National Foster Care Awareness Month, recognized each May, is an opportunity to highlight the needs of the more than 391,000 children and young people in foster care in the U.S. In Philadelphia, there are about 3,100 children and youth in foster care at any given time.
Turning Points for Children (TPFC), a PHMC subsidiary, provides a comprehensive continuum of services to children, youth and families, including foster care services and support. TPFC’s foster care-related services include:
- Foster Care: program provides safe, healthy homes for more than 900 children in the Philadelphia region. Case managers work closely with the biological and foster family, relative caregivers, the Department of Human Services, the courts and other agencies to help the biological family address its challenges and reunify the child with the biological family as soon as possible.
- Family Finding Services: supports youth in or at risk of being in foster care by locating relatives in order to connect the child with a network of supportive individuals and foster a sense of belonging. With connections found through Family Finding, youth are at decreased risk for incarceration, mental and physical health challenges, and homelessness in adulthood. Since 2010, TPFC has located 200,000 connections, and 24,000 became a permanent fixture in the child’s life.
- LifeSet Program: provides transition services to young adults, ages 17-23, who are leaving the foster care, juvenile justice and mental health systems, or who would otherwise find themselves without the necessary skills and resources to live successfully at this critical junction in their young lives.
To learn more about TPFC and its services related to foster care, visit www.turningpointsforchildren.org
