Mission Statement
The mission of Ampersand Families is to provide permanency and adoption services to older youth and families who face barriers to equity in child welfare, and to champion systemic changes that advance belonging, dignity and hope.
Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
During FY22, we supported 54 youth through child specific recruitment; 26 youth were placed for adoption or finalizations. Sixty relatives received consultation and support regarding their desire to provide permanency to a relative child. We started new innovative programming to search for, identity, and engage relatives at the initial point of children entering foster care, serving 17 youth, and piloted new efforts to re-engage relatives after parental rights have been terminated. We continued to deepen our post-placement supports by training in 13 new Buddy Family volunteers to provide support for our placement families. We returned to in-person family retreats and roundtables, hosting 10 Parent Roundtables, serving 43 families and three retreats serving 36 families. We increased our clinical supports to families from .5 FTE to two; completing seven assessments. Minnesota Heart Gallery provided 55 youth with professional photo sessions; these photos help with family recruitment. We strengthened the MYVoice program and provided opportunities for leadership development and engagement for 58 youth, averaging 27 youth per quarter; these are youth living in adoptive or relative guardianship homes, foster care, group homes or residential treatment.
Current Goals
In addition to stabilizing our core programs after a period of significant growth, we are instituting innovative services around relative engagement, targeted recruitment for children with sexualized behaviors and targeted recruitment with community partners.
Community or Constituency Served
We are Minnesota’s only nonprofit agency focused solely on meeting the permanency needs of older youth (age 10 years and older) and sibling groups in the child welfare system, serving all 87 counties and 11 Tribes. We are a resource for youth, families and professionals seeking to promote permanent relationships between teens who have experienced trauma and significant caring adults.
Geographic Area Served
The state of Minnesota and 11 Tribes within the boundaries of Minnesota.
