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The Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson handles complaints from anyone, prioritizing concerns from young people about their rights, care, safety, and placement in Minnesota foster care, including youth in Extended Foster Care and those who have recently aged out of care.
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Opportunity: Extended Foster Care Research
The Office of the Foster Youth Ombudsperson (OOFY) is working with Child Trends on a study of how young people with foster care experience in MN learn about and decide to use extended foster care (EFC).
Are you currently in or formerly in foster care, and are you 18 years old or older? If so, join our research study about how Minnesotans who are or were in foster care access extended foster care (EFC services support the transition to adulthood for Fosters 18-21).
If eligible, you may be invited to a one-on-one virtual interview, and the interview may be either 30 or 45 minutes long. If interviewed, you’d get a Visa gift card for up to $50 as a thank you for your time.
This information can help adults make EFC easier to access and use by learning what support may be helpful to young people like you after aging out of foster care. You must be eligible currently or in the past for EFC, and we can help check this eligibility. You do not have to be currently enrolled in EFC to join this study.
For more info, complete the form below:
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Join us in celebrating Foster Care Awareness Month and OOFY’s One Year Anniversary!
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When? May 20th, 2025 from 4-6 (stop by anytime!).
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Where? Minnesota State Capitol Front Steps.
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What? Foster Community Celebration, interactive activities, and snacks!
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Who? Those with lived experience in foster care. Supporters are also welcomed and encouraged to support Fosters in attending.
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The voices of LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans matter! The LGBTQIA2S+ Community Needs Survey is now open, and we encourage you to take part. This survey, conducted by the Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans, helps identify the needs, challenges, and priorities of our communities, guiding advocacy for increased resources and better protections in Minnesota.
The survey is anonymous and confidential, takes about 15-30 minutes, and is available online in multiple languages. This survey is an opportunity for LGBTQIA2S+ individuals 18 and older and parents/caregivers of LGBTQIA2S+ youth to share experiences, challenges, and priorities to help shape policies, programs, and advocacy efforts in Minnesota. Foster parents, group home staff, caseworkers, and others in a caretaking role for foster youth are also able to complete the survey. Your input will be used to craft recommendations for decision-makers and help ensure resources go where they are needed most.
The Council on LGBTQIA2S+ Minnesotans is also hosting Community Conversations for individuals over and under 18. They are committed to ensuring the participation of Fosters in these efforts. To learn more, contact Mars Kamenski mars.kamenski@state.mn.us or Kelsey Watts Kelsey.watts@state.mn.us for more information.
Please share this with your networks—every response strengthens the impact!
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OOFY staff have been learning from our professional colleagues across the country and at home, including:
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The 43rd Annual National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) Protecting Our Children Conference in Florida,
- The Child Welfare League of America Annual Conference in Washington, DC, and,
- The Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CACSW) 2025 Spring Conference: Tensions and Trade-offs: Child Welfare and the Evolving Role of Technology, here in the Twin Cities.
We look forward to our continued learning through opportunities such as these.
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While the Foster Bill of Rights will be not be advancing this session, we are committed to continuing to work on it in preparation for next year. Our office wanted to be sure to move forward with a Bill of Rights that reflects the priorities and needs of foster youth, and we took the time we needed to do so! This meant the draft was introduced later than we would have preferred, but we will be ready for next session.
We will be sharing action steps for any stakeholders that want to support this effort. This article discusses the bill:
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Disclaimer: OOFY is excited to share opportunities that may be of interest to the Foster community but does not endorse or assume any liability for participation in projects led by external entities.
The University of Minnesota School of Social Work is completing a research project on the experiences of crossover youth - those who have experience with both child welfare and juvenile/criminal justice. Young people are welcome to contact Ceema Samimi directly at csamimi@umn.edu.
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