What if a child needs to be placed in out-of-home care?
At no time does FPS advocate keeping the child in a home in which safety cannot be maintained. Because the FPS practitioner is able to spend so much time with the client family, the practitioner learns a great deal about the family’s strengths as well as potentials for harm. In some cases, a placement is recommended as a result of this intensive assessment. But placement of the child is not considered a “failure” of the intervention or of the family when it is done to protect the child. In the case that a child is recommended for placement and the family has been receiving FPS, the family members are often more prepared to work toward reunification or toward another plan for the child. Also, the children as well as the adults who remain in the home after a child has been placed, benefit from the FPS services provided, which can prevent the placement of other children.
