Programs & Services
Summit Community Foster Care is a ministry licensed organization that provides a range of programs and services for children and youth. The core service we offer is residential care: foster and group for children and youth who require out of home placements.
The following services are included as core elements of our residential programs:
- Emergency and crisis placement
- Respite care
- Comprehensive case management
- Clinical support and training from registered and qualified psychologists
- Weekly therapeutic groups
- Community based activities and recreational programs
- Psychological assessment services – fee for service
- Risk levels and needs assessments and outcome evaluations
- 24 hour on-call support services for crisis intervention and counseling
- Risk needs assessments and behavioural assessments
- Social skills assessments and skills streaming group sessions
- Independent living assessments and training
- Comprehensive home studies for foster homes
- Comprehensive foster parent training using the Daniel Memorial Foster Parent Training System
- Individual counseling
Program Overview
At Summit Community Foster Care we provide both “essential” and “investment” residential services. Overall, our residential services are recognized as an essential service providing a safe place to those who cannot live with their family or live independently. The focus of our program has always been to provide treatment in a healthy, therapeutic environment. We ensure proper assessment of the child’s level of risk and needs, while designing and implementing appropriate individual treatment programs in order to address the child’s needs. Evidence-based practices and best-practice techniques and tools are used in both program design and in the delivery of our services.
The goal of our residential programs is to enable children and youth to be less dependent on long-term services, especially costly services like hospitalization or from becoming involved in the young offender or adult custody systems.
Most children who attend our residential program are from broken families or families currently unable to cope with the difficulties and challenges they face. The children usually have experienced isolation and have been rejected in their homes, schools, and communities. Many suffer from the effects of severe physical, emotional or sexual abuse and is often compounded by significant medical and psychological problems. By the time they reach us, they usually have already been through several residential placements and services.
Program Goals
We believe that the very makeup of the foster care home is in essence, the major element of any program. We believe that the foster family’s overall health and well-being is essential and inseparable from the healthy growth of the child in care. Summit Community Foster Care strives to develop and enhance the well-being of the family unit by providing ongoing training, supervision, and support.
Our aim is to provide a safe, stable, caring, and supportive environment in which children are given opportunity and the encouragement to grow and mature towards responsible independence.
By using solution focused approaches and inherent natural consequences, we are able to work with children to build a strong sense of self worth and empower many. This helps to instil in each child the strength, confidence and the ability to become a responsible member of society.
In order for children to become responsible members of society, children need to develop a sense of belonging, healthy self-love, self-awareness, an understanding of integrity, awareness of right and wrong and sense of purpose and hope. These are all qualities that we try to impress upon them by creating a positive peer culture through positive role modelling and program education.
Children are urged to be “response-able” and to take responsibility for their actions and their progress. They are given as much freedom about the home and throughout the community as they can safely handle. Positive one-on-one activities with House Parents, Residential Youth Workers or support staff are used frequently to provide the individual attention children need.
Staffing Compliment
The basic staffing compliment for each Parent Model residence consists of a live-in Foster Parent, a primary Residential Youth Worker, and a relief staff based on occupancy rates. Additional staff is available when required to ensure the safety and security of the child, and others, or to ensure the quality of programming is maintained. Summit Community Foster Care will negotiate with the placing agency for additional staffing and services that are required and are not included in our basic service rates as approved by the Ministry. The basic staffing compliment for each Staff-Operated Model residence consists of a 1:4 ratio. The staff responsible for providing the daily care of the residents will be supervised and trained by a Team Leader. Staff training is also an ongoing collaborative effort by all agencies involved to facilitate consistency throughout delivery of services and to reduce overall costs.