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Bridges to Health (B2H) Program Enhances Services for Children in Foster Care at our Agency
Effective January 1, 2008 our foster care agency became one of the first agencies in New York City to participate in the Bridges to Health (B2H) Waiver Program. The program is currently offering a number of additional services that are aimed at improving the adjustment of children in foster care who experience emotional difficulties, developmental disabilities, and medical frailties. Both children and their families receive additional services that improve their health and well-being, support permanency planning, and reduce the need for more restrictive placements. These services are provided in the least restrictive,
most home-like setting possible, involving the individuals in the child’s care giving network whenever appropriate––foster family, birth family, and adoptive family members.
The professionals involved with the program include Health Care Integrators (HCIs) who are responsible for the management of all B2H Services. Their role is to assess the need for services, develop and update the Individualized Health Plan (IHP), link the child and family/caregiver to the identified services, consult with the child and caregiver on the appropriate provision of services, stabilize the environment for the child and caregiver and advocate for the child’s needs. The HCI must obtain a complete and accurate picture from the child and/or medical consenter of the child’s history, risk factors, needs and most importantly, strengths.
We provide all 14 B2H Waiver services through our own staff and/or subcontracts with community-based organizations to provide these services.
During the first six months of the program (January through July 2008) we have been actively involved in training and program development activities which have required considerable staffing resources. We have needed to hire and train appropriate staff while reassigning some existing staff responsibilities. A major obstacle for us has been the lack of start up funding which has limited program growth and development. However, we have already begun to see the very positive impact that the program has had on many of the children that we serve.
An example includes the case of EP - a child who has been known to our Foster Boarding Home (FBH) and Therapeutic Foster Boarding Home (TFBH) programs for several years. At the time of referral, he was experiencing significant difficulties with acting out behaviors in school and was at risk of being placed in an alternate setting. His Kinship Foster mother could not take more time off from work to deal with the situation and she was thinking of having him removed from her home. Through the Special Needs Community Advocacy service, the Waiver Service Provider (WSP) was able to work with the child in the school setting, model appropriate behavior, and meet with school staff to help them understand EP’s special needs. A behavioral plan was put into place that the Behavioral Specialist in our TFBH program helped to implement and monitor. Through the Family Caregiver Support Service, the same Waiver Service Provider was able to provide the EP with needed encouragement and support in order to have the child remain in her home. The active collaboration between the B2H Health Care Integrator, the Waiver Service Provider, the TFBH Case Planner and Behavioral Specialist as well as the school staff saved this placement and significantly enhanced this youngster’s adjustment.
Additional benefits of the B2H program have included training opportunities. Our Waiver Service Providers, many of whom are our own case workers and parent advocates, are now receiving increased training in Crisis Intervention, the Child Welfare System, Mentoring, Coaching, etc. These staff members report that they feel good about these professional development activities and their improved skills benefit the children and families that they serve in other CMS programs. In addition, B2H has given us the opportunity to increase our visibility in the community as we continue to establish partnerships with other community service providers. We are very confident that the program will continue to enhance the services that are available to the children and families that we serve.
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