The State has completed an investigation and determined that it is unsafe for the children to remain in their home due to abuse or neglect. They are placed in a new home temporarily and a case plan is established for their family of origin to work towards their return, also known as reunification.
Approximately half of all children in foster care are placed in the homes of biological family members such as aunts, uncles or grandparents. If no biological family member is able to care for the child, children are placed in the homes of Non-Related Extended Family Members (NREFMs) such as family friends or teachers, or with unrelated foster parents. The duration of a child’s stay in the foster care system varies based upon their case. Nationally, children remain in the foster care system for an average of 20 months.
What is Foster Care?
Foster care is when a child is placed in a temporary, safe home in a time of crisis. Adult caregivers, commonly known as Foster Parents or Resource Parents, then become part of the child’s support system, providing them with the necessities of life and healing programs designed to help them process the trauma they have endured. Resource Parents work with the child’s social workers, teachers, and doctors, to proactively nurture, love, and advocate for their needs until they are reunified with their birth family or are adopted.
A Greater Hope actively searches for and approves families that are committed to helping children and can care for and nurture them without hesitation. Families in these positions must be ready to work towards the greater good of the children placed in their care.
The Different Types of Foster Care
A Greater Hope has trained Resource Families who work closely with us to provide Treatment Foster Care and Intensive Services Foster Care. With specialized training and 24 hour support, A Greater Hope Resource Parents care for children and adolescents in order to meet a range of emotional, behavioral, social and medical needs. For those children who require more intensive interventions, A Greater Hope provides Therapeutic Foster Care Services through our Behavioral Health Department.
TREATMENT FOSTER CARE
A Greater Hope’s Treatment Foster Care Resource Parents provide highly coordinated, trauma-informed care for abused and neglected children. Through this service, children can have safe and healthy continued contact with their biological families, while receiving support with school, medical and emotional needs. Through loving care and support, children receive the permanency, healing and security that they need to thrive and eventually reach their full potential. A Greater Hope receives referrals for children in need of homes in all counties served.
THERAPEUTIC FOSTER CARE
A Greater Hope is proud to be the first agency in San Bernardino County to provide Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC) services as a part of our Behavioral Health Contract with San Bernardino County. TFC augments the services of Treatment Foster Care and ISFC. Therapeutic Foster Care Resource Parents work closely with the Behavioral Health Team to deliver short-term, intensive, highly coordinated and individualized counseling to children and youth. These children and youth have complex emotional and mental health needs. Therapeutic Resource Parents are trained, intensely supervised and supported parents who have shown an ability to work through challenging obstacles to find permanency and stability for children in their care.
INTENSIVE SERVICES FOSTER CARE
The Intensive Services Foster Care (ISFC) program was created to provide support to children and youth who require intensive treatment, including treatment for behavioral and specialized health care needs. Specifically, the ISFC program is intended to stabilize young people in foster care with the services they need in family settings and reduce placement in congregate care and residential programs. The program also requires additional training for our resource parents, as well as additional professional and paraprofessional support. The role of an ISFC resource parent requires a significant commitment of time, potential transportation, involvement and responsibility. A Resource Parent has an active role in the Child and Family Team. A Greater Hope receives referrals for children in need of homes all counties served.
https://aghope.org/en/foster-care
