UIC faculty and staff present a composite case study, following this example patient through the process of the initial child welfare agency referral, psychiatric hospitalization, return to the residential treatment setting, and planning for transition to community living. The case study approach is intended to highlight common problems involved in the treatment of high-risk foster care youth, such as ineffective treatment approaches in residential treatment programs, lack of communication between the various caregivers, polypharmacy and precipitous medication changes, and lack of preparation for effective transition into community-based settings. The UIC group describes the clinical programs they have developed in collaboration with DCFS officials over the past decade to address these longstanding systemic issues.
At the end of this Practicum the participant has a greater understanding of the complex diagnostic and treatment issues regarding foster care youths with severe emotional and behavioral disturbances, the unique clinical interventions that can reduce the barriers to transition to the community, and the system change role played by a collaborative partnership involving a state child welfare agency and a university-based child and adolescent psychiatry program.
Institute for Juvenile Research
Sponsored by the AACAP Local Arrangements Committee