Catchers in the rye: treatment foster parents as a system of care.
OBJECTIVE
Similar to the children in J. D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye, youth in foster care face the specter of "going over the cliff."


METHODS
The empirical basis for "treatment foster care" is reviewed, concluding that treatment foster care is both a clinically and cost-effective form of community-based treatment.


RESULTS
Treatment foster parents prevent the fall of foster youth into the chasm of school failure, involvement with juvenile justice, and dependent living as adults.


CONCLUSIONS
Treatment foster care is an evidence-based approach that is less restrictive and offers troubled youth an opportunity to engage and grow within a family setting.
McGuinness
Teena M
TM
University of Alabama School of Nursing, Birmingham, AL, USA. teena@adoption-research.org
Dyer
Janyce G
JG
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005581:Foster Home Care; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000451:nursing / Q000628:therapy*; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012114:Residential Treatment