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There are many reasons why children may be unable to live with their families; nevertheless, every child needs to have the opportunity to live in a safe, stable home. Parsons offers several family foster care programs for children who must live out of their homes.

Family foster care is a preferred level of care for children who are able to function in a home environment. The need for foster families is ever increasing. The NYS Office of Children and Family Services licenses each program, and every home is certified as a foster family. Parsons recruits and prepares applicants to provide foster and adoptive care, and assures that applicants meet state regulatory requirements for certification. Families interested in becoming foster parents to foster or adopt children can contact us at (518) 426-2868 or via e-mail at fostercare@parsonscenter.org.

• Emergency Care is available through an arrangement with local county departments of social services to provide for children in crisis situations. During a child's placement in an emergency family, clinical and support staff provide services necessary for successful reunification with the birth family or the development of a different long-term plan.



• Children with special needs who are unable to live with their birth families may be placed in Specialized Foster Care homes on an emergency, short or long-term basis. Family support workers assist the child and birth family to promote permanency.



• Therapeutic Foster Care provides homes for children with intensive needs who may otherwise be placed in an institutional setting because they require a high level of supervision and assistance. A unique feature of Therapeutic Foster Care is the availability of child and family care workers who offer respite services to the foster parents while providing therapeutic activities to the youngsters in care.



• Adolescents who have problems with chronic antisocial behavior and delinquency may be placed in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care as an alternative to incarceration and group or residential care. Intervention through this program is multifaceted and occurs in multiple settings. The intervention components include behavioral parent training for foster and biological parents (or other aftercare resources), skills training for the youth, family therapy for biological families, supportive therapy for the youth and involved adults, school-based behavioral interventions and academic support, and psychiatric consultation and medication management when needed.