YORK COUNTY, Pa. — A specialized York County foster care program is providing a unique level of care for at-risk youth, all while being the only one of its kind in Central Pennsylvania.
Pressley Ridge is promoting its Community Residential Rehabilitation (CPR) program during May's National Foster Care Month.
The program sees that at-risk children with mental health or behavioral issues receive structured mental health treatment in a home, rather than in an inpatient or a residential treatment facility.
Treatment is incorporated into the day-to-day lives of the children, and the caregivers are known as "treatment parents."
"When a youth enters the CRR program, right out of the gate they will be receiving individual and family therapy, if they have family, once a week," said Abby Chan, the clinical supervisor of the program. "In addition, the treatment parents receive in-home support through our treatment coordinators once a week. And then we provide psychiatric psychological evaluations and then management."
It's in an effort, Chan says, to integrate treatment into the routines of the children while giving them a stable home environment.
"As opposed to traditional foster care, or other levels, we provide everything in-house," Chan said. "So you're not traveling and taking kids to appointments. There's no waitlist, they're getting the services right through my team automatically and we are on call and available to families 24/7."
The program is the only one of its kind in central Pa. and is funded entirely through insurance. However, CPR is low on families willing to participate as treatment parents and has to consistently turn away referrals as a result.
Chan says the perks for families wanting to get involved are a higher stipend than traditional foster care, 24/7 support from staff and the knowledge that through the program's 80%-90% success rate they are changing the lives of children and teenagers for the better.
"I love seeing the families thrive and do the amazing work they're capable of," Chan said. "We really need families."