Emergency Placements

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About this topic

While some entries in foster care are planned in advance, many others are sudden, perhaps in the middle of the night or on a weekend. Placement desks are under great duress to find family or a matching foster home immediately, even in the face of dwindling resources and homes. Worse, when unsuitable placements are made under duress, they might work out for days or weeks, but eventually disrupt and start the emergency all over again.

Why this matters

A strategic variety of emergency options can ultimately increase the number of youth initially placed with kin (by giving the system enough time to find them) and avoid institutional placements.

What we can do

  • Dedicated emergency placements. Sometimes called crisis nurseries or receiving homes, facilities or dedicated foster homes that specialize in very short-term (usually under 72 hours) emergency placements can give taxed placement desks enough time to find and resource kinship placements, or at worst, thoughtfully match the child with an available home in the community that matches their needs.
  • Have families on call A foster parent may be available to take a placement, but simply can't answer the phone right away. A schedule and/or compensation for families to be "on call" for possible placements can ensure children have placement options no matter what time of day.

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