Treatment Homes, Inc. is the only mental health organization in the state that was founded by a group of thirteen foster parents and a professional social worker (current Executive Director) to provide therapeutic foster care services for children with emotional and/or behavioral problems. We were also one of the first organizations in the state and country to achieve accreditation from the Council on Accreditation (COA) using the national treatment foster care standards. In 2014, we achieved reaccreditation by COA for four more years.
The use of master’s level clinical staff, committed therapeutic foster parents and the stability of the staff and foster parents has resulted in stability of foster children and increased permanency outcomes (reunification with the birth family/relative and adoption). Foster children who have experienced multiple placements (sometimes as many as 10 in one year), including psychiatric hospitalization, are accepted in the program, and the goal is to stop the moving to allow for healing!
Because of the severity of their problems, foster children usually remain in our program from six months to ten years. Services were provided to 116 foster children ranging in age from three to eighteen in therapeutic foster care and emergency respite services during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2017. The number of nights of care provided was eleven thousand seven hundred seventy-one (11,771). The average length of stay during the fiscal year 2016/2017 was 27.7 months for therapeutic foster care services. There were seventeen (17) new admissions for therapeutic foster care services and 15 discharges with 66% of the foster children being placed for adoption or returning home.
During the 2017/2018 fiscal year treatment services were provided to 51 foster children with 18 new admissions and 20 discharges with 75% of the foster children being placed for adoption or returning home. During the 2018/2019 fiscal year treatment services were provided to 66 foster children in need of emergency respite and treatment services. There were 36 new admissions and 35 discharges which is the largest turnover in placements in the organization’s history. Foster children returning home included reunification with birth parents and/or relatives.
Though very proud of those outcomes, we continue to strive to increase permanency and the positive outcomes for these children and youth.