Just like foster children need a real home to call their own, they also need a “medical home“ they can turn to for their health care: doctors who know them, their health history, and what’s going on with them physically and emotionally. That’s key, considering about half of kids entering foster care have a chronic (ongoing) physical or developmental condition.

Unfortunately, because of the changes foster children often face, their medical needs can sometimes go unnoticed, undiagnosed or unmet. That’s why at Nemours, we’ve teamed up with Delaware’s Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) to give kids in foster care a medical home.

Medical homes are doctors’ offices that focus on building relationships with their patients and offering care for their medical and psychological (mental health) needs. Our Foster Care Health Program takes responsibility for your foster child’s health needs. That might mean either arranging for their care at a different facility or providing the care ourselves.

Our Foster Care Health Program is located in the primary care and adolescent medicine practice at Nemours Children’s Hospital, Delaware. We provide health care to babies, children and teens. Our doctors can provide an initial health screening up to 72 hours after your foster child is placed in your care. You’ll get a summary of your child’s current health, including recommendations for follow-up visits and ongoing care. If your foster child already has a medical home, they can keep going there. And we can work with your child’s existing doctors to provide consultation services from specialists trained to address the unique health needs of children in foster care.

We offer a variety of services, including:

• visits to monitor your child’s health, growth and adjustment to foster care and visitation
• referrals, medication and medical equipment if needed
• support for both your child’s birth and foster families — to help you and your foster child deal with your feelings and adapt to the new situation
• referrals to any needed Nemours pediatric specialists for physical, emotional or developmental health concerns

For children in foster care, having a place to go with people they know can be very comforting. Kids in foster care benefit from the familiarity of a medical home. A medical home helps them build trust and feel comfortable with their providers. At Nemours, your foster child will meet with the same team of providers, who will work together to address all of your child’s health concerns.

Our foster child medical home also makes sure that:

• kids’ health care is coordinated on an ongoing basis
• any red flags (physical and emotional) are addressed as soon as possible, especially when they transition into and out of foster care, or are between home placements
• foster parents and schools are aware of any issues and advised about what to expect at every age and stage — and what might be cause for concern

At Nemours, our Foster Care Health Program is here to provide consistent care and stability for your foster child today and as they grow.