North Dakota foster care and adoption guidelines

Thank you for your interest in adoption from foster care!

State contact information

North Dakota Health and Human Services, Children and Family Services Division: 800-245-3736 or 701-328-2316.

Foster care and adoption licensing requirements

Foster parenting

Foster parenting requires no extraordinary talent—just patience, flexibility, and the ability to provide a stable family life during a time of crisis and until a permanent living plan can be arranged.

The North Dakota foster care system does not exclude anyone interested in becoming a foster parent because of race, creed, religious belief, or marital status. Some important characteristics are good parenting skills (or the willingness to learn them), the time and energy to invest in a child's life, and a genuine concern for the well-being of children and families.

Please visit the North Dakota Health and Human Services foster care website for more information on foster care.

Adoption

Who can adopt?

Adoptive parents may be married or single, childless or already parenting other children.
Having a disability does not automatically disqualify anyone from adopting a child; rather, agencies want to ensure that a prospective adoptive parent can care for a child and meet the child's needs throughout childhood.
Divorce or a history of marital or personal counseling does not automatically eliminate individuals as candidates.
People are not required to own their own homes or to have high incomes in order to give children what they need—permanence, stability, a lifetime commitment, and a chance to be part of a family.
Children do not need "perfect" parents. They need one or more caring and committed individuals who are willing to meet their needs and to incorporate them into a nurturing family environment.
Families adopting from the foster care system are not required to be licensed as foster parents.

Agencies placing children for adoption will discuss their specific eligibility regulations and placement options with prospective parents.

Please visit the North Dakota Health and Human Services adoption website for more information on adoption.

Adoption agency

In North Dakota, private agencies facilitate "public agency adoptions" (i.e., the adoption of children from the foster care system). North Dakota contracts with a private agency, Catholic Charities North Dakota, to provide adoption services for children being adopted from the foster care system and the families that adopt them. This program is called the North Dakota Adoption Network (NDAN).

Costs to foster and adopt

The costs for adopting a child through the NDAN program are very minimal. At the most a family will pay several hundred dollars for these services.

Federal or state subsidies may be available to assist families adopting a child with special needs.

Post-adoption support services

See a comprehensive list of post-adoption and guardianship support services and support groups available to families who live in North Dakota.

Agency contact and orientation information

Contact: Kara Eastlund, MSW, LCSW
Director of Adoption and Permanency Services
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 701-356-7985

Contact: Morgan Nerat, Assistant Director of Adoption and Permanency Services
[email protected]
701-356-7985

Contact: Nicole Larson, Operations Manager of Adoption and Permanency Services
[email protected]
701-970-9931

Contact: Jackie Stroehl, Permanency Manager
[email protected]
701-371-1080

Human service zone offices

To access the contact information for your human service zone office, view the online map.

Therapeutic foster care

View a list of therapeutic foster care contact information.

Information on North Dakota's children

During Federal Fiscal Year 2024, there were 1,237 children in foster care in North Dakota; 319 of these children are waiting for adoptive families.

*citation: Children Bureau’s Child Welfare Outcomes Report Data https://cwoutcomes.acf.hhs.gov/cwodatasite/