Treatment Foster Care

Why choose La Causa Treatment Foster Care?

Choose La Causa because you are family here! We pride ourselves in the relationships we build with our foster parents and the supportive network that surrounds each family in order for them to care for the children and youth in their homes. Our staff are passionate about what they do and how they can support you in this challenging but rewarding work.

What is Treatment Foster Care?

Treatment foster care is 24-hour care provided by licensed foster parents for children ages birth through 18 years old who cannot live with their parents because they are unsafe, have special care or treatment needs, or other circumstances exist where parents or family are unable to care for them. Oftentimes, the children may have emotional or behavioral issues that require close supervision and support. Generally, placement in foster care is temporary and intended to give the child’s family time to make necessary changes so that the child can live safely in his or her home and community. Most children in foster care return home to their families. When children cannot return home, they find permanence through placement with relatives, adoption, or other means.

  • Treatment Foster Care: Homes licensed for children/youth with treatment needs that require a higher level of care and support until they can safely return home to their families or identify another permanent placement. Treatment Foster Care provides safe and nurturing care to children by licensed foster parents and is generally temporary. Placement is intended to give families time to make changes so the child can safely return home.
  • Professional Foster Care Program: This program serves youth age 13-17 who have a history of numerous placements, chronic running away behaviors or engage in risky behaviors in the community. One parent has to agree not to work outside the home and will receive an additional stipend.
  • Safe Home: This program serves females age 13-17 who have a history of, or are currently victims of sex trafficking. One foster parent has to agree not to work outside of the home and will receive an additional stipend.

Respite Care: Respite Care is an essential part of the overall support that foster families may need to continue caring for the foster child(ren) in their home. Respite means to take a break from the daily challenges of caring for a child with special needs. It can be planned for a few hours or for as long as a weekend. Respite providers are paid for their care of the foster child. This is a way to help children and families without going through the entire foster home licensing process.

Becoming a Foster Parent

All foster parents receive a stipend and health insurance for the child.

Frequently Asked Questions & Topics

  • Phone screening with a Licensing Specialist
  • Receive information packet with background check paperwork
  • Complete an application and required paperwork
  • Schedule home visits
  • Complete 36 hours of La Causa pre-placement training

Treatment Foster Care parents (excluding respite care) must meet at least three of the following criteria.
Professional Foster Parents must meet at least four criteria:

  • A high school diploma or GED equivalent
  • Minimum of one year of experience as a foster parent/kinship care provider with placement for one year
  • Minimum of 500 hours of respite care or break for another foster parent
  • Minimum of five years’ experience working with or parenting children
  • Advanced degree in an area of children’s treatment such as social work, nursing, medicine, psychology
  • A substantial relationship with the child to be placed through professional or personal experience
  • Work or personal experience for which the applicant has demonstrated a knowledge, skill, ability and motivation to meet the needs of a child with treatment needs

Parents have access to a dedicated Treatment Foster Care Specialist available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
They provide:

  • Pre-service as well as ongoing training
  • In-home visits
  • Support during the licensing process and during the placement

We think the best way to answer this question is for you to hear right from our foster parents and what they think sets us apart. 

  • “The La Causa Treatment Foster Care Program listens when things are not going right, gives extra support and suggestions when needed, and helps steer us in the right direction. I am very satisfied with my TFC Specialist and the overall program.” – TFC Foster Parent
  • “The best thing about La Causa’s Treatment Foster Care services is the people. Our Specialist explains everything in detail is always there for questions or concerns and is very supportive.” – TFC Foster Parent
  • “I strongly agree that my La Causa TFC Specialist is accessible, listens and supports me, follows through with things they say they are going to, and they recognize my care of the foster children.” – SAFE HOME Foster Parent
  • “My TFC Worker always listens to me and supports me.” – Foster Youth

People from all walks of life can be a foster parent. You can be young or wise in age, a homeowner or renter, married or single, work in or outside the home or be with or without children of your own.  You do, however, need to be 21 years of age or older to apply and meet the DCF 56 Foster Home Care for Children licensing codes.

It’s not a decision you can – or should – make quickly or lightly. Take some time to assess your current life circumstances and discuss this decision with all household members as this affects the whole family.  Do you have support systems around you (family/friends/neighbors) to assist in case of emergency (i.e. child gets suspended from school)?  Do you feel that you are able to work with the foster child’s birth family and work towards a supportive partnership to successfully reunify the child?  Are you prepared to provide transportation to all doctors, dental, therapy, school, etc. appointments and participate as a vital team member for the child in your home?  Are you prepared to supervise the child, which may include more supervision than the children you may currently care for?

No, but it will take a little time. First, you need to contact a Licensing Specialist at La Causa (Meghan Miller 414-902-1502). The licensing specialist will need to get to know you better through in-person interviews, home visits, background clearings, and licensing questionnaires that you will be asked to complete. The process can go fairly quickly if you are getting us everything we need in a timely manner, attending all of the required trainings on the dates provided, and are able to meet with us regularly to complete the process. Or if you want to take the process slow, we can move at your comfort level.

The amount of time a child stays in foster care can vary from as little as a few days to a number of years. Many children in foster care will return home in less than three months; however, some children are still in foster care after many years. Most children in the foster program are not available for adoption, but the foster parents are eligible to apply if that child’s plan is adoption. In fact, each year foster parents become the adoptive parents in approximately 80 percent of adoption cases in Wisconsin.

Our Licensing Specialist will call you when a referral for a child needing placement comes to us and walk you through the child’s known history and needs.  Together, we decide if the placement is appropriate for your home, and if it is, we then initiate the process with our system partners to either schedule pre-placement visits or an emergency placement.

Foster parents are paid a foster care subsidy by the State of Wisconsin to meet the needs of the child. Foster parents do not pay any of a child’s medical or dental expenses, other than over-the-counter medicines and supplies. Foster children are covered by Medical Assistance, Title 19.

Foster parents may work full-time outside the home. Many foster children attend daycare or school while foster parents work outside the home. Foster parents are responsible for setting up before and after-school care for the foster child in their home and arranging for transportation.  If you are a one-parent household and work third shift, we will need to discuss what support you have in place to see if this is a viable option for a foster child placement.

We would be happy to answer them for you!  Use the Treatment Foster Care Interest Form to email us your information and questions.

Testimonials

“The best thing about La Causa’s Treatment Foster Care services is the people. Our Specialist explains everything in detail is always there for questions or concerns and is very supportive.”

- Foster Parent

“My Worker goes the extra mile to provide assistance for me and the kids.”

- Foster Parent

“My TFC Worker always listens to me and supports me.”

- Foster Parent

“My TFC Specialist supports me and I am comfortable talking to them. My foster family makes me feel like part of their family.”

- SAFE HOME Youth

“The things I enjoy about my foster parents’ are that they love me, support and care about me.”

- Foster Youth

“My worker listens to me and supports me; makes me feel comfortable and I feel that I am doing better in my foster care placement.”

- Foster Youth

“The La Causa Treatment Foster Care Program listens when things are not going right, give extra support and suggestions when needed and help steer us in the right direction. I am very satisfied with my TFC Specialist and the overall program.”

- TFC Foster Parent

“This La Causa worker is an amazing TFC worker. The best that I have worked with in the 12 years that I have been a case manager.”

- Family Case Manager

“The foster parents are very responsive and provide excellent care for the children. They work really well with the foster care team and they stay in contact with me to ensure I am up to date on what’s happening with the children.”

- Family Case Manager

“The TFC parent is always on top of things and very open minded. We need more foster parents like her. She never gives up as hard as things may be sometimes.”

- Family Case Manager

Check out Luis’s National Adoption Day story, and the community support that helps children find safety, stability, and belonging.

Contact us today to learn more at (414) 902-1902 or complete the form below and we will get back to you as soon as possible!

Treatment Foster Care Interest Form

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Questions about our Social Services? Call us – we’re here to help!

414-902-1500

EMAIL US AT
SS@lacausa.org