Traditional Foster Care

In Traditional Foster Care, the foster parents will serve as the support system for any children in their care. They will ensure that the children remain connected to their community, peers, and birth families. The foster care providers will support the health, safety, and well-being of the child or children in their care until they can be reunified with their birth family or permanency can be achieved through adoption, a transfer of legal and physical custody, or an independent living plan created for extended foster care.

Traditional Foster Care Costs

Our foster care programs have very little fees associated with them. All the training, licensing, and paperwork for the programs are covered. Fees include $9 – $10 for fingerprinting, and $25 – $35/person car seat safety training. Families must be able to complete the home safety walkthrough which sometimes requires that families purchase items for their home to meet those requirements (i.e. fire extinguisher). There are ways EVOLVE can assist families with these small costs. We also provide assistance with all steps of the process, whether you need help filling out forms or have questions about anything. We’re here to help you out.

General Foster Care Provider Requirements

Reside in the state of Minnesota
Be 21 years or older
Complete the full MN DHS Foster Care application
Pass a criminal background check for all household members over age 13
Complete a full Foster Care Home Study Assessment

In addition to these general requirements, EVOLVE holds other expectations of our foster care providers.

Characteristics needed to be a good foster parent include:

Stability
Strong support system, surrounded by others that understand trauma, the needs of children in care, and the value of difference and uniqueness of each child.
Flexibility
Strong ability to advocate for the children in care
Strong communication skills
Teamwork
Willingness to learn and seek out opportunities that enhance understanding related to children in care
Understanding of your own capacity and limits
Access to supports and/or being willing to ask for help when needed
Ability to honor and support the cultural needs of children in foster care (race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, family history)

To learn more about our Foster Care programs, sign up for an info session!