Initiative

Fostering Health North Carolina

Fostering Health NC (FHNC) is a project of the North Carolina Pediatric Society with a goal of helping to improve the health and well-being of children and youth in foster care. FHNC is guided by the American Academy of Pediatrics’ recommendations for children in foster care which includes comprehensive, whole-body healthcare. The FHNC team provides education and training to primary care medical homes, county Departments of Social Services, care management agencies, and others, and helps to connect these partners to identify barriers, collaborate and communicate, develop processes, and work towards solutions to help ensure children and youth in foster care have access to appropriate care.

Home Pathways Action Map Fostering Health North Carolina

Fast Facts

Relevant Actions Action 4.6
State or Local?

Local
Counties

Ashe, Bladen, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Carteret, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Franklin, Gaston, Granville, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Johnston, Jones, Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, Martin, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Pasquotank, Person, Pitt, Richmond, Robeson, Rockingham, Rowan, Rutherford, Sampson, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Wake, Warren, Watauga, Wilkes, Wilson
Lead Agency

NC Pediatric Society
Type of Agency

Non-profit
Community Voice
  • FHNC has a State Advisory Team and three smaller workgroups (Medication Workgroup; Private Agency Workgroup, and Transition Age Workgroup). The Advisory team and two of the three workgroups have members of the Child Welfare Family Advisory Council to provide input and expertise of lived experience and family voice.
  • Strong Able Youth Speaking Out, or SaySo, is active on our advisory team and Transition Age Workgroup.
  • We have recently hired a young person with lived experience as a Co-Chair for our Transition Age Workgroup. This helps us ensure we are receiving valuable information based on experience and expertise and providing reimbursement for that expertise.
Impact
  • FHNC continues to provide education and technical assistance at the local level to ensure those involved, such as pediatricians and family physicians, are aware of the standards of care for children and youth in foster care – this includes physical health as well as behavioral health, developmental health, and oral health.
  • FHNC provides training and support related to oversight and monitoring of psychotropic medications, the importance of care management for children in foster care, and the ongoing changes related to Medicaid transformation and how foster care is impacted.
Next Steps
  • FHNC will continue to provide support at the local level by bringing primary care providers/practices, local Departments of Social Services, care management agencies and others together to collaborate and ensure children/youth in foster care have access to and receive appropriate care.
  • FHNC’s Transition Age Workgroup will work towards developing resources and materials for transition age youth in foster care and those formerly in foster care as well as those working with them around topics related to health care. These include transitioning from pediatric care to adult care, navigating insurance/Medicaid when aging into adulthood, and education and support around the topic of advance directives and Healthcare Power of Attorney.
Primary Partners
  • Primary Care Providers/Practices
  • County Departments of Social Services
  • Care Management Agencies – Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) and Care Management for At-Risk Children (CMARC)
Primary Funders
  • North Carolina Division of Social Services
Contact

Christy Street

Active Counties