Permanency Hub MN

In-Person Kinship Support and Education Groups
2024-05-04 10:00 - 11:30 (America/Chicago) | Peace Lutheran Church, 4512 France Ave N, Robbinsdale, 55422
Our Kinship Support and Education Groups are open to all kinship caregivers- those caring for a relative’s or friend’s child. We offer both virtual and in-person group sessions. Virtual sessions occur the first and third Friday of every month, while the in-person sessions take place the first Saturday of every month.
Join us when you can for mutual support, ideas.

Foster Care and Adoption Education Classes – In-Person
2024-05-03 09:00 - 2024-05-04 17:00 | Children’s Home – St. Paul Office, 1605 Eustis Street, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, United States
The in-person track is best suited for individuals who need or desire to complete their education quickly, prefer in-person learning and/or those who have previously completed education and want a refresher course.
This track will primarily take place during two live consecutive days (Friday/Saturday) with minimal use of the online learning management system which includes introductory sessions as well as a pre- and post- test.

[IN-PERSON] [For Professionals] Caregiver Mental Health
2024-05-02 10:30 - 12:30 | St. Cloud Library 1300 W. St. Germain St. St. Cloud, MN 56301, 1300 W. St. Germain St., St. Cloud, 56301
This in-person event will be held at the St. Cloud Library – 1300 W. St. Germain St. St. Cloud, MN 56301
If capacity limit is reached, please email edu@fosteradoptmn.org to join the waitlist.
Please join Brandon Jensen for an in-person training for professionals. Caregivers face a myriad of struggles and difficulties in their role. Perhaps one of the more understated struggles is the toll of caregiving on mental health. This workshop will cover the various ways that caregiver’s mental health is impacted in their role, and also seek to empower caregivers with tools and strategies to better address their mental health needs.
Brandon Jensen, MS LMFT PACC, is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, a Board Approved Supervisor, an Adjunct Professor, a Prepare/Enrich Seminar Director, Public Speaker, Trainer, and a Permanency and Adoption Competent Clinician.
Brandon specializes in working with children, adolescents, adults, couples, and families. He has extensive training in Trauma, Adoption, Gottman Approach Couples Therapy, Prepare/Enrich, Sand Tray Therapy, Attachment, Narrative Family Therapy, Strategic Family Therapy, and Cultural Curiosity Models.
Brandon uses a strength-based approach, empowering individuals, couples, and families to improve their lives.

Foster Care and Adoption Education Classes – Hybrid
2024-04-26 10:00 - 16:00 | Children’s Home – St. Paul Office, 1605 Eustis Street, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, United States
This education option is the balance between the in-person and online options. It is best suited for individuals who want to move swiftly and prefer a blended learning style.
Your education will begin with an online pre-test as well as introductory and a guest speaker section of online learning. This can be completed at your convenience prior to the one required live session. The live session is a shorter, in-person day of learning. Following the in-person session, you will finish by viewing content from two more guest speakers, closing online material, and a post-test.

[FosterEd] Concurrent Planning and the Children/Youth We Care For
2024-04-25 18:30 - 20:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Concurrent planning simply means that two plans are being worked on at the same time. This approach emphasizes reunification and establishes an alternative permanency plan if a child cannot return home. In this presentation we will explore the history of concurrent planning, why we do it and why it is important.
Keatha McLeod has been a nurse for 40+ years, Foster Parent 20+ years, PRIDE trainer for 20 years, Presenter at North Dakota Foster Parent conferences, and presenter at the National ATTACH conference. Keatha is currently a Therapeutic Foster Care Coordinator with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota out of Moorhead and is an adoptive parent.
Closed Captioning is available once the webinar begins

Caregiver Roundtable
2024-04-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Ampersand Families Office, 1751 County Rd B West Suite 300, Roseville, 55113
For all Ampersand-affiliated adoptive, pre-adoptive, and kinship caregivers. Caregivers are invited to share their experiences and get support from other caregivers while youth participate in an activity supervised by Ampersand Families staff. Dinner is provided for all. Invites go out approximately 2 weeks before the event. Hybrid option available. Please RSVP to mina@ampersandfamilies.org.

ICW Youth Event
2024-04-25 15:30 - 18:30
serving all youth involved with White Earth Indian Child Welfare and/or White Earth Adoptions Program
Learn basic auto maintenance and auto repair skills crucial for young people. Learn how to: check oil, tire pressure, change a flat tire, keeping documents safe and protected and other basic skills.
There will be food and door prizes!
We will be outside, so please dress accordingly! For transportation needs and to register please call Kristi at 218-850-9975

[FosterEd] ADHD: Developing Greater Understanding for More Effective Strategies
2024-04-24 12:30 - 14:30 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
This workshop will increase participants’ knowledge of ADHD including what it is and how ADHD can present for different people. Through developing a greater understanding, methods and strategies for supporting individuals with ADHD can be cultivated and fine-tuned.
Kelly Pieper is a therapist, supervisor, and consultant in the Twin Cities area. She has 10+ years of practice experience and 6+ years of experience as a reflective supervisor for newly licensed and unlicensed clinicians. Kelly has advanced training in adoption and permanency issues and completed the Permanency and Adoption Competency program through the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare in 2013. She also is a rostered Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) clinician and an endorsed Early Childhood Mental Health Professional. Outside of direct clinical work, Kelly acts as an early childhood mental health consultant to childcare professionals and has delivered trainings to groups from 3-300 on a variety of topics. Kelly is a passionate clinician who believes that children deserve to have services that are tailored, developmentally appropriate, and trauma-informed.

Attachment - Why is it Important?
2024-04-23 18:30 - 20:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Attachment is the foundation of human development that is essential to the development of trust. Trust allows us to move forward in developing the skills we need to travel through life. This class will discuss the attachment cycle, how trust develops and the importance of this basic interaction. We will look at attachment on a continuum and discuss two styles of attachment.
Course description:
We will explore the foundations of attachment, how it impacts the developing brain and implications for building healthy relationships.
Objectives:

Identify two types of attachment
Describe the attachment cycle
Identify characteristic of secure attachment vs disorganized attachment.

Presenter: Keatha McLeod, ADN, LSS Therapeutic Fostercare Coordinator
Keatha has been a foster parent for more than 20 years. She has presented at ATTACh, the national conference for the Association for Training on Trauma and Attachment in Children. In addition, she has 20 years of experience as a PRIDE trainer on trauma and attachment in children and youth.
Questions? Contact: Keatha McLeod, Therapeutic Foster Care Coordinator at keatha.mcleod@lssmn.org or 701.446.7652 for accommodation requests connected to a disability. Services are intended to be inclusive and accessible.
This service is provided by funding made possible through the Minnesota Department of Human Services.
Audience is for Minnesota residents ONLY.

Children’s Home and LSS Foster Care & Adoption Orientation
2024-04-23 18:00 - 20:00 | Children’s Home – St. Paul Office, 1605 Eustis Street, Saint Paul, MN, 55108, United States
Children’s Home and LSS welcome you to attend this free meeting to learn about fostering and adopting children from within the Minnesota foster care system. This orientation will provide an overview of the process and address details such as children served, timelines, fees (spoiler: there are practically none!), licensing requirements, and more.
Along with completing this two-hour orientation, you will also need to complete Foster Care & Adoption Education Class. Many families find it helpful to attend this orientation first because it is less time-intensive and will answer many of the general questions you may have about the p

Foster Care and Education Classes – Online
2024-04-23 12:00 - 13:00, 2024-04-11 20:00 - 21:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
The online track is best suited for individuals who want flexibility, have limited business hour availability, and/or those who prefer virtual learning.
Couples may complete their education together or pursue it separately. Either way, each participant must attend the entirety of their chosen track.
In this track, you will complete your education over a four-week period. In addition to pre- and post-tests to assess your learning, you will participate in a required, pre-scheduled check-in with our education facilitators each week.
This class is available in Spanish upon request.

Parenting When Trauma Derails Development
2024-04-22 11:00 - 13:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Parenting when Trauma derails child development: Let’s talk about parenting strategies to get back on track. Often times, foster and adopted children have experienced some trauma during their young lives. This webinar will provide a basic understanding of brain development and what happens to development when children do experience trauma. We will review key development tasks for young children (ages 0-5), school-aged children (ages 6-13), and adolescents (ages 14–21), and recognize trauma’s impact on developmental tasks. Together, we will talk through parenting strategies that can rebuild the connections that have been lost. We will discuss how to get development back on track. Foster and adopted parents at all experience levels are welcome to attend, listen, and share their wisdom.
Char McDonald MSW, LICSW earned her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of St. Thomas/St. Catherine University in 2011. She is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker by the MN Board of Social Work and has certificates in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and Permanency and Adoption.
Char has over 20 years of experience working with children and families in a variety of roles. She has expertise in the child welfare system, infant and early childhood mental health, child development, DC:0-5 assessments, Circle of Security, foster care and adoption, suicide first aid, and attachment. The majority of Char’s career has been spent working with children and adolescents in foster care, and their birth, foster, and adoptive parents with an array of presenting issues. She has experience working with individuals and families who have experienced trauma, chemical use challenges, domestic violence, and those who identify with the LGBTQ+ community, and have challenges related to anxiety and depression.
Char uses a variety of therapeutic modalities in her practice while focusing on client and family strengths, including components of cognitive behavioral therapy, trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, family systems, solution-focused therapy, neuroscience, and mindfulness and relaxation. Char carries a small caseload at Main Street Family Services, while providing supervision and oversight to other clinical staff.

Relative/Kin Caregiver Retreat
2024-04-19 - 2024-04-21
All Ampersand-affiliated relative/kin families are invited to attend the family retreat at Cedar Valley Resort from April 19-21! RSVP here and ask questions by emailing mina@ampersandfamilies.org.

Foster & Adoptee Youth Retreat
2024-04-19 - 2024-04-21 | Camp Knutson, 11148 Manhattan Point Blvd, Cross Lake, 56422
Lutheran Social Service (LSS) is excited to offer a special opportunity for foster and foster adopted youth (ages 13-17) to spend a weekend among peers who have shared life experiences at Camp Knutson (Camp K) in Crosslake, Minnesota. In addition to helping foster and foster adopted youth build new connections and make new friends, this retreat will offer an opportunity for siblings who are not currently residing in the same placement to spend quality time together and maintain their familial bond. Registration priority will be given to siblings who do not reside in the same household. Whether attending with a sibling or not, every youth will gain valuable life skills that can be used long after the retreat has concluded.
This event is currently full. Due to the high volume of interest received, we are no longer accepting additions to the waitlist.

[IN-PERSON] Tracking the Body to Interpret and Respond in Foster & Adoptive Relationships
2024-04-18 18:00 - 20:00 | 2117 Campus Drive SE Rochester, MN 55904, 2117 Campus Drive SE Rochester, MN 55904, Rochester, 55904
This in-person event will be held at Olmsted County Community Services 2117 Campus Drive SE Rochester, MN 55904
If capacity limit is reached, please email edu@fosteradoptmn.org to join the waitlist.
This workshop will provide ways to support caregivers in increasing awareness of body indicators of attachment and trauma wounds as they show up in foster and adoptive youth. Through experiential exercises and some lecture, the participant will walk away with:
1) Increased ability to interpret and respond in ways that build connectivity/felt sense of safety
2) Increased understanding of somatic attunement
3) Increased interventions to navigate distressed states
4) Ability to recognize and manage one’s own distressed state
Lisa Johnson Taylor (she, her, hers) is a Licensed Psychologist who has practiced in the mental health field for over 30 years. She has worked with children, adolescents, adults, and families in a variety of capacities (including school-based day treatment, in home family therapy, intensive outpatient programs, and mental health clinics). Lisa is passionate about integrating Sensorimotor Psychotherapy into group settings. She co-facilitates experiences to collectively access the wisdom of the body when leading her Trauma Skills groups as well as offering Restorative workshops for Caregivers. Although Sensorimotor Psychotherapy primarily informs her work, she synthesizes aspects of IFS, ART, AIR Network, spirituality, nature based healing, and other somatic based inquiry. Lisa is committed to an ongoing mindful study of how her cisgendered white body privilege impacts all those with whom she intersects.
Wendy L. Baker, MSW, LICSW, is the co-founder of Family Circle Counseling, PLLC, in St. Paul, MN, a family focused group practice, with particular dedication to adoptive and foster care families and their unique and potentially complex, intensive therapeutic needs. Before founding Family Circle Counseling, Wendy worked at Wilder Foundation Residential Treatment, providing individual and family therapy and supervised direct care staff. She is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Developmental Psychology program and received her MSW from the University of Minnesota.
Wendy has over 40 years of clinical experience with children, families and individuals of all ages. She specializes in clinical work with survivors of complex trauma healing from developmental and relational wounds such as childhood neglect, physical & sexual abuse, and attachment traumas/disruptions. She has advanced professional training in the areas of attachment, complex trauma, child development, play therapy, infant-early child therapy, expressive therapy, and family. Wendy uses several methods, including EMDR, Sensorimotor Psychotherapy, Theraplay, Play Therapy, Art Therapy, Sandtray and Emotion Focused therapy.
Wendy is also a seasoned educator. She has been the lead trainer for the post-graduate certification course at the University of Minnesota on Permanency and Adoption Competency Certification (PACC) for the past 13 years and provides clinical supervision and consultation around adoption, attachment and complex trauma work. She conducts parent and professional trainings through NACAC and MACMH, schooling participants on attachment, trauma, attachment assessments, and approaches for working with attachment challenged adolescents.

[Part 2] Consent Toolbox Through a Cultural Lens - Age 10 to 18
2024-04-18 10:00 - 11:30 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
The last of two sessions will focus on youth ages 10-18. Please note: Part one of this series (on April 3) addresses ages 0-9.
Consent is complex and this workshop will give participants the tools to make sure youth understand consent even when they have experienced sexual abuse themselves. Participants will increase their understanding of how historical trauma, privilege and sexual abuse impacts youth development, specifically when it comes to teaching consent. This workshop will help participants empower youth ages 10-18 in understanding and teaching consent. Participants will also learn how to intervene early with youth who are having difficulty with boundary crossing and inappropriate behaviors.
Learning objectives for youth in the 10-18 age range:
Participants will learn how unresolved collective/historical trauma impacts youth perception of consent and privilege.
Participants will learn 3 main concepts that need to be covered when teaching youth about consent.
Participants will learn how to effectively respond to youth who are crossing boundaries with peers and younger children.
Participants will learn how to implement 3 activities that they can use with youth to highlight understanding of the 3 main consent concepts.
This workshop will offer historical perspectives and how they relate to sexual abuse, often creating intergenerational trauma that impacts risk for sexual abuse. The workshop will offer hands on tools and activities that participants can use to address consent with youth from ages 10 to 18. Lastly, the presenters will focus on the importance of early intervention when youth behaviors are inappropriate.
This material will be offered within the context of a wide range of family beliefs and perspectives. Care will be given to respecting the collective trauma many populations experience while still communicating important facts. The presenters will offer theoretical information and case discussion. There will be opportunities to try the tools with hands on activities.
Libby Bergman, LICSW, was one of three co-founders of the Family Enhancement Center and has served as the Executive Director since 2000. Libby has worked with youth and families for over 30 years and is a sought after expert and speaker on the subject of child abuse and neglect. Libby was the recipient of the 2011 Children’s Law Center of Minnesota’s Heroes for Children Award. She was honored again in 2013 with the University of Minnesota School of Social Work Alumna of the Year.
Skye is FEC’s Youth Intervention Program Manager and does psychotherapy with youth and adults, ages 10 and up. Skye is developing a curriculum called Violence Intervention through Relational Empowerment (VIRE), for youth who have experienced trauma and may be at risk for engaging in harmful behaviors or experiencing future abuse. Skye grew up on the East Side of Saint Paul, obtained her Master’s in Social Work at the University of MN, Duluth, has experience working with adolescents in residential and outpatient settings, and previously worked under the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) as a county case manager. Skye is pursuing a Graduate Certification for specializing in Expressive Arts Therapy. Skye highly values community and family led practices that acknowledge historical and systematic traumas and emphasize intergenerational strengths and how they all relate to people on an individual level. She does not view her practice as the solution when working with families and individuals, but rather as just another tool in their toolbox.

Search & Reunion Support Group
2024-04-17 18:00 - 20:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
This group is for adult adoptees and birth parents who are not related to one another and who are considering, or active in, search and reunion or have searched and the other party is not open to contact. This group is facilitated by CH/LSS staff. Members are supportive of one another and willing to share their reunion journeys with one another- including their successes, disappointments, and joys! Participants may have been adopted or placed a child through any type of adoption (infant, international, foster care adoption) and through any agency/county. This service is provided by funding made possible by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Meeting Details
This group meets on the third Wednesday of the month from 6:00-8:00 p.m. (CT). It alternates between online and in-person meetings.
In-person meetings will take place at our main office: 1605 Eustis Street, Saint Paul, MN 55108.
For virtual meetings, you will receive a Zoom link via email the day of the meeting.

Greater Minnesota Parent Support Group
2024-04-17 18:00 - 19:30 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Open to pre-adoptive, adoptive, foster, relative and/or kinship caregivers living in Greater Minnesota (outside the Twin Cities Metro Area). This online group is facilitated by CH/LSS staff and offers connection, positive parenting strategies, support, and more! After registration, you will receive a link to join the next Zoom session. This service is provided by funding made possible by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Meeting Details
This group meets online and takes place on the third Wednesday of the month from 6:00-7:30 p.m. (CT). There is no cost to attend. You may register to attend one, multiple, or all dates offered below.
For virtual meetings, you will receive a Zoom link via email the day of the meeting.

[Part 3] The Intersection of Transracial Adoption & Racial (in)Justice
2024-04-17 12:00 - 14:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Please join Angela Tucker for a three-part webinar series designed for adoption agencies (staff and families), child-welfare organizations and conferences.
Transracial caregiving is a multifaceted journey for the entire family, but it is often the child who bears the brunt of navigating the complexity of the experience. It is critical that caregivers and parents understand the history of why children of color are over-represented in child-welfare in order to avoid perpetuating racism and to instead embrace an anti-racist outlook to support the health and wellbeing of transracial adoptees and/or transracial foster youth. This workshop will provide a window into the nuanced first-hand narratives of adoptees through videos, anonymized case studies and Angela’s personal stories. This interactive workshop will leave you thinking about the role transracial adoption plays in our quest for racial justice in America.
PART 3
Transracial Adoptee Panel: Facilitated Discussion between Angela and a transracial adoptee panel. Question & answer session offered.
Angela Tucker is a Black woman adopted from foster care to white parents. Her debut book: YOU SHOULD BE GRATEFUL: Stories of Race Identity, and Transracial Adoption has received wide acclaim. Angela is the Founder and Executive Director of the Adoptee Mentoring Society and is the subject of Closure, a documentary that chronicles her search for her biological parents. As a film producer, author and cultural commentator, Angela has appeared on CNN, Al Jazeera, The Red Table Talk, in The New Yorker and has contributed to renowned fictional work, including Broadway’s Jagged Little Pill and NBC’s hit show, This Is Us.
Angela is married to Bryan Tucker, an Emmy-award winning filmmaker. They live in Seattle, Washington.

Strengthening Your Resilience as a Caregiver
2024-04-17 12:00 - 13:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Explore sources of stress inherent to kinship caregiving, understand the important role of kinship caregiving, identify your protective factors, and identify what you can do to address stress in helpful ways to become more resilient.
Presenter: Janet Salo is a Kinship Navigator with the Kinship Family Support Services, a service of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS). She is a fierce advocate for kinship caregivers and the children in their care. She brings more than 25 years of nonprofit experience focusing on advocacy and support of individuals with unique abilities and needs, educational advocacy, training and support for kinship caregivers, and children in transition.

DHS Presentation: Independent Living Skills Planning and Youth Engagement
2024-04-16 14:00 - 15:30 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Please join us for a workshop in which we will explore ways to engage and empower youth in their own independent living plan. Kim Lemcke from DHS will provide tools and resources for county and tribal workers. She will also provide foster parents with ways to assist foster youth in navigating a successful transition to adulthood.
Kim Lemcke is the Independent Living Coordinator for the State of Minnesota, through the Department of Human Services, Adolescent Services Unit, with over 26 years of experience within the child welfare system. She has been in this position for over 10 years, working with county, tribal, and community agency staff to provide independent living skills services to eligible foster youth. Prior to this work, Kim was a child protection worker in a county agency for 13 years, which included coordinating as well as providing independent living services. Prior to that, Kim was a staff member at a residential treatment facility for 3 years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and a master’s degree in criminal justice.

Connect2Connect: Community Gathering
2024-04-13 11:00 - 13:00 | Sky Zone, 7625 Cahill Road, Edina, MN, 55439, United States
Join Us for Community & Connection
Connect2Connect provides opportunities for foster and adoptive families to connect with one another and build relationships in an in-person, interactive, and fun way. Connect2Connect is made possible by the Minnesota Department of Human Service Permanency Support Service grant.
Sky Zone
Saturday, April 13, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Join us for an afternoon at Sky Zone indoor trampoline park in Fargo, North Dakota. Families can jump, play, and make new friends. We will host a party room with crafts and activities for those who do not wish to jump. Lunch will be provided, and all jumpers will receive Sky Socks, official Sky Zone jumping socks. All ages are welcome!
Confirmation information will be sent about a week prior to the event.
Please note: If you have a foster placement, you will need permission from the county to take the child out of the state.

Foster Care and Adoption Education Classes – In-Person
2024-04-12 09:00 - 2024-04-13 17:00 | Pioneer Grill, 4403 Pioneer Rd SE, Alexandria, 56308
This education option is best suited for individuals who need or desire to complete their education quickly, prefer in-person learning, and/or those who have previously completed education and want a refresher course.
Couples may complete their education together or pursue it separately. Either way, each participant must attend the entirety of their chosen track.
Your education will primarily take place during two in-person consecutive days (Fridays/Saturdays), with minimal use of the online learning management system which includes introductory sessions as well as a pre-and post-test.

Relative/Kinship Parenting and Building Resilience Training
2024-04-11 18:00 - 20:00
This training acknowledges the complexities associated with Relative/Kinship caregiving through fostering and adoption. Topics will include divided loyalties, redefining roles and relationships, setting boundaries with parents and other relatives, the range of emotions caregivers can feel and how children who have experienced trauma, separation, or loss can impact a caregiver’s own well-being. Strategies for how to manage family dynamics and conflicts, identify triggers and effectively manage stress are shared.
This training is for Ampersand kinship caregivers who are completing the home study assessment process. Please consult with your permanency specialist before signing up.

Adult Adoptee Support Group
2024-04-11 18:00 - 19:30 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Adult Adoptees from all placing agencies are welcome to attend. While each story is unique, we recognize that there are many core similarities that adoption weaves into life experiences. Topics will be suggested, but each month the conversation will be open to relevant, participant-led, discussion. This is a safe, confidential space, the group is facilitated by adult adoptee CH/LSS staff.
Participants may have been adopted through any type of adoption (infant, international, foster care adoption) and through any agency/county. After registration, you will receive information to join the next session. This service is provided by funding made possible by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Meeting Details
This group meets on the second Thursday of the month from 6:00-7:30 p.m. (CT). Meetings alternate between online and in-person options. There is no cost to attend. You may register to attend one, multiple, or all dates offered below.
In-person meetings will take place at our main office: 1605 Eustis Street, Saint Paul, MN 55108.
For virtual meetings, you will receive a Zoom link via email the day of the meeting.

Share and Support Group
2024-04-10 12:00 - 14:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Support Groups are an excellent tool where families are able to share experiences and encourage each other in a confidential, non-judgmental setting. Support Groups are facilitated by North Homes case managers, with years of experience in both adoption and foster care fields. It is an opportune time for families to network, problem solve and gather information on available resources and trainings.

[FosterEd] Understanding Human Trafficking
2024-04-10 11:00 - 12:30 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Human trafficking can seem like an issue that happens in distant countries, but both sex and labor trafficking happen in Minnesota every day. Young people are at increased risk of being trafficked, making it crucial that the adults in their lives understand the issue. Learn about human trafficking, how it happens, signs to watch for, and what to do if you suspect a youth is experiencing sex or labor trafficking. The Advocates for Human Rights works to address human trafficking; learn more about The Advocates for Human Rights work and how you can help.
Madeline Lohman is the Associate Program Director for Training and Technical Assistance with The Advocates for Human Rights. She develops training resources on core Advocates issue areas, including human rights advocacy for social justice organizations, international monitoring and reporting, and guidance for pro bono volunteers.
Madeline is also one of the Advocates experts on labor trafficking and exploitation. She has developed protocols for law enforcement and for community organizations to identify and respond to labor trafficking, conducted fact-finding on labor trafficking in Minnesota, and trained government officials, labor organizations, service providers, and law enforcement officials on labor trafficking.

Children’s Home and LSS Foster Care & Adoption Orientation
2024-04-08 18:00 - 20:00 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
Children’s Home and LSS welcome you to attend this free meeting to learn about fostering and adopting children from within the Minnesota foster care system. This orientation will provide an overview of the process and address details such as children served, timelines, fees (spoiler: there are practically none!), licensing requirements, and more.
Along with completing this two-hour orientation, you will also need to complete Foster Care & Adoption Education Class. Many families find it helpful to attend this orientation first because it is less time-intensive and will answer many of the general questions you may have about the process.

Pride Family Support Group
2024-04-08 18:00 - 19:30 | – Online Webinar/Training, Support Group, or Meeting, MN, United States
The group was created to provide foster and adoptive caregivers who are part of the LGBTQ+ community an opportunity to connect about their experiences as foster and adoptive parents.
This group is facilitated by CH/LSS staff. Participants may have worked with, or currently be working with, any agency/county for foster care or any type of adoption (foster care, infant, international). We ask that participants who are currently in the foster care/adoption process be home study approved. This service is provided by funding made possible by the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families.
Meeting Details
This group will meet on the second Monday of the month from 6:00-7:30 p.m. (CT). Meetings will alternate monthly between online and in-person sessions. There is no cost to attend. Childcare will be offered for in-person groups. You may register to attend one, multiple, or all dates offered below.
In-person meetings will take place at our main office location: 1605 Eustis Street, Saint Paul, MN 55108.
For virtual meetings, you will receive a Zoom link via email the day of the meeting.
