Pinwheels displayed outside the Eau Claire County Human Services Department represent the number of local kids in out-of-home foster care.

On any given month, the Eau Claire County Department of Human Services (DHS) supports roughly 100 kids who are in out-of-home foster care.

For the past year, the local DHS’s family services division has organized an innovative program aimed to bring kids – who have been placed outside of the community and even states away for their care – back to their community. That initiative is called the High Acuity Foster Home program.

While foster care systems vary by state, in Wisconsin, foster homes and facilities can be managed at the county level; nonprofit or for-profit agencies which have statewide networks and treatment-level foster homes; and when there aren’t facilities or homes within the state, there are avenues to send a child to an out-of-state facility.

Each child's situation (both in the foster care system as well as personal wellbeing) is distinct from any other, though those experiencing bigger behaviors and coping mechanisms (i.e. physical aggression, self harm, selective mutism, etc.) require an increased level of care.

In the Eau Claire area, this access to care is scarce and dwindles further once kids reach their teenage years; they are often sent hours or states away to receive it. The High Acuity Foster Home program aims to change that.

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DATA SUGGESTS KIDS DO BETTER IN THE COMMUNITY. KIDS DO BETTER WITH LOVING AND SUPPORTIVE CONNECTIONS.

We have really poor outcomes (with) kids in facilities.

nicholas stabenow-schneider

family services manager at eau claire dhs, on the need for and benefit of the high acuity foster home program

“Our hope and our vision is (to bring) our older kids that are in out-of-home care – either in group homes, residential treatment facilities or statewide foster homes – back to the community and have them in a home environment as opposed to an institution,” Nicholas Stabenow-Schneider, a family services manager, explained.

“Some kids are states away. We have kids in Arkansas, in Louisiana, Tennessee,” Stabenow-Schneider added. “(They are there) because there’s a lack of facilities in Wisconsin.”

As of November, there are about 10-15 children from the Eau Claire area in those out-of-state or statewide facilities — instead of close to home, here in the Chippewa Valley, Stabenow-Schneider said.

Stabenow-Schneider has worked in child welfare in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties for a decade. At times, he acknowledged, some situations can leave one feeling helpless. But each success story is more than enough fuel to do whatever he can, to help another child create their own success story.

“It’s not normal for a child to have a social worker,” he said. “And many of our children have social workers for years upon years upon years.”

Further, kids who are placed in homes – as opposed to treatment-level facilities – often see success at a faster pace than those who are in facilities.

DHS has always sought out additional foster families and caregivers. The High Acuity Foster Home program, too, is searching for caregivers – specifically those which would be able to offer 24/7 supervision and care to those children with more intense behaviors.

“We are, as a county, really leaning into what’s called TBRI, or Trust-Based Relational Intervention,” Stabenow-Schneider said. “It is a high focus on connecting, healing through connection, and data suggests kids do better in the community. Kids do better with loving and supportive connections. We have really poor outcomes (with) kids in facilities.

“Some of the kids do require a bit higher level of supervision, a higher level of responsiveness,” he explained. “We need to somebody who can be available 24/7 (to participate in the High Acuity Foster Home program). With that comes higher levels of expectations, training and availability in order to support the kid that could be in your home.”

"We have one placement right now where we're paying $40,000 per month to have that child in the facility, which is in Arkansas. $40,000 a month. We will actually save tax dollars with (the High Acuity Foster Home program)."

nicholas stabenow-schneider

ON THE POTENTIAL FINANCIAL BENEFITS OF BRINGING KIDS IN FOSTER CARE BACK TO WISCONSIN FOR IN-HOME CARE THROUGH THE HIGH ACUITY FOSTER HOME PROGRAM

Because of those requirements, the High Acuity Foster Home program now offers a monthly stipend of $4,000 to those caregivers who take part in the program. A potential caregiver may not have a child placed with them right away, but if they are part of the program, they will still receive that stipend in order to ensure that – if and when a child is in need – they can be placed right away.

The High Acuity Foster Home program could create more positive outcomes for local kids in need while also being financially beneficial for DHS – compared to the fees associated with treatment-level, statewide or out-of-state facilities.

“We have one placement right now where we’re paying $40,000 per month to have that child in the facility, which is in Arkansas. $40,000 a month,” Stabenow-Schneider emphasized. “We will actually save tax dollars with this program.”

To be able to ensure even one child sees a more positive outcome – which Stabenow-Schneider described as the reduction of kids' contact with law enforcement; harm reduction in terms of coping skills; an increased sense of belonging in their community; and ultimately, if and when they exit the system – are all motivators for the DHS teams.

The High Acuity Foster Home program is close to launching. Now, it needs local families and caregivers to step in and step up.

“We’ve already had success, and we can do better,” Stabenow-Schneider said. “Our High Acuity program is another step forward in creating more positive outcomes for these kids.”

If you are interested in learning more about participating in the Eau Claire County Department of Human Services’ new High Acuity Foster Home program, reach out directly to Nicholas Stabenow-Schneider via email at Nicholas.Stabenow-Schneider@eauclairecounty.gov.