Children need foster care for many reasons, including behavioral health challenges that become more than the biological family can handle alone. In many cases, the children we serve have experienced trauma such as abuse, neglect or exposure to violence. For these children, we provide trauma-focused care in consultation with their therapist that helps them heal in a safe and supportive environment.

Children in Therapeutic Foster Care: A Wide Range of Behavioral Health Challenges

Life Opportunities Therapeutic Home Services recognizes that many children in foster care are dealing with a wide range of behavioral health challenges, including separation, loss and grief, that can make foster care a difficult, even traumatic, experience.

When a child is placed with a foster family, they are leaving everything familiar behind: parents, siblings, pets and friends—maybe even their schools.

Our goal is to help them make a smooth transition into a safe, nurturing foster home where they can heal without experiencing new traumas. Only then can we help them move forward in life.

Healing After Trauma

Strong, supportive family relationships are vital to a child’s healthy development. Life Opportunities Therapeutic Home Services' Therapeutic Foster Care program emphasizes the “expanded family,” which can include parents and other caregivers, siblings, extended family members such as grandparents, and the child’s foster parent. All of these family members play a vital role in supporting the child emotionally, socially and physically. They all have a positive contribution to make to the child’s well-being.

Our goal is to help all of these family members learn to work together in the way that best benefits the child. At the same time, they build relationship and coping skills that can support the child on his or her life journey.  If appropriate, the child may transition back to the biological home when treatment is complete. In some cases, those over 18 may pursue higher education, employment or independent living after leaving our care.

Support for the Whole Family

While a child is in our Therapeutic Foster Care program, we empower the whole family to heal and move forward after traumatic events through our clinical model which uses tools such as Family Systems thinking, coordination of care with intensive in-home, day treatment and trauma-focused therapy providers and more.