Functional Behavioral Analysis or FBA should be in the repertoire of every foster or resource family. When foster or resource parents take in youths, regardless of their age, they bring in youth with existing difficulties. The problems are caused by trauma, including abuse, neglect, or being in multiple placements. While other problems are due to their own emotional and behavioral difficulties, beyond what a “typical” youth would have.
In any of these cases, the resource family may not be prepared for what will come. Although they have experience with their own children or other foster youth, children with higher acuity are being placed with more severe difficulties. As resource parents across the country start taking in the youths who used to be in residential facilities, these youths come with more difficult problems, such as fire setting, substance use, sexual offenses, running away, or commercial sexual exploitation.
In some states like California, the state provides more specialized services, like Intensive Foster Care Services (ISFC) which is designed to provide resource parents with the skills to manage their foster youths’ behaviors. Or Therapeutic Foster Care (TFC) where the parents are the mental health behavioral specialists and bill Medi-Cal for treating the youths.
How do they prepare?
Here are 3 reasons why resources parents should know FBA:
1. It teaches them to be good observers. To learn what the youth needs, they first have to know what the youth is doing. When? Where? How much? What happens before and after their behavior? Learn it from their own observations and from that of others such as social workers, teachers, and others who know the youth.
2. They learn the functions of the youth’s behavior. Do the youth need a mind-body connection? To feel safe? To feel part of the group? Or to have some control of their life? This last one is a very big deal with foster youth. Imagine being a youth who goes into a new environment. They can’t control their parents, their social worker, what school they go to, or anything else. Not even their clothing. They then need some control, which could be anything from wetting their bed to cutting themselves with a paper clip. Learning the behavior’s function helps to create targeted interventions.
3. They learn how to try specific strategies which work with youth. This is a collaborative effort between the youth and the family. First, it gets everyone on the same page. The parent wants to help and there can be incentives for the youth to change their behaviors. The parent and youth develop skills to deal with crises and also to prevent crises. But it’s a partnership. Which the foster youth has some sense of control. A win-win situation.
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PRAXES is a nationwide behavioral health software, consulting, and training company. No one in the behavioral health industry has a better reputation, and if you give us the chance, we’ll show you why! At PRAXES, our services improve the efficiency and structure of behavioral health agencies serving children and families nationwide. PRAXES brings over 45 years of administrative and clinical expertise. With more than 100 client companies nationwide, we offer the expertise to advance the quality of behavioral health services. We accomplish these goals through our new clinical decision software, our training of best practices, and helping companies meet regulatory standards. At PRAXES, we believe in being creative and fostering new ways to serve children and their families. Our vision is to empower the families our agencies serve with skills that not only improve their functioning, but help them to thrive in their everyday lives. When you give us the chance, you’ll be connected directly to our friendly staff, so you can expect immediate attention to your inquiry. So, don’t wait, call now!
Dan Thorne has unique perspectives on the field of mental health. As a clinician, he has had over 40 years of experience working with clients in the Southern California area. After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from the University of California at Irvine, he worked with children in the Orange County Juvenile Hall. Here he honed his earliest techniques on at-risk children. After that, he obtained his Master’s degree in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton.
In the 1990’s, Dan turned his attention to the clinical and administrative side of behavioral health organizations. For three years, he was the Assistant Administrator of Starting Point, a chemical dependency facility in Costa Mesa, CA. In 2001, he took an opportunity to be the Director of Harbor View Community Services Center in Long Beach. When he arrived, the Center had only 80 clients and 13 staff. When he left, there were over 400 clients and 75 staff. Dan created several programs through their contract with the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health and Child and Family Services. Under his guidance, Harbor View became one of the leading providers of children’s services in Los Angeles County.
While improving the results of the client’s parents at the Center, Dan reflected on his experiences as a parent. His children themselves had special needs such as mental and intellectual challenges, and Dan knew the toll it takes on the parent. In order to help the child, the parent has to be healthy. From this concept, he created his parenting program. After years of refining it, teaching it to his staff at the Center, and then taking the results and comments from these efforts, he became the developer of the current PRAXES program. It is a culmination of Dan’s personal trials and tribulations as a parent along with empirical results and research of over 40 parenting programs.
Our vision at PRAXES is to advance the strength of parents and caregivers of children with special needs (mental health, intellectual, or physical) through education, support, and empowerment. Thus, they can live healthy and functional lives while caring for the child.
Apogee is a clinical decision software designed to help behavioral health practitioners with their treatment and patient engagement. It provides evidence-based and research-based components. Not only do they consist of elements from such practices as Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Seeking Safety, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Motivational Interviewing, Functional Behavior Analysis, but also the Intensive Models for Parents, Youth, and Children.
PRAXES has over 30 years of accreditation experience. We know what it takes to get your organization accredited. Whether it’s Joint Commission, CARF, or COA, our team can provide an evaluation of your current status and review the standards which need improvements. We will assist you with the policies, documentation, and training required to be accredited.
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