Therapeutic Foster Care

Since 1986, Therapeutic Foster Care, Kennedy Krieger’s therapeutic foster care, adoption and respite services program, has been offering a continuum of services for children with special needs who require temporary or permanent out-of-home placement.

Children who are placed in foster and adoptive homes through Kennedy Krieger have a history of, or are at risk for, institutional or hospital placement. Working in partnership with state and local child welfare agencies, Therapeutic Foster Care matches children with families who can offer them stability, love, and attention, until they can be returned to their families, adopted, or transitioned to independent living.

Kennedy Krieger is in an excellent position to provide these specialized services, because it has been helping children with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, emotional disabilities, learning disabilities, mental retardation and other developmental disorders for more than 70 years. Kennedy Krieger’s interdisciplinary, professional staff are experts in providing diagnosis, evaluation, treatment, and research of a vast range of cognitive, physical, and emotional conditions.

Funded primarily through the Maryland Social Services and Developmental Disabilities Administration, Therapeutic Foster Care serves more than 100 children each year.