In 2021, The Guidance Center became one of only two agencies in the state to introduce the highly successful Treatment Foster Care Oregon program (TFCO), developed as an alternative to institutional, residential and group care placements for children and youth with severe emotional and behavioral disorders.

The two main goals of TFCO are to create opportunities for youth to successfully live in a family setting and simultaneously help parents (or other family members caring for the youth) to provide effective parenting.

TFCO seeks compassionate, generous individuals to serve as therapeutic parents. The therapeutic parents are provided with ample resources, training and compensation to open their homes to youth aged 7-11 who face significant behavioral challenges or experience challenges in the home. The typical duration that a youth stays with the Therapeutic Parents is six-to-nine months.

TFCO focuses on five key areas: (1) a consistent, reinforcing environment with mentoring and encouragement; (2) daily structure with clear expectations and specific consequences; (3) a high level of youth supervision; (4) limited access to problem peers along with access to prosocial peers; and (5) an environment that supports daily school attendance and homework completion.

“During the placement period there is an individual therapist working with the youth at the treatment home on a weekly basis to provide support, teach coping skills and how to manage emotions, and build on skills to better regulate themselves in the community and follow guidelines at home,” said TFCO Coordinator Leah Thomas. “There also is a skills coach who meets with the child once a week who gives them opportunities to practice their new skills.”

The Guidance Center is searching for therapeutic parents to become part of a team that serves as an integral part of a youth’s treatment to help create behavior change and provide a safe, nurturing and supportive home to a child.

The agency provides specialized training, on-call support 24 hours a day, the use of an evidence-based behavioral management program, and compensation for this important participation ($75 per day, plus $22.35 for room and board).

“We seek parents who love to be around children,” Thomas said, “and the program is open to anyone who has space in their schedule and space in their home. Our therapeutic parents are positive people who want to provide a safe environment and are supportive of the whole family, not just the child. We want people willing to help build self-esteem with positive reinforcement and be part of a team that really makes a difference in a child’s life.”

TFCO is not a foster care program and is not connected to child welfare. The Guidance Center is a licensing agency that recruits for therapeutic parents in a manner similar to the way foster parents are recruited.

TFCO has proven to prevent or reduce the number of days in institutional or residential settings; prevent the escalation of delinquency, youth violence and pregnancy; increase positive academic engagement; reduce placement disruptions; increase attachment, and improve brain stress regulatory systems.

Anyone interested in becoming therapeutic parents should call The Guidance Center at (313) 388-4630 or email tfco@guidance-center.org.

Since 1958 The Guidance Center has been committed to its mission: Nurture development. Foster resilience. Cultivate well-being. For nearly seven decades, the agency has maintained a collaborative relationship with its local communities and schools to support adults and children experiencing mental health difficulties and other challenges.