The Institute of Professional Practive, Inc.

Enhanced Family Care


When a child with disabilities needs a comfortable home she or he can share with a caring and competent individual, couple or family, The Institute can make that happen. Using a model often referred to as “foster care,” we carefully match children, based on needs, interests, preferences and goals, with Enhanced Family Care Providers who wish to share their homes with individuals needing special kinds of support so they can live in the community. It takes great care and thoughtfulness to create a match between children with complicated medical and behavioral issues and the right home care providers able to meet those needs. Providers must have either the existing skills and values to support individuals with extraordinary challenges, or the potential, with training, to develop these skills.

Creating a successful match requires that The Institute:

  • Develop a comprehensive understanding of the child -- history, critical day-to-day needs and routine, likes and dislikes, and preferences for a living situation
  • Identify the skills and training a provider must have in order to be successful in supporting the child
  • Use our network of professional colleagues and creative recruitment strategies to find a group of potential top-notch home providers
  • Choose a provider from this group who has the skills, or can be trained, to provide essential supports
  • Help with introductions and the critical early transitional stages of building a trusting and comfortable relationship that will last

Sustaining that successful match involves:

  • Planning – to articulate clear goals and outline the steps to achieve those goals, including personal care, health maintenance, daily routines, enriching weekend and vacation activities, and strategies to handle a crisis
  • Monitoring progress – to help the child, home provider, and support team track progress toward the goals, and make course corrections as needed
  • Providing flexible, 24/7 staff response – to solve problems, no matter what they involve, or when and where they occur

 

“The IPPI coordinator was one of the best coordinators I’ve ever worked with because she was so involved in what this young woman and her home care provider needed. The IPPI nurse was also very involved, and the two of them worked really well together as a team to support this woman and her provider whenever assistance was needed --- way over and beyond 9 to 5.

-Megan Holmes, Case Manager, Moore Center Services, Inc.

 

For help in learning more about Enhanced Family Care Arrangements for children, which are typically funded by local school districts, local developmental disabilities agencies, private pay, or cost sharing, be in touch with:

In the greater Concord/Manchester area:
Michelle Cutting, Project Director
(603) 224-8085
In the greater Nashua area:
Brad Kent, Project Director
(603) 595-0511
In the greater Seacoast area:
Katie Kelly, Project Director
(603) 772-5991