This report presents findings from a qualitative research process conducted by Terraluna Collaborative in deep partnership with Foster Advocates. Lead Terraluna partner was Jeff Severns Guntzel.

The purpose of the research was to surface patterns across the foster care experience in Minnesota--grounded in the lives, insights, and expertise of Fosters themselves. The process was participatory at every level. Fosters and Foster Advocates Staff were co-analysts and guides at every step.

Data Sources

The dataset for this analysis was built from a wide variety of qualitative materials collected between 2022 and 2025. These materials include:

• Session transcripts

• Session notes (written on large paper in front of session participants, including participant-written sticky notes)

• Participant writings

• Post-session surveys

• Staff post-session debrief transcripts

• Transcripts, notes, and Zoom comments from analysis feedback sessions

• Feedback in the form of analysis draft documents

All materials were transcribed (when necessary) and imported into qualitative analysis software for systematic qualitative coding and analysis.

Analytical Framework and Approach

The analysis followed a hybrid inductive and deductive approach:

• Inductive: Initial coding was open and exploratory, allowing themes to surface directly from participant language and lived expertise.

• Deductive: Specific queries were conducted based on organizational priorities and recurrent themes raised by participants (e.g., housing instability, transitions out of care, identity, systemic accountability).

Two Foster-designed frameworks anchored the analytic process:

• Foster Areas of Experience: The environments in which Fosters encounter systems (e.g., education, housing, health, cultural, community)

• Fosters' "Bold Ideas": Fosters' expressed ideas for supports and transformation in the various areas of experience.

Coding and Theme Development

Data were coded using multiple strategies:

• Thematic coding to capture patterns in participant narratives

• Keyword and phrase extraction for prominent terms and system references

• Memoing to document emergent insights and tensions as analysis progressed

As analysis progressed, themes were synthesized into draft thematic write-ups for internal and community review.

Participatory Review Process

All thematic analyses went through a collective review and refinement process. This multi-stage review process ensured accountability and resonance:

1. Staff Review: Foster Advocates staff assessed draft themes for accuracy, clarity, gaps, and alignment.

2. Foster Committee Review: Themes and report drafts were presented multiple times to the MN Promise Foster Committee, made up of Foster participants from different sessions, for deeper validation, critique, and suggestions.

3. Revisions and Re-Analysis: Where gaps or new questions were raised, the dataset was revisited, and expanded coding was conducted. Several themes evolved significantly through this process.

Importantly, these discussions generated new data, which were integrated and coded alongside original materials.

Integrity of Experience

Given the vulnerability and depth of many participant stories, a trauma-informed lens was applied throughout. Analysis at all levels was guided by a commitment to protect the integrity of participants' experiences. Participant contributions were treated as expert knowledge--not anecdote.

Final Synthesis and Report Writing

All of this work is reflected in the following sections and elements of the report, which were written by TerraLuna Collaborative (Foster Advocates contributed all other sections, action steps, sidebars, statistics, and other contextual information):

How to Read This Report (pp. 16-19)

This section is a guide for readers informed by the data and by the methodology.

Common Threads (pp. 22-25) 

A look at themes of experience that showed up across broader areas of experience.

Areas of Experience In-Depth (pp. 26-89) 

We examine eight areas of experience in-depth, including health & wellbeing, education, housing, and navigating life after care. For each area of experience section, there are three data-informed components:

1. Introduction. The section introductions are intended as theme summaries.

2. What Fosters Describe. These are sub-themes of each area of experience.

3. Bold Ideas. The forward-looking solutions imagined by Fosters throughout the data collection and review process.

Other Areas of Identity and Lived Expertise (pp. 90-101)

Similar to the in-depth areas of experience sections, but representing areas of identity that were present in the data but warrant additional attention and focus.

Roles and Responsibilities (pp. 108-109)

The data analysis included a focus on the roles and responsibilities of adults involved in Fosters' lives, including the ways in which these adults can harm and help Fosters.