§4 ch14: Foster Care for Youth with Elevated Needs
-
14.10 Periodic Reviews
The goal for youth who qualify for the youth with elevated needs program is to stabilize their behavior, to help them function in a less restrictive environment and to achieve permanency. Level A and Level B care IS NOT permanency but is designed to be a stepping stone for the youth to obtain a permanent home. As these youth do have a variety of special needs, the goal of successful permanency can be challenging. Accordingly, resource parents, staff, and other treatment team members must aggressively pursue permanency and use periodic reviews as one of the tools to assure progress toward permanency is occurring.
To assist youth in achieving a permanent home, it is important that the resource parent and the team tailor the level of intensity and intervention to their needs as youth achieve progress and success. Our experience has been that a number of youth in Level A and Level B care do make substantial improvement in their behavior during the first year of intervention and can function with a reduced level of intensity. Other youth may need the intensity of elevated intervention for longer periods of time to remain out of residential care and/or a more restrictive setting. The dilemma for the teams may be how to move the youth to the appropriate level of intervention, such as Level A or traditional foster care, without moving the youth from the current resource home. Ideally, youth who improve in Level B care and are ready for less intensive care could move directly to their permanent home. When that is not possible, the next best solution is to keep the youth in the same resource home under the category of Level A, traditional foster care (depending on the youth’s needs) or pre-adoptive home. Youth who are happy in their resource home and are experiencing success should not be moved to a different resource home solely due to no longer needing Level B intervention. Staff, resource parents and the team members must assess each individual situation carefully and negotiate an outcome that is in that youth’s best interests. As noted, the periodic reviews are a critical tool for assuring the youth’s level of intervention is matching their needs and that permanency is on target. As always, the best interest of the youth is the guiding principal with these complex decisions.
Situations where there is disagreement among team members as to continuing need for intervention and/or the appropriate plan for the youth should be referred to the Regional Director or designee for consultation.
Periodic Review schedule:
- Six (6) months - Multi-disciplinary Selection/Screening team that originally recommended placement with the resource parents and/or the Family Support Team. The team will continue to review youth’s situation every 6 months on an on-going basis.
- The FST may conduct a six-month review only if the team includes representatives of the required disciplines/agencies for Selection/Screening team. Also, FST team members must allow for adequate time for an in-depth assessment of the youth’s progress, behaviors, and treatment plan.
- Twelve (12) months reviews - Regional Office Review Team conducts a review based on local team review information. Regional Office Reviews are a critical tool in assuring consistency, accountability and progress with the Level B program. Also, Level B Foster Care status does not exclude youth and families from compliance with ASFA timelines.
- Six (6) months - Multi-disciplinary Selection/Screening team that originally recommended placement with the resource parents and/or the Family Support Team. The team will continue to review youth’s situation every 6 months on an on-going basis.