Colorado pilots program to license foster parents

There are about 3,000 children and youth living in foster care in Colorado at any given time. The state has been desperate to bring more families into the system to foster those children. A new program would license foster parents further reducing the barriers to helping children.

The Professional Foster Care Pilot Program would license foster parents who are prepared to care for youth, especially teens, who need a therapeutic family environment after being in residential treatment for behavioral and/or emotional health needs. The license comes with fixed pay and the resources to buy health insurance, evidence-based training specific to working with high-needs youth, and 24/7 crisis support, as well as, weekly in-home consultation and support.

"We know that caring for kids, especially kids with this high level of need is really tough. And, often times these kids have a lot of therapy appointments. They can't stay in school the whole day, so they need someone to be there to pick them up, take them to therapy, maybe pick them up if they've had some behaviors. And so, what this program does is allow a parent to stay home, and receive this fixed pay, so they can truly make this their full-time job to care for these kids," said Jenna Coleman, Executive Director of SAFY, Specialized Alternatives for Families and Youth.

SAFY is a national non-profit organization which focuses on treatment foster care services. The Colorado Department of Human Services has contracted with the Fort Collins office of SAFY to license four professional foster parents as part of the pilot.

"We're going to help our families get licensed, provide them that level of training for these treatment level kids, and then partner alongside them to make sure they are successful with their child in the home," Coleman explained.

Licensed foster care parents will be providing care to youth who have completed treatment objectives and stabilization in a residential facility or hospital. In Colorado at any given time, 300 youth are in residential facilities, in some cases because there are not enough foster care families with which to place them. The licenses foster care placement would allow the child to transition back into family living.

"The child learns how to be more appropriate in the age appropriate setting that they're in," said Dawn Anderson, a foster parent.

Anderson has been a foster parent for 23-years She's had 27 children in her home, and adopted 7 of them.

"You just really learn to trust the process and treat it like an adventure," Anderson explained.  "Right now, we're specifically focusing on teenagers that are harder to place."

She has the years of experience that make her a good candidate to become a licensed foster parent. She plans to go through the 120-day licensing process, which includes extensive questioning and home studies.

"This is a skill that has been recognized by the state, that I have and I can go forward and offer that to my community," Anderson told CBS4.

To qualify for the Professional Foster Parent program, you have to be over the age of 18 with experience working with high-needs youth, youth who have developmental delays, behavioral issues or other challenges stemming from trauma, in addition to the existing foster parent requirements for foster parents in Colorado.