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Foster Care and the Medical
Home
The
Facts: Children and youth in foster care have a high
prevalence of chronic medical, dental, mental health, developmental
and educational issues.
Children and youth in foster care have experience episodic
fragmented and inadequate health care prior to foster care
and, once in foster care, it is not unusual for them to
experience multiple changes in foster home placement, leading
to further disruption in health services. It is imperative
this population has consistency in its health care and access
to a medical home.
The Medical Home is an approach
to providing care that is accessible and family centered
and provides high quality care that is comprehensive, coordinated,
compassionate, and continuous over time. In addition to
these qualities a foster care medial home should be staffed
by child heath care professionals who understand the unique
culture of foster care that includes:
- Removal from all that is familiar
- Impacts all aspects of health and well being
- Diversity of racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic
backgrounds among children/youth and their care givers
- Regulations and laws that govern the system
Children and youth in foster care should receive all of
their health care services (i.e. Routine preventive, acute
illness, chronic illness) from a singe health care professional
who will get to know them, with whom they can bond, in whom
they can confide. 1
May is National Foster Care Month
Foster Care Month is an opportunity for people to get involved as foster parents, volunteers, mentors, and employers. The Casey Foundation, through its direct service agency Casey Family Services, is a partner in this initiative to help promote lifelong family connections for all children. Gain access to facts and figures about foster care in your state through their State Fact Sheets.
Tools
PEATC Child Health Profile Caring Communities
for Children in Foster Care
www.peatc.org/FosterCare/viewed.htm
Provides fact sheets, information on transition from foster
care, overcoming barriers, paying for health care services,
managed care issues and helpful resources.
They also provide:
Checklists:
- A Checklist for the Healthy Development of Foster Children
- What Caseworkers Can Do
- What Foster Parents Can Do
"Health
Profile" -- or Health Passport
Tool for Gathering and Maintaining Medical Information No
information is currently available for this category.
Dependent Youth Aging Out of Foster Care: A
Guidebook for Judges
The Juvenile Law Center says judges should treat
as seriously decisions affecting older youth -- especially
those who, at 18, are aging out of the foster care system
-- as those affecting young children in public care. This
guidebook outlines questions judges should answer when ruling
on permanency or discharge plans for youth in foster care.
It’s My Life Guides
In 2001 Casey Family Programs—working with
young people in foster care, alumni of care, families, and other stakeholders—published It’s My Life,
a framework to develop services for young people preparing to make the transition from foster care to successful
adulthood. It’s My Life promotes a holistic approach to transition services. It is based on
the belief that the domains of our lives are interconnected. It’s My Life guides build on that
framework, offering specific strategies, tactics, and resources
for youth and the adults who guide and support them. It’s
My Life: (Domains listed below). The first guide available
in PDF format is on Employment.
- Cultural and Personal Identity Formation
- Supportive Relationships and Community Connections
- Physical and Mental Health
- Life Skills
- Education
- Employment
(Click here to download a copy of the guide)
- Housing
Funded Projects
The AAP supports projects that address the provision
of medical homes to children in foster care through its
various programs, including CATCH and Healthy Tomorrows
Initiatives. To view the CATCH and Healthy Tomorrows project
summaries that provide examples of the provision of medical
homes to children in foster care click
here.
This project summaries are available through the AAP
grant/project database. The database is searchable
by seven major categories: target population, health topic,
state/territory, project activity, AAP program, AAP district,
and project year. By searching this database through the
Members Only Channel, you can obtain contact information
of the grantees.
For more information about this database or for questions
related to community-based initiatives, call the Division
of Community-based Initiatives at 847-434-7085 or e-mail:
docbi@aap.org
Presentations
The Medical Home Model of Care for Children in Foster
Care (236 KB) Presentation
Presented at The CATCH and Medical Home National Conference
in July, 2004.
- Joan Carlisle, DSN, CRNP
University of Alabama/Children's Health System
- Alisa Hoffman, MD, FAAP
Medical Director Family Place Practice
University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Barbara Frankowski, MD, MPH, FAAP
Professor of Pediatrics, University of Vermont College
of Medicine
Vermont Children's Hospital/University Pediatrics
Web sites/Organizations
American Academy of Pediatrics Child Health Topics:
www.aap.org/topics.html
Browse through health topics such as: Behavioral
and Mental Health, Community Health, Diseases and Conditions,
Family Health, Healthy Development, Navigating the Health
Care System, Populations with Unique Health Care Needs.
Direct link to Foster Care information from the AAP: www.aap.org/healthtopics/fostercare.cfm
Ann E. Casey Foundation
www.aecf.org/
Annie E. Casey Foundation, in consultation with community leaders and child welfare practitioners nationwide, has developed a reform initiative called Family to Family. Family to Family includes principles, strategies, and tools to confront the real problems faced by child welfare systems. These include:
- strengthening the network of families available to care for abused and neglected children in their own communities;
- building partnerships with at-risk neighborhoods toward that end; and
- tracking outcomes for children and families, so that child welfare systems can better learn from their experiences.
Family Alliance
www.familyalliance-sac.org/
Information on how to become a Foster Parent and what it
is like.
National Association of Foster Care Reviewers
www.nafcr.org/
Dedicated to supporting quality, independent foster care
review and promoting the use of review by child welfare
administrators, advocates, policy makers and the courts.
National Coalition for Child Protection Reform
www.nccpr.org/
Advocates for systemic reform to help the most vulnerable
children by trying to change policies concerning child abuse,
foster care and family preservation
National Foster Parent Association (NFPA)
www.nfpainc.org/
The NFPA strives to support foster parents, and remains
a consistently strong voice on behalf of all children.
1. Fostering Health: Health Care for Children
and Adolescents in Foster Care - 2nd Edition. Task Force
on Health Care for Children in Foster Care American Academy
of Pediatrics, District II, New York State.
Last Updated
August 13, 2008
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