Treatment Foster Care

 

Oesterlen’s Treatment Foster Care Program recruits family and treatment level foster care providers in the local community and surrounding areas who are then trained to provide safe, supportive home placements for children and youth with significant mental, emotional and behavioral treatment needs.

Treatment Foster Caregivers work in close coordination with our Foster Care Case Management and Counseling staff to provide a safe, structured and healing environment.

Oesterlen’s Treatment Team of Case Managers are on call 24-7 to help foster caregivers deal with problems, create new interventions, access needed resources and brainstorm creative solutions. Foster Care youth are offered Independent Living Skills classes, Lifebook Groups, and other group activities throughout the year.

Our Treatment Foster Caregivers receive a minimum of 36 hours of ongoing training annually to support them in meeting their foster youth’s needs. Our Foster Caregivers are trained to play an active role in providing treatment interventions for foster children and youth placed in their home.

Oesterlen embraces a Trauma Informed Awareness, Care and Sensitivity approach when working with foster children. Trauma Informed Care (TIC) recognizes the presence of trauma symptoms and acknowledges the role trauma may play in a foster child’s life. Trauma Informed Care shifts the focus from “what’s wrong with this person” to “what happened to this person.” This approach helps provide an environment of safety, trust, and empowerment as well as other principles. The majority of the trainings provided by Oesterlen have a TIC component so foster caregivers and staff are constantly learning and honing their TIC skills.

Oesterlen’s Treatment Foster Care Program works closely with referring Children Services Agencies and Juvenile Courts to develop reunification plans when reunification is the referring agency’s goal. Oesterlen’s Foster Caregivers receive extensive training in working with birth families and the program is committed to supporting reunification for all foster children and youth for whom their custodial agencies define reunification as being in the child or youth’s best interest. Oesterlen’s Foster Care Case Managers and Counselors work with Foster Caregivers to provide a seamless system of supports for foster children and youth and their birth families when working a reunification plan.

HOW TO REFER

Referrals can be made to Oesterlen’s Treatment Foster Care Program by calling the Foster Care Recruiting Specialist at 937-398-0212 or Treatment Foster Care Administrative Assistant at 937-399-6101. Initial information can also be submitted online, by Fax: 937-399-6609 or by Email: intake@oesterlen.org