16.1 Definitions
Career Foster Care (CFC) is a highly specialized foster care program designed for the child who has identifiable and documented serious emotional and/or behavior problems. Such a child requires intensive and individualized intervention to succeed in a community-based family setting and to achieve their goal of permanency. Career foster parents have been especially trained to enable them to act as the primary change agent for children needing individualized care. Children appropriate for Career Foster Care are those that would normally be referred to level III and above residential treatment facilities or psychiatric hospitals as well as children already in those placements who ready for transition to a less restrictive environment.
NOTE: Career Foster Care is not an Emergency placement nor is it an immediate placement. Career Foster Care is a Transitional Placement Resource to Prepare Children to Function Adequately in a less Restrictive Environment and/or a Permanent Home. It is not intended to be a Long-Term or Permanent Placement Resource. A selection/screening Team must evaluate the Child's needs. Also, a Pre-Placement Phase is Essential.