HSE"s new foster service

A new fostering service, which is aimed at keeping troubled teens out of institutions, has been rolled out in the four midland counties of Westmeath, Offaly, Longford and Laois.The service is known as 'Treo Nua', and offers what is termed a 'multidimensional treatment foster care (MTFC) programme for young people with challenging behaviour.It is being run by the firm 'Extern' which for the HSE, from offices at the Mullingar Business Park, and on Friday last, the Minister for Youth and Children, Deputy Barry Andrews, came to town to officially launch the service.Extern is the first agency in the Republic of Ireland to pilot this programme, which is similar to programmes run by Extern for health agencies in Northern Ireland.The idea of the programme is that children who would otherwise be placed in high-support residential settings will be placed with specially trained foster families. In turn, the Treo Nua team will provide the foster carers with 24/7 support.Extern explains that the Treo Nua programme will mean that young people aged between 12 and 17 who are not able to live with their parents, or who 'have had life experiences' and need a period of stability in order to improve their life circumstances, will get specialised care and therapy on a one-to-one basis.'The young people who enter the programme may have a range of issues and are in need of a structured supportive placement to develop positive coping skills and behaviour,' according to the HSE"s Area Communications Manager, Dymphna Bracken.The youngsters will live with the foster families for between six and nine months, and the foster families have direct contact with the Programme Supervisor whenever they are having problems or need advice and support.The foster carers will meet weekly to share success stories, difficulties, and lessons learnt. In addition, they will have access to training on a frequent basis, and are offered regular respite, and annual leave.The young people have access to a range of staff, such as education workers, skills workers and individual therapists. They too have support on a 24/7 basis from the team.Each weekday, Treo Nua will collect information from the carers about the previous twenty four hours in terms of the behaviour of the young person and the level of stress experienced by the carer. Following these daily reports, adjustments for the individual young person can be made if necessary. The whole Treo Nua team meet weekly and review the progress of the young person.According to the HSE, the success of this programme is the multi-level interventions in the young person"s family, community and school settings. The youngster"s own family will receive family therapy while the child him or herself is with the foster family.'Treo Nua"s aim is to create the necessary supports and opportunities for the young people so they can live successfully within the community. It also aims to prepare their parents, relatives or other aftercare family to use skills and methods that allow them to maintain the gains the young person has made while in the programme once he or she returns home,' says the HSE.The Treo Nua programme is based on the MTFC programme developed in the US by the Oregon Social Learning Centre, and which has proven successful in countries such as the UK, Sweden and Holland as well as the US.At the launch, Joe Ruane, local health manager with the HSE spoke, as did Aidan Waterstone of the HSE, and Keith Nix of Extern, together with Minister Andrews, who welcomed the arrival of the programme, and spoke of the means it would provide the HSE in helping young people with difficulties.