Therapeutic foster care provides troubled children with a healthy family environment and specialized support. Foster parents receive training and work with social workers to develop individual treatment plans. Family-based care is preferred over institutionalization, and individual homes are more effective than group homes.
Therapeutic foster care, sometimes abbreviated to FTC, aims to help troubled teens and children by providing a healthy home or family environment in which to support them both emotionally and physically. Foster parents involved in the FTC receive special forms of support beyond those provided by traditional foster parents. In most situations, therapeutic foster parents work closely with professional social workers to develop and implement a treatment plan. Individualized for each adoptive child, these plans generally address health, social, educational, and behavioral issues. Although most therapeutic placements are provided in family group settings, the family setting is considered optimal and may be less costly.
Individual Therapeutic Fostering programs take many different approaches to help children deal with severe emotional issues, all of whom share certain characteristics. Foster parents receive substantial training both before and during foster care and maintain a high level of contact with the foster child’s social workers. The salary paid to these parents is usually higher than what traditional foster parents receive. In most cases, family-based FTC foster parents are limited to one child at a time. Case workers who work with FTC clients usually have smaller case loads.
Adolescents suffering from severe emotional problems often receive therapeutic placement in a family environment. As with family situations, such programs are seen as preferable alternatives to institutionalizing children. Therapeutic family homes provide a structured environment in which professional staff work closely with the foster child’s school and health professionals. Staff also usually provide therapy and help implement behavior modification.
Therapeutic family homes may have an advantage in providing an environment that lends itself naturally to learning social skills. Most care for five to ten foster children at a time, depending on their special needs. Children can attend local schools while still in the care of juvenile justice or welfare agencies. The group home is also a good environment in which to help young people deal with their psychological problems through group therapy. Some therapeutic group homes depend more on individual psychotherapy.
A 1998 study published in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology and cited in a report by the United States Surgeon General raised questions about the relative effectiveness of FTC group homes versus group homes. Studying 79 young males with histories of juvenile delinquency, it was found that those treated in familiar settings fared better. This suggests that the individual home environment is preferable if suitable foster parents can be employed.
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