For the first time ever, substance abuse was the primary reason for children being placed into foster care in Minnesota. Assistant Human Services Commissioner Chuck Johnson says there are real significant disparities within foster care and the children who are placed. “An African American child was about three-times as likely as a white child to be placed in foster care. But the real significant one is with American Indian kids who are 17 times more likely to be placed in foster care than is a white child.” Johnson says the end goal is to always have the families reunited.