Mike* is an 11-year-old boy who entered The Children's Guild's Treatment Foster Care program two-and-a-half years ago. Mike came to The Guild with severe behavioral, emotional and academic delays including self-injurious behavior, aggression and sexually inappropriate behavior. He enrolled in The Children's Guild's Family Help Center and was placed in our school because of his learning delays and behavioral problems.

After being placed with one of our foster parents, Mike's behavior was so improved he was able to be stepped down from our school to his community school, which is something he very much wanted. His foster parent created partnerships with Mike's teachers to implement strategies that would maximize his learning strengths and compensate for his learning weaknesses.

She also has been extremely proactive in bridging the communication gap between Mike and his biological family. She calls Mike's grandmother and father weekly to have Mike talk about his day, activities in which he participates, and anything else that he wants to share with his family. His foster parent, with the aid of The Children's Guild's Family Life Educator, obtained bi-monthly supervised visits between Mike and his father: visits that Mike looks forward to. Mike's foster parent also encourages him to write and send pictures to his mother, who is currently incarcerated.

As a result of this outreach, Mike's mother is currently participating in a parenting class in hopes of being reunited with her son. Mike's foster parent has done a remarkable job in strengthening the relationship between Mike and his biological family, which has in turn played a major role in Mike's improvement.

NOTE: To protect the privacy of this student, the name has been changed.