	Foster Care Services

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

PA-FC 11: Therapeutic Services

Intensive and supportive services are provided to children and youth with significant medical, developmental, emotional, or behavioral needs, who, with additional resources, can remain in a family setting and achieve positive growth and development.

Research Note: Research on outcomes for children with histories of chronic and serious juvenile delinquency found that youth receiving treatment foster care services were more likely to complete the program, less likely to run away, less likely to be incarcerated, and less likely to commit violent offenses.

NA The agency does not provide therapeutic foster care services.

PA-FC 11.01

Therapeutic foster care services are team delivered, as appropriate to the needs of the child, the treatment team includes:

family members;
foster parents;
caseworkers and parole or probation officers;
behavior support specialists;
teachers;
nurses and physicians;
psychiatric nurses, psychologists and psychiatrists; and
rehabilitation therapists.

Interpretation: The treatment team includes at least one agency or contract employee, in addition to the supervisor, who has an advanced degree in social work or a related field and at least three years’ professional experience working with children with therapeutic needs. Team members should have demonstrated child welfare experience or specialized training. When the case involves an Indian child, a representative from the tribe or a local Indian organization should be included on the treatment team.

PA-FC 11.02

The treatment team develops an individualized, strengths-based treatment plan that:

specifies a diagnosis;
identifies current and anticipated needs, and specifies short- and long-term therapeutic interventions;
is reviewed by the treatment team weekly to coordinate an effective response to current issues and behaviors; and
is reviewed within 30 days of placement, and every 90 days, to evaluate continued need for therapeutic foster care.

Interpretation: Weekly communication between treatment team members can occur by teleconference, when necessary.

PA-FC 11.03

The agency provides or arranges for needed therapeutic and rehabilitative services for the child, and foster parents assume primary responsibility for providing therapeutic interventions in the home and acting as a liaison with clinical personnel.

Interpretation: Therapeutic and rehabilitative services may include, and are not limited to, individual counseling, family counseling, group counseling, and medical treatment. The agency should recognize the value of incorporating culturally-grounded interventions into the treatment plan, and include traditional practices or customs of the child’s culture, faith-based community, or tribe to the greatest extent possible and appropriate. Whenever possible, Indian children should receive therapeutic and rehabilitative services from qualified professionals who have experience working with the tribe and knowledge of tribal customs and practices.

PA-FC 11.04

Formal agreements are established with:

mental health facilities, medical institutions including neonatal and pediatric facilities, and other rehabilitation service providers to ensure the availability of requisite medical and mental health services; and
a board-certified physician with appropriate experience who assumes responsibility for medical elements of a program that serves children with significant medical needs.

Interpretation: The board-certified physician can provide service as an employee, contractor, or through formal arrangement. Experience should be appropriate to the level and intensity of service, as well as the needs of the population served.

QUICK JUMP TO


	PURPOSE: Children and youth who receive Foster Care Services live in a stable home, remain safe and healthy, and achieve permanency and well-being.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	FAMILY Two or more people who consider themselves family and who assume obligations, functions, and responsibilities generally essential to healthy family life. Child care and child socialization, income support, long-term care, and other caregiving are among the functions of family life. The definition of "family" will rest with an individual's indication of who plays a family member role, including current or former foster family, adoptive family, extended family members, fictive kin, or significant others. Organizations that believe family is the central constellation in a child's life, and that family attachments are of primary importance for human development, will strive to work with professional staff to develop a common understanding of "family."


	RESEARCH For purposes of COA accreditation, all forms of internal or external research involving persons served except internal program evaluation and outcomes research, or educational projects performed by students and interns that are part of their professional training.


	PROGRAM A system of services offered by an organization. For example, an organization providing a mental health service may offer several mental health programs to different populations, e.g., a mental health program for adolescent teens. The word "program" can be used interchangeably with the word "service" or to describe specific programs.


	FOSTER PARENTS State- or county-licensed adults who provide a temporary home for children whose birth parents are unable to care for them. Foster parents are not considered employees or personnel and are specifically referenced in all relevant standards.


	PSYCHOLOGIST A qualified professional who has a doctoral degree from a program of psychology accredited by or recognized as meeting the standards set by the American Psychological Association. A master's degree in psychology is an acceptable credential for the provision of counseling services provided that licensure is attained.


	CONTRACT A formal written agreement between two or more parties that specifies the services, space, or products to be provided in exchange for some form of compensation. Also known as "purchase of service arrangement."


	EMPLOYEE Paid member of an organization. Foster parents are not considered employees and are specifically referenced in relevant standards.


	ADVANCED DEGREE A degree at the Master's level or beyond from an institution of higher education. An advanced degree does not include a Bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, or an educational certificate.


	SOCIAL WORK Professionally responsible interventions carried out by persons with formal, professional education at the BSW or MSW level from an accredited school of social work and appropriate licensing, certification, and registration credentials. Interventions are directed toward improving the transactions between people and environments to enhance the adaptive capacities of the participants and improve environments for all that function within them. Social work is a professional practice with a consumer group consisting of individuals, families, small groups, organizations, neighborhoods, and communities and involving the disciplined application of knowledge and skill.


	TRAINING Instruction so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient in a skill or body of knowledge.


	INDIAN CHILD As defined in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), "Any unmarried person who is under age eighteen and is either (a) a member of an Indian tribe or (b) eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe." For purposes of compliance with ICWA, the definition provided in the Act shall apply. For purposes of access to services and resources, other more inclusive definitions may apply (e.g. Indian Education Act, tribal definitions, etc.).


	INDIAN ORGANIZATION As defined in ICWA, "Any group, association, partnership, cooperation, or other legal entity owned or controlled by Indians, or a majority of whose members are Indians."


	TREATMENT PLAN See SERVICE PLAN


	CASE A general term used to designate clients (including individuals, families, and groups) served by an organization for purposes of monitoring the provision of services. A foster care case is generally based on the placement of an individual child, although casework for the child may include services to the child's family. A child protective services case is based on an entire family household if a family assessment model is used; otherwise a case is defined as a child.


	DIAGNOSIS The process by which a social, physical, or mental health problem and its underlying cause are identified and a plan of action formulated toward resolution of the problem. The diagnostic process involves collection and analysis of relevant information. See also ASSESSMENT.


	CLINICAL PERSONNEL Qualified and trained professionals who provide the treatment services of an organization. Clinical personnel who assume case responsibilities must meet the applicable regulatory requirements and the minimum standards set by their respective professional organizations. Clinical personnel generally include clinical social workers (MSW or DSW/PhD in social work), clinical or counseling psychologists (PhD or PsyD), psychiatric nurses (MSN), certified marriage or family therapists, certified pastoral counselors, and board eligible or certified psychiatrists. Where additional disciplines or degrees are acceptable, it is stated in the standard for each service section. "Clinical personnel" and "mental health personnel" may be used interchangeably.


	PRACTICE Established actions or ways of proceeding in the regular performance of organizational duties. Policies and procedures often guide practice.


	CULTURE The customs, habits, values, skills, technology, beliefs, and religious, social, and political behaviors of a group of people in a specific period of time.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL An individual licensed by the state in which the organization operates to perform duties outlined in the regulation requirements. Similar terms include: qualified health practitioner, qualified clinician, and qualified medical practitioner.


	BOARD-CERTIFIED PHYSICIAN A physician who meets the criteria for board eligibility and is evaluated and certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). ABMS certifies as diplomats those board eligible physicians who have: adequate preparation in accordance with established educational standards; and completed comprehensive examinations designed to assess knowledge, skills and experience requisite to the provision of high quality patient care in that specialty.