Treatment foster care homes are potentially a very valuable resource in the continuum of care for severely emotionally disabled youth. On one hand, they provide a more normal, family-like environment than typical treatment centers, while providing therapeutic care at a lower daily cost. On the other hand, they address some notable issues found in the standard foster care system, specifically:
- Difficulty in recruiting and retaining high caliber foster parents
- Insufficient oversight/support to ensure the quality of care in foster homes
- Lack of consistent ancillary support services to assist foster children in transitioning to a more permanent living arrangement in a timely manner.
These issues, while critical, are not insurmountable. To this end, Phoenix Homes, specialists in the treatment foster care field, have developed an innovative methodology for delivering high quality and effective therapeutic foster care services.