News & Information

Make a Plan Minnesota

As Minnesota perseveres through the COVID-19 public health crisis, we know that more people will become sick and require hospitalization. We need families to be prepared. In other states, countries, and communities in Minnesota, there have been parents who have become too ill with COVID-19 to care for their children for short periods of time. These circumstances present a need to identify alternate caregivers who can step in to help care for children – who have likely been exposed to the virus. Unfortunately, this virus doesn’t always leave time for people to make plans.

We’re urging all Minnesotans who are responsible for the care of a child to make a plan now for alternate short term care for their children in the event parents or guardians become ill. To support families in this process, we’ve developed Make a Plan, Minnesota. Make a Plan, Minnesota helps guide families through a process to identify possible caregivers, gather vital family and child information, and share their plan with others. A fillable form is included to help families gather information that an alternate caregiver might need to know while caring for their children.

It’s never too early to make a plan. Before the emergency is upon a family, we urge families to talk now with their support networks about who will be able to step in and help provide care for their children or other supports, such as dropping off meals or checking in with the children daily if a parent is quarantined at home.

Please share this information with families that you work with, or with partner organizations in your network that work with families to support them in planning, if appropriate. Translation of these documents into Spanish, Hmong and Somali will be coming soon!

Article originally published by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. The article can be found  HERE