Child Foster Care

Sherburne County Child Welfare services focus on keeping children safe within their own homes whenever possible. When children cannot remain safely in their own homes, foster care may become necessary. Foster care provides children with a safe living environment, stability, affection, consistency and nurturing.

Why Children Enter Foster Care

Children enter foster care for many reasons-their own disability or behavior, or their parents / caregivers neglect, abuse or inability to properly care for their child. For children and families involved with the foster care system, services focus improving the conditions and/or behavior that lead to foster care placement so children may be reunified with their parents as soon as possible. Foster care is temporary and most children continue to visit their parents until they are able to be reunited.

Permanent Homes

In some cases, reunification between children and parents is not possible. When this occurs, family members and other persons important to the child are contacted in an effort to find a permanent home for the child. When extended family is unable to fill this role, foster families may provide permanent foster care, accept a transfer of legal custody or adopt the child in their care.

Child Foster Care Licensing

To learn about child foster care and begin the licensing process, you are asked to attend a Foster Care Information meeting, held at the Sherburne County Government Center every other month.

Here is the link to the Foster Care Information Meeting Recording.

Due to COVID-19, Information meetings are not being held in-person at this time. Upon viewing the recording, please email Chelsea with any questions you may have or to request a Foster Care and Application and Individual Fact Sheets. 

The child foster care licensing process typically takes 90 to 120 days to complete. When Sherburne County Health and Human Services has received all necessary documents and has completed all evaluations associated with licensure, our agency has 20 days to submit our recommendation regarding approval or denial of the license to the Minnesota Commissioner of Human Services.

Mandatory Training

Child Foster Care Applicants:  You must complete the following four trainings and post-tests prior to becoming licensed.  Once you have finished each post-test, please save it on your device and email it to your Licensor.

Licensors: Chelsea Doherty, Anna Byrnes & Kerry Goshorn