Kinship Navigator Minnesota: Free Help for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
What the Kinship Navigator Program Does
Minnesota's Kinship Navigator is a statewide service that connects grandparents and relatives raising children with the resources they need — benefits applications, legal aid referrals, support groups, school enrollment help, and community services. It's authorized under Minn. Stat. § 142A.451 and operated in partnership with Lutheran Social Service (LSS) of Minnesota.
The program exists because informal kinship caregivers — grandparents, aunts, uncles, siblings, family friends — don't have caseworkers. Unlike formal foster care placements where a county worker coordinates services, informal caregivers are on their own. The Kinship Navigator fills that gap by providing centralized navigation across the disconnected systems that families need to access.
What They Help With
Benefits and financial assistance: Navigators help caregivers apply for MFIP Child-Only grants (cash assistance based on the child's income, not yours), Medical Assistance (MA), MinnesotaCare, child care assistance, and other programs through MNbenefits.
Legal aid referrals: They connect families with free legal services — LawHelpMN for DOPA preparation, Volunteer Lawyers Network for Twin Cities metro clinics, Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services for greater Minnesota, and Legal Aid Service of Northeastern Minnesota for northern counties.
School enrollment support: Navigators can help caregivers find resources and referrals when they face enrollment problems or institutional pushback.
Support groups: Regular meetings where kinship caregivers share experiences, practical advice, and emotional support. Groups are available in the Twin Cities metro and through virtual options for rural caregivers.
Community connections: Referrals to food shelves, clothing resources, housing assistance, respite care, and child-specific services like tutoring or mentoring.
Who Qualifies
The program supports Minnesota relatives and family members raising children outside a formal foster care placement. If you are a close family friend or are unsure whether your arrangement qualifies, contact LSS to confirm.
The program covers the entire state, not just the Twin Cities. Rural and greater Minnesota families access services by phone and can connect with navigators who know the resources available in their specific county.
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How to Contact Them
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota operates the Kinship Navigator program. Reach them through the LSS website or by phone. They accept calls from caregivers directly, from family members calling on behalf of an older relative, and from community professionals (teachers, social workers, clergy) who want to connect a family with resources.
Other Free Resources in Minnesota
The Kinship Navigator is the central hub, but several other free services exist:
Legal resources:
- LawHelpMN.org — free DOPA forms, self-help legal tools, and fact sheets
- Volunteer Lawyers Network (VLN) — free legal clinics and DOPA workshops in the Twin Cities
- Urban League Twin Cities — free DOPA preparation and notarization
- Southern Minnesota Regional Legal Services (SMRLS) — rural and southern Minnesota
- Anishinabe Legal Services — tribal jurisdictions and northern Minnesota
State agencies:
- Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) — administers kinship support programs since the 2024 recodification from DHS
- MNbenefits — online portal for public assistance applications
- Minnesota Department of Education — McKinney-Vento liaison directory and homeless education support
National resources with Minnesota chapters:
- AARP GrandFacts Minnesota — state-specific fact sheet for grandparents raising grandchildren
- PACER Center — Minnesota-based advocacy for children with disabilities, including IEP navigation for kinship caregivers
What the Kinship Navigator Doesn't Do
The program provides navigation and referrals, not direct legal representation or case management. Navigators can't file court documents on your behalf, represent you at a hearing, or guarantee benefit approvals. They connect you with the right resource for each need.
For the day-to-day paperwork — the DOPA itself, the school enrollment process, the medical consent system — our Minnesota School and Medical Consent Guide provides the organizational tools, execution checklists, and institutional scripts that turn a navigator's referral into action at the school or the clinic.
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Download the Minnesota School and Medical Consent Checklist — a printable guide with checklists, scripts, and action plans you can start using today.