Foster Care Services in Minnesota

Foster care is the temporary placement of children and youth with families outside of their own home when they are in need of a safe, stable, and nurturing environment. When a child must be separated from their family situation, we help find them a healthy and safe home until permanency can be found.

Children often enter the foster care system at no fault of their own—when their home life has become unsafe and/or unstable, often because of child abuse, abandonment, or neglect. Children referred to Nexus come to us with a wide range of life experiences, mental and physical health needs, and varying levels of trauma and they usually require a more intense, hands-on approach to foster care.

We serve youth from ages 0 to 21.

We are always looking for great people who want to truly invest in youth. When you become a foster parent licensed through Nexus, you have the opportunity to serve children in and near your community. You’ll be responsible for meeting their basic needs and playing a key role in their health and healing as a team member focused on the short- and long-term needs of the child. Our team of professionals will provide support, resources, and specialized training to help you successfully care for each child.

Click here to learn more about how to get involved in our foster care programs.

Foster parenting is a serious commitment. It comes with challenges, but is also highly rewarding. It requires the willingness to offer unconditional love to children and youth who are struggling. It requires the ability to bond and attach to children quickly, but still be able to separate from those children when they are reunited with their family or a permanent family is found.

We provide plenty of support and training to our foster families, and we’re always here to help.

Foster parents can be single or married, have children of their own, have no children, be grandparents, or be hoping to adopt. All that’s needed is a bedroom for the foster child, a commitment to their safety, and a complete willingness to:

• invest in their future
• accept their histories
• welcome them as a family member
• learn and grow
• and be part of the child’s support team

In order to be licensed as a foster parent, you must complete the licensure process as well as be at least 21 years of age.

We provide each family with a licensed social worker—both for the parents and the foster child—as well as 24-hour on-call support. We also host monthly support group meetings with other foster parents and provide relief care for your foster child so you can have an occasional break.

No. All children in foster care qualify for Medical Assistance or are covered by their parents’ medical insurance, so you will accrue no medical bills or responsibility to pay medical bills for your foster child. In addition, school lunches are free for all foster children. 

Beyond that, each individual state determines a reimbursement rate for foster providers. Using that reimbursement, licensed providers are responsible for meeting each youth’s basic needs, including housing, food, clothing, supervision, school fees, reasonable school and recreational activities, transportation, allowances, and personal needs. Payment for extraordinary expenses are negotiated directly with your Nexus agency. 

Yes! One of our most important goals is to fully equip and continually train our foster parents on how to best meet the needs of the youth in their care. We have specific education requirements for each of our foster programs. Please speak with your Nexus foster care contact to learn the specific requirements.

Review state options to learn more about each one of these steps:

1. Let’s meet.
2. Start the paperwork.
3. Prepare for success with some training and support.
4. Wait for your licensing.
5. Welcome a child into your family.

Click to choose one of the locations below.

• Minnesota
  – Foster Care
  – Adoption
• North Dakota
  – Treatment Foster Care Services
  – Host Homes
• Maryland
  – Treatment Foster Care Services