|
|
Adoption Program
To understand Anoka County’s adoption program, interested persons should review the County’s adoption requirements and its recommended considerations (below on this page).
Requirements
- Be willing to take a child into your home - Anoka County adoptive parents may be single, married, childless, or already parenting children. Parents may rent or own their home. Having a high income is not a prerequisite.
- Complete a pre-adoption orientation and training program - 16 hrs
- Apply for an adoption - An Anoka County social worker will then be assigned to work with you on an adoption study.
- Participate in an adoption study - Also called a home study, it consists of a background check, references, expectations, etc. Every Minnesota resident wishing to adopt a child must have an adoption study completed by a licensed adoption agency.
For more information
To learn more about Anoka County Adoptions, to
register for an information meeting, or for training,
call 763-422-7104.
Adoption education and home studies are free of charge to individuals interested in Minnesota’s Waiting Children Program. Anoka County Social Services and a number of private agencies throughout the state of Minnesota are part of the Minnesota Public/Private Initiative. The agencies are listed below:
- African American Adoption and Permanency Planning Agency: 651-659-0460
- Bethany Christian Services: 763-553-0344
- Children’s Home Society and Family Services: 651-646-6393
- Crossroads Adoption Services: 952-831-5707
- Hope Adoptions: 651-439-2446
- Lutheran Social Service Adoption and Birth Parent Services: 1-888-205-3769
- North Homes, Inc.: 1-218-327-3055
- PATH: 651-646-3221
- Upper Midwest American Indian Center: 612-522-4436
Considerations
- Concurrent or Permanency Planning Foster Care
Also called permanency planning foster care, concurrent planning is a dual-track case plan. The plan provides foster care for a child while the foster parent works closely with the child’s birth family toward reunification. If the child’s reunification with the birth parents becomes impossible, the child in foster care may be adopted by the foster parent. Most children who have this option as part of their case plan are under the age of eight years old. This may not be a good alternative for families interested in adopting a very young child or infant.
The job of a foster parent is to provide temporary care for a child whose family of origin is experiencing problems and cannot adequately care for a child. The goal of foster care is to reunite the child with his or her birth family as quickly and safely as possible.
Foster care providers receive a monthly stipend to help provide for the child in their temporary care. The stipend varies and is determined by the child’s needs. For more details, see Anoka County Child Foster Care.
- Cost
There are no placement fees or charges for a home study if you apply to adopt one of Minnesota’s Waiting Children. Depending on the child’s special needs, financial assistance may be available. The program reimburses families for costs of non-medical items and provides adoptive parents with resources to help secure the services and support necessary to meet children’s special needs. In addition, the program provides Medical Assistance as a backup to families’ health insurance. For more on this program see MN Department of Human Services.
- Length of Time
There is no “typical” length of time to complete the adoption program. How long the process takes depends on the time it takes to complete the requirements and find a child who may be a good fit with a family.
If you are an Anoka County resident who wishes to consider adopting a child, please arrange to attend a Pre-Adoption Orientation & Training Program. You may do so by calling 763-422-7104 or by using the registration page on this Web site. You may also attend one of the many Adoption Orientation & Training Programs throughout the metro area that can be found at Minnesota Adoption Resource Network (MARN).
For more information, an excellent general description of the adoption process in Minnesota can be found at Minnesota Adoption Support and Preservation.