They say it takes a village to raise a child—and for children and teens in foster care, especially those experiencing emotional challenges or tough behaviors, that village can make all the difference. Therapeutic foster care provides these young people with the specialized support they need to heal and grow, but foster parents in these roles can face unique challenges. They shouldn’t have to do it alone.

That’s why KVC Kansas is building stronger support systems for foster parents and youth in foster care. This spring, we’re launching the Mockingbird Family™ Model in Kansas. This unique, community-driven approach creates a network of support to help foster parents and youth, especially those in therapeutic foster care, thrive together.

Learn more about what makes Mockingbird Family™ so impactful and how you can make a difference!

What is Therapeutic Foster Care?

Foster parents provide safe, nurturing homes for children and teens while their birth families work to overcome challenges. Therapeutic foster parents take this care further by supporting youth in foster care who face emotional challenges or struggle with difficult behaviors.

Therapeutic foster parents receive extra training and resources from their child placing agency (CPA) to help them build the skills needed to guide youth through healing from trauma, forming strong relationships and managing tough situations.

The key difference between traditional foster care and therapeutic foster care is the level of behaviors or needs the child or teen has.

Youth who benefit from therapeutic foster care may also have developmental disabilities, such as autism, or mental health diagnoses that traditional foster homes aren’t equipped to support. Some of the behaviors youth may display include running away, self-harming, property damage, aggression, or emotional outbursts like fits or tantrums.

As of August 2024, only 14 therapeutic foster homes in Kansas are providing this critical care—far fewer than needed to support all the youth who could benefit.  Kansas youth urgently need more therapeutic foster parents to ensure every child and teens gets the understanding and support they deserve.

Introducing the Mockingbird Family™ Model to Kansas 

KVC Kansas is proud to partner with The Mockingbird Society to bring the Mockingbird Family™ Model to Kansas. This innovative model creates a strong, supportive community with and around youth in foster care and their caregivers (foster parents, relatives, and non-relative kin such as coaches and teachers). It promotes a community-centered “it takes a village” approach.

“The Mockingbird Family™ Model essentially creates micro-communities within our existing communities, utilizing the strengths foster parents and caregivers already have to make a support system,” explains Jennifer Danford, KVC Kansas Mockingbird Family™ Supervisor.

As KVC implements this model, we’re relying on The Mockingbird Society’s proven success in organizing a group of caregivers and the children and teens in their care into a micro-community called a “Constellation.” Mockingbird Family Constellations are already thriving in diverse communities across Washington, California, New York, Oklahoma, and beyond, including international locations like Australia, Nova Scotia, The Netherlands, Japan, and the UK.

Constellations are led by an experienced foster parent or couple, called the “Hub Home.” The Hub Home plays a key role by providing essential support to both caregivers and youth within their Constellation. These supports include:

• Respite care
• Organizing activities like game nights or community outings
• Additional mentorship and support

Learn more about the Mockingbird Family™ Model as well as Hub Homes and Constellations in this video:

Why is the Mockingbird Family™ Model Ideal for Therapeutic Foster Care?

The Mockingbird Family™ Model is particularly impactful for therapeutic foster care, as these foster parents and caregivers dedicate themselves to supporting youth in foster care who face emotional challenges or struggle with difficult behaviors.

Foster parents and kinship caregivers providing therapeutic foster care play a crucial role in supporting youth through some of their toughest challenges. The Mockingbird Family™ Model helps these caregivers by providing the resources and support they need to guide youth in developing life-long skills. These skills empower youth to navigate any challenge life brings, making caregivers even more effective in their important role.

“To have another nine or ten families going through this with you can be super powerful,” says Danford. “It’s a really great solution to a challenging problem.”

Watch this video to see how the Mockingbird Family Model is changing lives for youth and families around the world.

How is KVC Kansas Using the Mockingbird Family™ Model?

Launching the first two Constellations this spring is only the beginning of how we envision Mockingbird Family™ transforming foster care in Kansas.

“Eventually we would like this to be the standard of care,” says Hedrick. “We would like every home to be part of a constellation, to have a micro-community of support.”

In addition to the Mockingbird Family™ Model increasing the capacity of all types of foster homes, we hope to:

• Reduce unnecessary foster care involvement
• Help families achieve more timely permanency
• Avoid residential and group home placements
• Give youth in foster care greater stability through community-based, familial settings.

Benefits of Mockingbird Family™ for Youth in Foster Care

KVC’s implementation of Mockingbird Family™ provides children and teens in foster care with a built-in community of peers and supportive adults.

“Youth who are a part of the Constellation have built relationships: they know one another and are friends,” said Hedrick. “They’re able to spend some time with other youth who have an idea of what their life has been like, and their caregivers benefit in the same way.”

Youth in foster care thrive with KVC’s implementation of the Mockingbird Family™ Model through:

• A stronger support system and sense of community
• Reduced chances of entering a group home or residential facility
• Consistent, culturally relevant care
• Fewer placements and placement disruptions
• A familiar, consistent respite care environment in the Hub Home
• More opportunities for siblings to stay connected
• Increased involvement of biological family, when safe and possible

We also created a new position to further support children and teens in the Constellation, known as the attendant care worker. This KVC team member focuses exclusively on the homes within the Constellation, providing additional services to youth in those homes based on their needs and goals.

Benefits of the Mockingbird Family™ Model for Foster Parents

Caregivers involved with KVC’s Mockingbird Family™ Constellations receive extra, specialized support and resources both through the Hub Home and from KVC professionals. We provide caregivers with the following benefits:

• Respite care in both planned and emergency situations
• Reduced burnout and stress
• Stronger connections and greater support
• Monthly meetings and social events within the Constellation
• Mentorship and support from both the Hub Home and the other satellite families
• 24/7 crisis support from the Hub Home and KVC staff
• A supportive team when communicating with biological families

The support caregivers experience through the Mockingbird Family™ Model goes beyond KVC and the Hub Home. Hedrick explains, “They’re able to use not just the Hub Home for support, but the other homes in the constellation for advice, too.” This peer support has proven to reduce the chances of foster parent and caregiver burnout!

Caregivers can work with their Hub Home to connect with our team for additional support. The Hub Home acts as the communication link between Constellation caregivers, youth, and the Mockingbird Family™ Liaison.

The liaison then provides homes with the support and resources they need. Since this liaison is directly connected to all of KVC’s departments, youth and caregivers get quicker answers to their questions and solutions to their challenges.

The Mockingbird Family™ Model and Communities

The positive impacts of Mockingbird Family™ extend far beyond foster parents, kinship caregivers and youth in foster care. Communities as a whole benefit! 

“If we can better support these youth in family-like settings and involve therapeutic foster homes in our Constellations, we can open up some resources for others within communities,” said Danford.

How You Can Get Involved

Curious to learn more about Mockingbird Family™ or want to get involved? Reach out to us now!

Current KVC Foster Parents

Want to be part of a future Mockingbird Family™ Constellation? Connect with your KVC family service coordinator today!

Become a KVC Foster Parent

If you’re not a foster parent yet, or if you’re with another Kansas child placing agency, don’t wait! Contact us now to learn how you can become a Kansas foster parent.

Community Organizations or Businesses

Part of a community organization or business who would like to learn more about foster parenting or KVC’s implementation of Mockingbird Family™? Reach out to Jennifer Danford, KVC Mockingbird Family™ Supervisor, at jdanford@kvc.org.