Therapeutic Family Services: Help a child find a home!
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
All children need loving caregivers to
raise and encourage them. Youth Focus Therapeutic Family
Services(TFS)
provides individualized services for children and adolescents
removed from their home due to abuse or neglect or whose families
are experiencing other difficulties which prevent them from
parenting temporarily or permanently. These young clients are placed
in therapeutic foster homes with licensed families who are
trained, supported, and supervised by qualified agency staff to
provide therapeutic interventions and supports to help clients reach
their goals.
Youth Focus Therapeutic Family Services provides individualized services
for children and families. This approach is delivered through a
multi-dimensional constellation of services. All full and part time
staff members are mental health professionals with master’s degrees.
CLIENTS
Most of the children who are served in
therapeutic family services:
• are ages 7-17 (the
majority of clients are in middle or high school)
• have mental health needs
and emotional &/or behavioral problems
• are involved with or in
the legal guardianship of the Department of Social Services (DSS)
• need short term or long
term placement in safe, nurturing homes
• ALL of them need caring,
understanding adults in their lives.
ADMISSION CRITERIA
To be admitted to the program,
prospective clients will need:
·
Medicaid or Health Choice coverage
·
a mental health diagnosis
·
a current Person-Centered treatment
plan (PCP)
·
Targeted Case Management (TCM) services through Youth Focus
(336) 333-6853
/
http://www.youthfocus.org/community_support.htm
or another provider
·
guardian consent to all necessary
admission documentation
·
SSI or other funding source to provide
necessary room & board fees (for clients who are not in DSS custody)
Clients can be
referred by their legal guardian or through a mental health or
social services agency. Typically, other types of interventions such as
outpatient therapy, medication, or intensive in-home services have
been tried prior to seeking an out-of-home placement. Therapeutic
Family Services is
considered a method of residential treatment for the child’s
presenting problem. Although the young person is considered the
client in the program, the participation of legal guardians/parents
and other family members is critical to the program. There is no
typical length of stay, however, TFS is a longer term option
than temporary respite and generally lasts about six months or
longer. PLEASE NOTE: Youth Focus TFS does not provide
temporary placement or respite to young people who have not been
admitted to the program.
Although all Youth Focus foster families are trained to be
therapeutic foster parents, Youth Focus does offer traditional
foster care as well. This service applies only to children in
the custody of the Department of Social Services without significant
mental health issues.
TFS + SA
(This program was piloted from 2009-2011 as The Piedmont Home.)
Youth Focus TFS also offers specialized Level II services to
adolescent females who have issues related to substance abuse.
Clients who are admitted to TFS +SA must meet the above cited TFS
admission criteria and also:
·
be currently enrolled in school,
·
have a primary diagnosis of substance
abuse,
·
and typically have had at least one
prior attempt at outpatient SA treatment.
Foster parents who provide this
additional level of service have received training specific
to the treatment of substance abuse issues. Clients in the TFS + SA
program regularly participate in individual and group counseling
with qualified substance abuse therapists as well as drug testing.
Clients admitted to this program may also have the option to attend
a Youth Focus Day Treatment Program
http://www.youthfocus.org/day_treatment.htm
or
The ASAP
(Adolescent Substance Abuse Program) School.
http://www.youthfocus.org/asap1.htm
For more information about admitting a
young person to the TFS or TFS+SA program, please call:
(336) 272-8775. To start the referral process, you
may also complete as much information as possible on the following
form and mail, drop by at our office, or submit by fax:
(336) 333-2444.
CLICK HERE FOR THE
REFERRAL FORM
FOSTER PARENT
RECRUITMENT
Youth Focus is always looking for
adults in the Triad area community who want to make a tremendous
difference in the life of a child. If you have room in your heart
and a place in your home for children in need, we may be able to use
your help.
Therapeutic foster parents must:
·
have a high school diploma,
·
be able to appropriately complete the
monthly paperwork,
·
have a separate room and bed in their
home to accommodate a child,
·
be employed or show sufficient income
to support their family/self,
·
be able to work effectively with
treatment team members,
·
transport children to all necessary
appointments,
·
and have an acceptable criminal
background check.
Most importantly, they must be willing to learn about how best to
help children achieve their treatment goals.
At Youth Focus, licensed foster parents are required to annually
achieve 24 hours of ongoing training to stay motivated and
up-to-date on factors affecting children in foster care. They must
also obtain and maintain their foster care license through the state
of NC. Youth Focus provides ongoing training and also refers foster
parents to additional resources for training and support. To be a
truly successful and compassionate foster parent, it is crucial to
take good care of oneself as well.
Qualifying foster parents licensed through Youth Focus may expect to
receive:
• Foster care training
• Assistance with licensure
• On-call 24/7 support
• Respite services
• Monthly stipend to help provide for children in care
• Clinical staff supervision
• Access to alternative school/day treatment facility for clients as
needed
• The chance to change a child’s life
FOSTER PARENT
APPLICATION
For more information about becoming a
licensed foster parent, please call:
(336) 272-8775. You may also complete and submit this application
form by mail, personal delivery to the office, email:
tfs@youthfocus.org
or fax:
(336) 333.2444.
CLICK HERE FOR THE
APPLICATION FORM
NEW FOSTER
PARENT TRAINING
Foster parent classes are offered twice per year
depending on interest. The 6-week course is typically offered once
each spring and fall; please contact the office to check on the next
class being offered.
Top ten reasons to consider becoming a therapeutic parent:
10.
You’re ready for training to help hurting kids who have been through
a lot get the support they need.
9.
Your life has been too predictable lately.
8.
Your own kids need someone to play with — or they’ve grown up
and you do.
7.
Your i-Pod could use an influx of new tunes.
6.
You have a big heart and room for one (or two) more.
5.
You are fantastic with paperwork and curious about how
Medicaid works.
4.
You enjoy going to school events and would love to cheer on a
kid who needs a fan.
3.
When you’re 80, you’d like to have some great memories to
reflect on...
2.
You’d like to help mentor someone as they work on creating
their own happy ending.
1.
You want to be a part of that village it takes to raise a
child.
CONTACT
Thank you
for your interest in the Youth Focus Therapeutic Family Services program. For more information, please contact the TFC Office at tfs@youthfocus.org or
(336) 272-8775.
Amanda Greene – Office Manager
Beth Waterson, LPC, NCC – Program Manager
