Specialized or Treatment Foster Care
Specialized or treatment foster care programs use a community-based treatment approach for children/youth with emotional and/or behavioral issues. Children/youth who participate in the program may also have documented reports of maltreatment, involvement with juvenile justice, and/or co-occurring disorders. Intensive, clinically based treatment that is child/youth centered and family focused is delivered through an integrated team approach that individualizes services for each child/youth. Treatment foster parents are trained, supervised, and supported by program personnel and they fulfill a primary role in therapeutic interventions. Program personnel monitor the child’s/youth’s progress in treatment and provide adjunctive services in accordance with the individualized plan and program design. The program’s goal is to provide clinically effective treatment to children/youth so they may return to their family or alternative community placement and avoid being removed from a community setting or placed in an inpatient or residential treatment setting.
The program may also be called intensive foster care, therapeutic family services, or therapeutic foster care.