Build and restore meaningful relationships for youth.

Your support of Ampersand Families this year marks a critical time for youth and families striving for connection to relatives, kin, community, and culture in their search for a safe, permanent home.

This October, Ampersand Families is turning 18 and approaching a milestone marking adulthood that many young people in Minnesota's Child Welfare System look to with anxiety, angst, and apprehension. Typically entering their senior year of high school, these young people are quickly faced with what it truly means to age out of foster care unsupported:

"Highway to Homelessness"
A 2024 study found approx­i­mate­ly 22% to 30% of for­mer fos­ter youth who age out of care becom­e home­less dur­ing the tran­si­tion to adult­hood. This is sub­stan­tial­ly high­er than the esti­mat­ed 4% life­time preva­lence of home­less­ness in the gen­er­al population.

Struggles Rooted in Academic Difficulties
Lower educational outcomes directly impact careers and employment; however, lack of education also lowers lifelong mental and physical health, poor self-esteem from lack of inclusion in extracurricular and "normal" social activities, and further stigmatizes their identity as Fosters.Accord­ing to the KIDS COUNT® Data Center, of young people who were in fos­ter care at 17 and sur­veyed at age 21, more than one in five (22%) youth had not yet earned an edu­ca­tion­al degree, voca­tion­al cer­tifi­cate, or license of any kind,

Lifelong Employment and Socio-economic Impact
Fosters often are caught in this cycle of poverty, relying on part-time jobs with low pay, poor work conditions, and little job security or benefits.By age 26, youth who age out of fos­ter care have 50% low­er earn­ings and 20% low­er employ­ment rates com­pared to oth­er young adults with com­pa­ra­ble edu­ca­tion lev­els, as report­ed in a 2022 Jour­nal of Eco­nom­ic Per­spec­tives arti­cle.

Incarceration and Substance Abuse
Among U.S. youth who exit­ed fos­ter care at age 17 or lat­er, more than 30% had spent time in a cor­rec­tion­al or deten­tion facil­i­ty by age 17 and over 40% were incar­cer­at­ed by age 20, accord­ing to a 2025 study pub­lished in Child Abuse & Neglect. Additionally, about one in five (21%) adults with a his­to­ry of fos­ter care are diag­nosed with sub­stance use dis­or­ders, com­pared to 5% of the gen­er­al population.

Give today to help young people in Minnesota's Child Welfare System facing adulthood
without placement find the support and love needed to change their lives.

Other ways to give:

Checks payable to Ampersand Families can be mailed to our address: 1751 W. Co. Rd. B, #300, Roseville, MN 55113.

If you are considering a credit card, gift of stock, qualified charitable distribution from
your IRA or Donor-Advised Fund, or utilizing another giving vehicle, you may also call our main office line: (612) 605-1904.

Ampersand Families is a 501(c)3 organization, and all donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
Our EIN is 14-2004438.