Treatment Foster Care in Winnipeg and Thompson, Manitoba
Treatment Foster Care can offer a young person the care and attention she or he needs in the kind of family environment they have been missing. Most young people who enter foster care have unfortunately experienced a breakdown within their home environment or they have greater needs than their birth family is able to provide for them. A foster family’s aim is to nurture and attend to the needs of the young person in care.
Marymound provides Treatment Foster Care in Winnipeg and Thompson, Manitoba.
We are leaders in the community in the area of Treatment Foster Care. Our professional Treatment Foster Parents and knowledgeable Clinical Case Managers work together with other members of the young person’s treatment team to address his/her needs.
Why “Treatment” Foster Care?
Sometimes the needs of young people are underestimated or are not immediately clear. This may mean that the young person’s needs are poorly matched with the attributes of the average foster family, resulting in the placement breaking down. The young person may move to another foster home only to experience the same breakdown and yet another change of placements. Ultimately it may appear the young person cannot reside in a family setting and moves to a group home or other 24-hour, shift staffed care.
Marymound’s Treatment Foster Care (TFC) Program
Young people who child and family services agencies refer to the Treatment Foster Care program have usually experienced the above scenario. They may display behavioural difficulties, emotional disturbance, developmental delays, and special medical or cultural needs. The agency may be considering a placement in a more controlled setting or the young person may already be in such a placement and efforts are being made to integrate them back into the community.
Marymound’s Treatment Foster Care Program gives young people like this the opportunity to live with a family in the community. Throughout the entire placement process, which starts before a child is introduced to the foster family, the treatment team works together to develop the most effective plan to address the child’s needs. In this way, the young person benefits from the care and nurturing that comes with being part of a family while still receiving clinically-driven treatment, specially designed to meet the goals of the child’s treatment plan.
Program Structure
All foster parents in the program undergo a thorough home study process before young people are entrusted into their care. Once it has been determined that the parents have the experience and skills necessary, Marymound makes an application to Child and Family Services to license them to operate a foster home. After the license has been approved, Marymound assigns the family a Clinical Case Manager.
Limited Caseloads
Clinical Case Managers at Marymound carry a limited caseload, giving them the time to establish and maintain relationships with the family and the young people placed in their care. The Clinical Case Manager and the foster parents work together to develop and implement a treatment plan specific to each child.
The Clinical Case Manager is responsible for coordinating services and ensuring that appropriate planning occurs including pre-placement meetings, admission conferences, quarterly reviews and discharge conferences. Small caseloads allow them the time to meet with the child and foster parents a minimum of every two weeks. Situations requiring greater attention will simply get it.
Support Always Available
Our foster families can count on being able to reach one of the program’s on-call Clinical Case Managers at any time in case of a crisis. Families can also access the full range of services Marymound provides, including; Marymound School, individual or group therapy, spiritual counselling, and aboriginal cultural services.
