In Shared Family Care (SFC), parent(s) and children are placed together in the home of a host family who is trained to mentor and support the parents as they develop the skills and supports necessary to care for their children independently. SFC can be used to prevent out-of-home placement, to provide a safe environment for the reunification of a family that has been separated, or to help parents consider other permanency options, including relinquishment of parental rights.
Alternatives to Foster Care
Court Improvement Training Academy (2018)
Outlines alternatives to foster care that can include in-home safety plans or services that reduce safety threats. One such program is shared family care with resource families.
Effective Parent-And-Child Fostering: An International Literature Review (PDF - 400 KB)
Luke & Sebba (2014)
Examines parent and child foster care, which is used to support vulnerable families in the community whose custody of their children is under threat and teenagers who become parents while already in care. The literature review aims to identify the current state of knowledge about what constitutes good parent and child fostering.
Resource Families Supporting Reunification (PDF - 161 KB)
American Bar Association (2017)
Explores foster families who made exceptional efforts to support reunification by building strong relationships with birth families. Page 8 of the report mentions the Shared Family Care model, which involves a birth family moving in with a resource family to shared housing. This alleviates poverty and supervision-based concerns while reducing birth parents' stress level so they can work to become more stable.
Strong Families (PDF - 465 KB)
Casey Family Programs (2017)
Reviews strategies being used to reunite families with substance use disorders, and one of those strategies is Shared Family Care. Shared Family Care involves the placement of a parent (usually the mother) and at least one child in the homes of community members who provide mentoring and support to help parenting youth obtain the skills and resources they need to achieve their goals.
Whole Family Foster Home
Nuevo Amanecer Latino Children's Services (2016)
Presents the Whole-Family Foster Home program, which was developed for the placement of teen parents and their child(ren) in homes to strengthen the parents while nurturing safety and independence.
Whole Family Foster Homes
Optimist Youth Homes & Family Services (2018)
Serves pregnant and parenting teens whose child is not a dependent of the court by providing a whole-family foster home to keep the teen parent with their child and out of the foster care system. The whole-family foster home and extra support services provided by the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services help to ensure that mother and child are safe and supported.
Whole-Family Foster Care
Kindred Family Focus (2018)
Offers intensive support and collaborative services for at-risk parents where the partner or county maintain custody of the children. Skilled foster parents work with families to teach parenting skills through modeling techniques, set examples, and provide education. The foster family also helps to improve the family's communication and relationship skills.