Therapeutic Foster Care
The needs of children with behavioral challenges and/or developmental
disabilities simply cannot be met effectively by traditional foster parenting.
Therapeutic Foster Care
The needs of children with behavioral challenges and/or developmental disabilities simply cannot be met effectively by traditional foster parenting.
When traditional foster care can’t meet the need, therapeutic foster care steps in.
Creative Community Services provides specialized foster care for children and youth with complex trauma, developmental needs, and histories of placement instability. These are children who require more than a home placement—they require consistent, supported relationships and a coordinated system of care around them.
Who We Serve
Many of the children in our program have experienced multiple placements before coming to CCS.
They may be navigating the effects of abuse, neglect, chronic instability, or unmet developmental and emotional needs. Over time, these experiences shape how a child understands safety, trust, and connection.
We do not minimize that reality. We begin there.
Our role is to provide steady, informed care that meets children in their current reality and supports them toward stability over time.
A Trauma-Informed Approach to Care
CCS recognizes that healing does not come from placement alone.
Our therapeutic foster care model is built around safety, consistency, and relationship. We work to reduce disruption, support regulation, and create environments where children can begin to experience stability that is repeated, not temporary.
Care is not delivered in isolation. It is coordinated across a team so that no child is dependent on a single point of support.
How Therapeutic Foster Care Works
Therapeutic foster care at CCS is a highly supported, team-based model of relational care.
Foster parents are carefully screened, trained, and continuously supported. They are not expected to carry the complexity of this work alone.
Each child is supported by a coordinated team that may include:
- Family consultants and behavioral specialists
- Clinical providers and therapists
- Case managers and system partners
- Ongoing coordination with biological and kinship connections when appropriate
Together, this network provides structure, continuity, and relational stability over time.
Working Toward Permanency For Each Child
The goal of therapeutic foster care is not placement—it is permanency.
That may look like reunification, kinship placement, guardianship, or another long-term stable environment. The aim is that a child does not remain in a cycle of transition, but moves toward a place of lasting belonging.
We measure success in stability that holds over time, not in placement alone.
Our Support Services
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- Foster parent training classes (NTDC, CPR/First Aid, Safety Care, and Medication)
- Monthly stipend determined by levels of required supervision
- Caregiver support groups
- Caregiver mentorship program
- Respite care
- 24/7 on-call support
- Community resources (tutoring, summer camp, and extracurricular activities)
- Educational advocacy
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Offering comprehensive respite types
Regular breaks from parenting are essential for CCS foster families. Children who are dual-diagnosed (with both developmental or cognitive delays and/or severe emotional disturbances from abuse or neglect) present special challenges, and respite is a critical ingredient for successful placements. We provide respite in 5 key ways:
Planned
Scheduled breaks from caregiving duties, up to two weekends a month
Emergency
Immediate relief for foster parents when unforeseen circumstances arise
Crisis
Safe homes for youth experiencing homelessness or heightened stress
Interim
Temporary placements for youth transitioning into foster care.
Adventure
Therapeutic camping trips run by specially trained staff. Click here to learn more.
Become A Therapeutic Foster Parent
Therapeutic foster parents carry a critical role in this system of care.
They provide daily presence in the life of a child who may have experienced significant disruption. With the support of CCS, foster parents are equipped to respond to complex needs, build trust gradually, and maintain consistency through difficult seasons.
What matters most is not perfection, but steadiness.
CCS provides training, support, and ongoing partnership so foster parents are never navigating this work alone.
* We welcome all foster parent applicants, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, relationship status, or religious affiliation.