To adopt a child in the state of Minnesota, a home study is required. Dakota County only does adoptive home studies for people who are planning to adopt a child in for the target populations listed below:
- Children over the age of eight, or age six for African American and American Indian children.
- Children with significant special needs demonstrated by moderate to severe impairments due to emotional, behavioral, developmental or medical/physical conditions.
- Sibling groups of two or more children where one child meets one or more of the target populations described above.
Private adoption agencies in the state of Minnesota will also do an adoptive home study for the these target populations at no charge to you.
If you want to adopt outside of these target populations, please contact a private adoption agency. For a complete list of private adoption agencies in Minnesota, please go to http://www.mnadopt.org.
If you want to adopt a child in the target populations through Dakota County, the first step is to attend an Informational Meeting.