Statewide
MN Adopt	Information and referral services, training and educational for parents and professionals, a help line with referral to adoption-competent mental health professionals, post-adoption search services	Statewide
Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center	Training and support for families who may become foster, adoptive, or kinship resources for children covered by the Indian Child Welfare Act, support groups for parents, family cultural events	Twin Cities metropolitan area
North American Council on Adoptable Children	Parent and child/youth support groups, retreats, family activities, one-on-one information and support from other adoptive, foster, kinship parents	Statewide
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota	Training for parents, parent support groups, family events	Greater Minnesota (outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area)
Pact Collaborative	Family visits to provide support and teach parenting skills, parent support groups, family activities	Greater Minnesota (outside the Twin Cities metropolitan area)

Parents can find updated information about available services at the Minnesota Department of Human Services website and also learn more at MNAdopt and the North American Council on Adoptable Children (NACAC).

Services may not be available in all areas and/or may be dependent upon the circumstances of the case. Please check with your state’s public agency about the availability of post-adoption or guardianship support services for your family.

Parent support groups

Below are support groups for adoptive, kinship, and foster families. Support groups may be offered as part of a state’s post-adoption/guardianship support program, through a statewide or regional foster or adoptive parent association, through specific agencies, or may be run independently. If we have additional information about the group’s purpose or the community served, it’s provided under the group’s contact information.

To add a group or make a suggestion, email the AdoptUSKids family support team.

Ampersand Families
Info@ampersandfamilies.org
Location: St. Paul

Anoka County Social Services
nancy.le@co.anoka.mn.us
Location: Anoka

Bemidji Adoptive Parent Support Group
sarahcoumbeguida@nacac.org
Location: Laporte

Children’s Home Society/Lutheran Social Services
welcome@chlss.org
651-646-7771
Location: St. Paul

Dakota County Adoptive/Foster Parent Support Group, Dakota County Adoptive/Foster Parent Support Group
ann.dempsey@co.dakota.mn.us
952-891-7415
Location: Apple Valley

EVOLVE Adoption & Family Services
evolve@evolveservices.org
Location: Oak Park Heights

Families with Children from China Midwest
Location: Richfield

Kanabec County Family Services
Location: Mora

Kinship Family Support Services at Lutheran Social Service of MN
Warmline@lssmn.org
Location: St. Paul

LSS Therapeutic Child Foster Care Program
Location: St. Paul

Main Street Family Services, Main Street Family Services
julie.schultz@mainstreetfamilyservices.org
763-233-2195
Location: Elk River

Milestones
mwijeratne@milestonesmn.org
320-251-5081
Location: Waite Park

Minnesota Department of Human Services-Benton County
Location: Foley

MN ADOPT
info@mnadopt.org
Location: St. Paul

NACAC’s Adoptive Foster Kinship Connections, Austin Area Support Group MN
melissafredin@nacac.org
Location: Austin

NACAC’s Adoptive Foster Kinship Connections, Bemidji Area MN
jannaw@paulbunyan.net
Location: Bemidji

NACAC’s Adoptive Foster Kinship Connections, Child Welfare Professionals
ginnyblade@nacac.org
Location: virtual