St. Louis Mental Health Board Renews Boys & Girls Town Contract
for Innovative Program to Help Children in Foster Care
St. Louis, Mo. (July 17, 2007) – Boys & Girls Town of Missouri was awarded a grant renewal from the St. Louis Mental Health Board to continue Fostering Futures, a program designed to improve the stability of foster home placement for children.
The goal of Fostering Futures is to decrease the number of foster home placements experienced by children in foster care who struggle with emotional and behavior problems and keep them from entering residential care or living on the streets. Weekly connections, allow behavior specialists to provide guidance, support and crisis intervention to foster parents and children in their care. The knowledge foster parents gain from these interactions is used to improve the home environment for the children currently in foster care and those who will be placed in the home in the future.
In 2006, the first year of the program, 24 families successfully completed the program and a total of 56 children received treatment.
"As a pilot program, Fostering Futures, was a huge success and we are thrilled to be able to continue to help children in foster care and their foster families have positive, enduring relationships," said Kathy O’Brien, regional vice president.
Boys & Girls Town partners with the St. Louis office of the Missouri Children's Division to implement the program. There are an estimated 18 per 1,000 children living in foster homes in St. Louis City. |
