Part 1 of 3
Many Services Coordinators (SC) work with youth who live in a foster care home, served by Oregon’s Department of Human Services, Office of Developmental Disabilities Services (ODDS). Often, there is a lack of training for Service Coordinators around best practices for supporting these children, families, and providers. This can affect the way youth living in DD certified foster homes are supported.
The purpose of this three-part series is to:
- Recognize and honor relationships and networks of support in the youth’s life, which can often be complex.
- Share effective approaches to support youth, families, and providers; and
- Understand the significant role of the Services Coordinator in helping someone live their best life.
Foster homes are designed to be a structured, family-like environment that youth can live in short-term or long-term. There are specific monitoring requirements to help ensure health and safety risks are being addressed.
A parent or guardian may face a difficult decision and voluntarily choose to have their child or loved one move to a foster care setting. Other times, this decision is court-mandated by the Oregon Department of Human Services. Whether a move to a foster home is voluntary or court-mandated, it does pose a risk of trauma to the youth. This may impact the youth in many ways. When I worked as a Services Coordinator, I supported a child who went through multiple moves in two years, which negatively affected his mental health. He was not able to form stable bonds with foster providers and could not consistently engage in skill-building. Trauma-informed care is essential when supporting youth in foster care.
It can be difficult to balance the expectations of the family with the needs of the child. Services Coordinators often support three different entities throughout this process: the youth, the family, and the foster provider. It is important to focus on the youth and prioritize their needs to ensure they maintain their sense of safety, self, and well-being.
Support with Transitions
Moving into a new foster home can be a confusing and potentially painful time for youth. As a Services Coordinator, it is important to facilitate a conversation between the youth and the family about what foster care is and how they would like to be supported.
While the family is often making the decision for the youth, ultimately, we are supporting the youth and need to ensure their voice is heard and their needs are met. It is crucial to build trust and communication with the young person, to create a more trauma-informed move as well as support their positive trajectory to adulthood. Consider building a One Page Profile with the youth, focused on the move. This can help the youth be more involved and amplify their voice, perspective, and preferences.
Communication and Continued Connection with Family
During the planning process, speak with the youth, family, and foster provider about communication expectations. The youth should continue to be supported by their family, even while in a foster care setting. This can look very different for each family. Some families choose to call every day, and some have a specific time they call during the week. Some families choose to take the youth to every doctor’s appointment, while others may have the foster provider take on this responsibility. Sometimes families have monthly planned outings, while others may be more spontaneous. Whatever is decided, it should be in the best interest of the youth, to support them in their new home and make sure they feel loved and cared for.
The Services Coordinator may need to help facilitate communication and planning with the youth and others on their support team. It can be helpful to refer to the Trajectory to help everyone focus on the goal of helping the youth be happy and healthy. This tool can be especially helpful if disagreements or strong emotions begin to derail the conversation.
Be creative with planning continued family connections. Some youth like to video call their parents nightly, and this could become a routine that is important to them. Drawing pictures and sending mail can also be a fun way to keep in touch and allow the youth to embrace creativity.
When supporting a youth who has limited family connections, and/or an ODHS Guardian, the youth’s level of trauma will likely be higher. Services Coordinators may need to “think outside of the box” to prioritize physical and emotional safety around family connections. Some things to consider when working with a youth who has limited family connections:
- Does the youth have any close friends or siblings they can connect with?
- How often does the ODHS Guardian connect with the youth and what is their relationship like? Can you collaborate with the guardian to ensure that the youth has multiple trusted adults in their life? Can visits or communication with trusted adults be increased?
- How often does the youth attend events where they can make friends? How are those going?
- Do they have any safe distant relatives (Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, etc.) that can be contacted and brought into their life?
The definition of family can be broad and looks different for everyone. As Services Coordinators, we should recognize this and help the youth feel supported and whole in life. Consider using the Integrated Supports Star tool to help visually map out and explore important connections and possibilities with youth you are supporting
Using the Trajectory Tool to Support Youth in Foster Care
Download Henry’s Trajectory – this example trajectory demonstrates how the trajectory tool might be used to support a youth and their family and they prepare for a move into a foster care setting
Inclusive support is essential. While reviewing potential foster providers, chat about any important considerations the youth has (Cultural, Religious, Medical, LGBTQ+, etc.). Youth may have topics they don’t feel comfortable sharing with their existing family or potential new supporters, such as sexuality or gender expression. You might need to have more than one conversation to ensure safety and privacy. Ask the youth if they would like to invite another trusted adult they feel comfortable with into the discussion. A LifeCourse Trajectory can be very helpful in identifying what the youth and their family wants in this move, and what to avoid.
Give the youth and family information about the potential foster provider. This could include:
- Where they live
- If they have pets (pictures are a plus)Other youth in the foster home
- Everyday life details: What they do for fun, what food they like, if they have any shared interests with the youth, etc.
Extend the opportunity to do a “meet and greet” with the potential provider to see if this home would be a good fit for the youth, and make sure to facilitate the meeting in such a way where the youth can ask questions and give their opinion without pressure. This would be a great time to review the youth’s One Page Profile with the foster provider.
Using a One Page Profile to Support Youth in Foster Care
Download Henry’s One Page Profile – this example One Page Profile demonstrates how this tool might be used to support a youth and their family and they get to know a new foster provider.
If possible, show pictures of the home including a bedroom, bathroom, and shared spaces. Families may want to complete an in-person tour before deciding. Virtual tours can also be a great option during COVID.
If a home is identified as a good fit, start the planning process with the family. This could include:
- Making a visual schedule with the youth of timelines for their upcoming move.
- Creating Social Stories or other visual tools to help explain to the youth what foster care is and why the transition is happening.
- Providing opportunities to share hopes and fears as the move date approaches. It is likely the youth and their family may experience anxiety related to the move. Putting together or referring to a LifeCourse Trajectory can be helpful for youth and families to express hopes and fears.
- Scheduling family or individual therapy sessions with a counselor they can relate to and feel comfortable with.
- Discussing important relationships in the youth’s life and how they will be maintained throughout this move. If some relationships cannot be maintained, acknowledge the youth’s grieving process with empathy and help connect them with grief/mental health supports.
- Finding out the youth’s comfort items to bring to the home (blankets, sheets, personal items, favorite foods, etc.)
- Exploring school and bus schedules.
- Preparing for Medical Provider transitions and ensuring the youth has an adequate supply of medication for the move.
Because this time can bring up a variety of emotions for the youth, try to limit the number of changes to reduce any additional potential stressors and trauma. For example, if the youth has many friends at their current school and they enjoy attending, advocate for them to stay in that current educational environment.
Conclusion:
There are many ways to support youth in a foster care setting. After working with youth in these settings for many years, I’ve realized that continued communication, advocacy, and consistency builds trust. When we build trust with a youth, family, and foster care provider, we have an increased ability to advocate for the youth and help them build their best life.
Foster care can be an important stepping stone in a youth’s life. It gives them a chance to learn skills and reach goals in a different environment while having the opportunity to increase the bond between family and youth or provider and youth. Many of these bonds can last for years and become an essential part of a youth’s life.
We will continue to explore this important topic in the coming months. If you have any questions, or would like to collaborate, please reach out to our team!
