My name is Danielle Brown and I have worked with Ampersand Families as a Youth Permanency Specialist for more than five years. Last year, I humbly accepted an additional role with a new program offered at our agency. This program is called Innovative Targeted Recruitment for African American Youth. Innovative Targeted Recruitment for African American Youth works to establish community partnerships that engage in targeted recruitment to meet the needs of African American Continue Reading
Blog posts
Personal Belongings: What to Know for Minnesota Adoptees & their Descendants
Did you know that Minnesota’s Department of Children Youth and Families is storing adoptees personal belongings? Items date back 100 years! Personal belongings in adoption files may have been contributed by birth parents, adoptive parents, adoptees, or case workers. Items can still be submitted at any time. Between the 1940s and 1960s, the department began removing and safekeeping personal belongings, logging and storing them separately with references in Continue Reading
Childhood trauma impacts brain development. Here’s how we’re helping.
Patricia Leach is a Permanency Specialist with Ampersand Families. Continue Reading
Supporting and Affirming LGBTQ+ Youth: New training for families
Amidst the increase in anti-trans bills that are being introduced and passed in states around the county, Ampersand Families is reaffirming our commitment – and Minnesota’s commitment – to centering the emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing of youth in foster care. Researchers have found that a disproportionate number of youth in care identify as LGBTQ+ compared to youth in the general population1,2,3. This makes enforcing Minnesota’s existing laws4 that foster Continue Reading
Relative Search: What is it and why is it important?
Relative search is a service at Ampersand Families for youth in foster care who need placement and support. The goal of relative search is to identify relatives and attempt contact with them. Relative search involves identifying grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. as well as other individuals described as “kin.” Kin is any person in a youth’s life who has a significant relationship with them. This might include a coach, teacher, neighbor, or other caring Continue Reading
Ampersand Families joins the Quality Parenting Initiative
Ampersand Families has joined the Quality Parenting Initiative (QPI) as a fully trained Minnesota site! What this means for Ampersand Families is that we’ve dedicated our efforts to ensuring that quality parenting and lasting relationships are practiced within every part of our agency. This will help us ensure that the voices of our families, relatives, and youth we serve are at the center of our practice, advocacy, and drive for policy change. What is QPI? QPI is Continue Reading
