Shared Family Care: Child Protection and Family Preservation

Shared family care involves planned provision ofout-of-home care to parents and children so that the parent and host caregivers simultaneously care for the child and work toward independent in-home care by the parents. Characteristics of five types ofshared family care arrangements are described: (l) residential programs for children that also offer residence and treatment for their parents, (2) drug and alcohol treatment programs for adults that also offer treatment for children, (3) drug treatment programs for mothers and children, (4) residential programs for pregnant and parenting mothers, and (5) foster family homes that offer care ofparent and child. Opportunities for development ofmore shared family care arrangements are presented. Key Words: children; drug treatment; family preservation; foster care; residential treatment This nation's explicit public policy objectivefor child welfare services is to avoid the sepa-ration of mother and child unless such sepa