May is Foster Care Month

In Minnesota, nearly 6,000 children and youth are in a foster care setting on any given day, according to preliminary 2024 figures recently released by the state’s department of youth, children and families.

Speaking with people involved in the foster care system, however, quickly reveals a set of fast-moving dynamics behind the apparently straightforward number.

Statewide statistics indicate caretaker drug abuse leads to about one-fourth of the removals, with allegations of abuse and neglect leading, respectively, to about 15 and 12 percent.

Billie Frantesl is a supervisor in the “child and family” department of MNPrairie, a collaborative social services agency shared by Dodge, Steele and Waseca counties. She and child foster care licensor Jill Gannon work with foster care providers in all three counties.

The two share that Minnesota emphasizes finding a family member or familiar household when children must be removed from the care of their parents. They mention with pride that, while the state imposes a minimum of 35 percent “family” placements, MNPrairie consistently maintains about 70 percent.

“It reduces the amount of disruption the child experiences,” says Gannon of placing children with families. “And sometimes it means things start happening very quickly.” She goes on to explain that, once an unsafe home environment is recognized, children may be removed quite abruptly, leading to sudden, often unexpected requests that family members consider taking the steps to be licensed. Gannon explains that, though acquiring licensing may take weeks, the law allows provisional placements when needed.

Frantesl expresses frustration regarding negative public impressions. “Unfortunately, when the foster care system is in the news, it’s often for a negative reason,” she observes. “Our foster care providers are caring, well-intended people who work hard to help children.

“It frustrates me that those kinds of reports perpetuate a negative impression of absolutely great people.”

Requirements to become a foster care provider are simpler than many people realize, says Candy Picka of Lutheran Social Services out of Mankato. “If you have room in your heart and room in your house,” she says, “you can be a foster care provider on some level.”

Legal requirements are that an individual be at least 21 years old, have a stable home environment, pass a background check, and be willing to commit the time to follow through on the licensing process. Though some of the required paperwork can be intimidating, she goes on to say, agencies like MNPrairie and Lutheran Social Services are glad to provide support and assistance.

All three human services providers emphasize the need for foster care families, and the flexible ways the role can be worked into people’s lives.

“We have a desperate need for ‘respite’ care providers,” observes Gannon, going on to explain respite care involves taking children for a short term to allow either birth or foster parents a few days to take care of other responsibilities.

Gannon, who now works directly with families providing foster care, was first a foster care provider herself, and even went on to adopt a child placed with her. “I’m still ‘Mom’ to her,” says Gannon of the daughter who is now an adult. “And ‘Grandma’ to her daughter.”

Gannon says a foster care setting provides a level of stability and reliability that has usually been missing in children’s lives. She offers the example of “food hoarding,” a behavior children sometimes exhibit as they move into a new setting.

“It was a habit that helped them when there was food insecurity,” she observes. “And though it will no longer be needed, it’s something they’re often not ready to let go of.”

Gannon says she works with foster parents to find ways to help children gradually let go of old habits. “We work with them where they’re at,” she says of the children, “since we recognize their lives have been turned upside down.”

One 17-year-old currently in foster care in Waseca County was placed for the first time within the past year. “I was nervous,” he admits as he remembers the process. “Everything leading up to it was bad, but I guess I knew I would be safer there.” With the perspective of the past months now behind him, he observes it has been good for him to be in a more stable setting, and even to have stricter rules imposed. “Now I know what a good, true, honest family looks like,” he comments, “and I know what I might want to change about the way I see the world.

“For me, it’s been much better than being at home.”

“It’s not enough to ‘just love’ them,” says Gannon of caring for foster children. “They need a connection and, in many cases, someone to hold them accountable.

“Sometimes, the harder they push, the more it’s an indication of what they need.”

Anyone interested in more information about providing foster care is invited to connect with Lutheran Social Services at candy.picka@LSSMN.org or with Gannon at MNPrairie: jill.gannon@mnprairie.gov.