I do understand the dilemma of having a child so dangerous that they cannot live in the family home without risking the lives of the other family members. I also understand that you don't want to 'give them to the state' because you know that they will become just one child among many on a social worker's caseload, where you can "manage" his/her case far better and ensure that doctors are reminded about negative reactions to certain meds, that IEPs address the child's current needs and look to the future, that staff knows there is someone watching so the chance of abuse is minimized. You also want to prevent future victims of your child, the ones that will be hurt if the state places your dangerous child into a home with other children. Just because you cannot provide 24/7 therapeutic support does not mean that you want to throw them away.
From experience, I know that only the 1% can afford the treatment these children need. At $150,000 and more per year, appropriate treatment facilities are an impossible stretch financially. (My daughter's treatment costs were over $1 million by the time she finished high school.)
I was told by one of our state workers...no one wants these 'million dollar babies' on their budget so everyone will drag their feet and push back at you, hoping some other agency cracks first. (The "suggestion" to move the mentally healthy children to relatives houses so the parents can focus 24/7 exclusively on the mentally ill child is not what is best for anyone but it does save money in their budgets.)
You can seek funding from several sources:
1. School district: Your local public school district is legally obligated to educate your disabled child until they turn 22. If they cannot maintain the child in a day school within a reasonable commute of your home, they will need to pay for residential treatment.
2. Insurance: Check with your insurance company, the very best sometimes cover a certain number of days.
3. Medicaid/SSI: If your income is low enough; or your child is 18; or they have already been placed for 90+ days at an RTC/RTF, they can qualify for SSI and a Medicaid card. This can cover some of the cost (not much, but some).
4. CHINS/State: Some states have a shared-custody type arrangement where you maintain your parental rights but the state has primary custody due to the CHILD'S ISSUES -- there is no finding of parental fault. You will be at the mercy of your caseworker if they want discharge and you do not think he/she is ready but since there is now an open court case, you can argue it before the judge.
5. ICG (Illinois only) and CADI waivers (Minnesota only): A very limited number of severely pyschotic children qualify for these state funded grants that covers residential care.
6. Post-Adoption Funding: If you adopted your child from foster care, contact your caseworker and ask for clinical level support for funding. This is not something the front line workers can generally access, you need to get up to the clinical level.
7. Sliding scale placements such as Mercy Home and Boys Town: Some RTCs have a sliding scale, although they often won't take actively psychotic children.
If you cannot access funding any other way and are forced to let the state take custody, unless they actually terminate your parental rights, you still have the right to access all medical and educational information and to speak with their staff, doctors, teachers and to speak with and visit your child (unless the court orders differently in your specific case). You may have to have appointments to visit but many (most?) states require weekly visitation to be allowed for parents whose children are in care, unless a JUDGE determines that those visits would be harmful to the child. If the state does take custody, be 100% sure to attend each and every court hearing and administrative case review. If you get a good case worker, the hope is that you can be a team to help your child get the treatment he/she needs to become as stable as possible.
From experience, I know that only the 1% can afford the treatment these children need. At $150,000 and more per year, appropriate treatment facilities are an impossible stretch financially. (My daughter's treatment costs were over $1 million by the time she finished high school.)
I was told by one of our state workers...no one wants these 'million dollar babies' on their budget so everyone will drag their feet and push back at you, hoping some other agency cracks first. (The "suggestion" to move the mentally healthy children to relatives houses so the parents can focus 24/7 exclusively on the mentally ill child is not what is best for anyone but it does save money in their budgets.)
You can seek funding from several sources:
1. School district: Your local public school district is legally obligated to educate your disabled child until they turn 22. If they cannot maintain the child in a day school within a reasonable commute of your home, they will need to pay for residential treatment.
2. Insurance: Check with your insurance company, the very best sometimes cover a certain number of days.
3. Medicaid/SSI: If your income is low enough; or your child is 18; or they have already been placed for 90+ days at an RTC/RTF, they can qualify for SSI and a Medicaid card. This can cover some of the cost (not much, but some).
4. CHINS/State: Some states have a shared-custody type arrangement where you maintain your parental rights but the state has primary custody due to the CHILD'S ISSUES -- there is no finding of parental fault. You will be at the mercy of your caseworker if they want discharge and you do not think he/she is ready but since there is now an open court case, you can argue it before the judge.
5. ICG (Illinois only) and CADI waivers (Minnesota only): A very limited number of severely pyschotic children qualify for these state funded grants that covers residential care.
6. Post-Adoption Funding: If you adopted your child from foster care, contact your caseworker and ask for clinical level support for funding. This is not something the front line workers can generally access, you need to get up to the clinical level.
7. Sliding scale placements such as Mercy Home and Boys Town: Some RTCs have a sliding scale, although they often won't take actively psychotic children.
If you cannot access funding any other way and are forced to let the state take custody, unless they actually terminate your parental rights, you still have the right to access all medical and educational information and to speak with their staff, doctors, teachers and to speak with and visit your child (unless the court orders differently in your specific case). You may have to have appointments to visit but many (most?) states require weekly visitation to be allowed for parents whose children are in care, unless a JUDGE determines that those visits would be harmful to the child. If the state does take custody, be 100% sure to attend each and every court hearing and administrative case review. If you get a good case worker, the hope is that you can be a team to help your child get the treatment he/she needs to become as stable as possible.
