Who the program serves

Children enrolled in the TFC program range from infants to age 18, although they are generally school aged. While the TFC program serves primarily Elkhart County, children from surrounding counties may also be considered for placement. Children who qualify for the program must:

• be a ward of the referring county Division of Family and Children or County Juvenile Probation Department;
• have emotional and/or behavioral problems to the extent that they are at risk for institutional placement;
• be recommended for care by the County Local Coordinating Committee or court ordered into specialized therapeutic foster care placement.

Case management

Upon placement in a home, each child is assigned a case manager who:

• acts as a liaison between the foster family and other community agencies;
• provides regular supervision and support for the child, both at home and in school;
• assists foster parents in designing and implementing behavior modification interventions for the child;
• serves with foster parents as the childís advocate in securing any additional needed community services;
• works with foster parents, the child and the birth family in the reunification process or toward an alternative permanent plan when reunification is not possible;
• assists in the development of aftercare services to the child and family after reunification.

Foster parent responsibilities

In addition to providing for the childís basic physical needs of food, clothing, shelter and medical care, therapeutic foster parents offer instruction, supervision, positive role modeling, sensitivity, praise, encouragement, and appropriate discipline. The foster home environment should be one that is safe, secure, and promotes emotional, physical and spiritual growth. Foster parents work with the child and intensive case manager toward permanency, be that reunification, adoption, or independent living.

Foster parent benefits:

• professional growth
• increased self and personal growth
• recognition from children, the community and the agency
• formal training and support
• improved parenting skills
• new friends
• financial reimbursement
• respite care when needed
• a sense of helping families and children toward health and wholeness.

Download brochure

You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer to successfully view PDF files. Installation of the the Reader is easy and free. Click here to visit the Adobe web site in a new browser window for more product information and download instructions.