Imagine!’s Innovations for Children Department has a
Foster Care Program that is a therapeutic child placement agency that specializes in working with special needs children and at-risk youth with difficult behavioral and emotional challenges.
Today, we’d like to highlight one couple whose efforts to assist some of our most vulnerable citizens by acting as foster providers serve as an inspiration to all of us at the Imagine! Foundation.
Bill and Susan Long have been therapeutic foster providers for more than 20 years. They have served more than 40 children, providing the best care imaginable. They currently care for two children with developmental disabilities and are committed to helping them live to their potential until they turn 21. They provide a safe environment where the children know what to expect, and know what is expected of them.
Bill and Susan believe in a team approach, and make every effort possible to ensure that therapists, caseworkers, behavioral interventionists, and biological parents are all on the same page in regard to the child’s care and services. This allows each child to feel safe, and ensures a consistent environment and approach to their needs.
Bill and Susan work diligently with the biological family, supporting efforts to reunify when applicable. This includes sharing interventions that work, and ensuring that they are kept in the loop with school issues, mental health issues, and behavioral issues. Bill and Susan communicate extensively with the child’s school to ensure a common understanding of each child’s needs, and advocate for additional services as needed. They attend all school meetings and are the first to advocate for continued services and special accommodations.
When Bill and Susan are considering bringing other children into their home, the needs and the safety of the current children always come first. They are happy to help more children, but they are also cognizant of how essential it is to have a good fit. While Bill and Susan have been doing this for 20 years, they consistently seek new information and attend all of the trainings offered to them. They are open to the ideas of others, and seek out the opinion of the behaviorist and other staff members.
Bill and Susan are active with the kids, taking them on several family vacations a year, and providing the extended family experience through their many children and grandchildren. In fact, Bill and Susan enlisted all three of their biological children into being foster parents for children with high needs, setting an amazing example of dedication and caring for others. Their skill at advocacy has also heightened awareness for children with disabilities.
Bill and Susan currently serve two very challenging youth, both of whom have a developmental disability and a mental health diagnosis. They provide a calm and consistent approach as they deal with self-injurious behaviors, hours of tantrums, and aggressiveness on a daily basis. They love the kids, but they also see themselves as professionals and hold themselves to high expectations. They go out of their way to include the children in all activities that can help build their social skills and integrate them into the community. Most people would not volunteer to take these kids on a three week vacation in an RV, but they do! Every summer! And, the kids LOVE it.
