Tyra is a humorous and insightful young girl. At the age of 15, she entered the CFC program due to her challenging behaviors in school and at home. When Tyra was very young, she had witnessed domestic violence between her mother and step-father... and the experience altered the way she processed her emotions. Instead of appropriately communicating with her peers, teachers and her father, Tyra acted out verbally and physically. CFC became a necessary placement for Tyra when her father was no longer able to meet her mental health needs.

When Tryra was placed in a CFC foster home, her plan was geared around helping her learn how to appropriately express herself, as well as helping her acquire better coping skills for when she felt overwhelmed or upset. Tyra’s dad, one of her strongest supporters, remained committed to helping his daughter improve in hopes that she could transition back home with him. While in care, Tyra met with a counselor at school and spent a lot of time working on managing her anger and learning stop and think techniques with her In-Home Support Counselors (IHC). With a lot of hard work, Tyra was able to understand her triggers and what to do when she felt herself becoming emotional. Tyra went from not being able to sit in a classroom for longer than 15 minutes without incident to going five days in a row without incident. Instead of spending most of her school days in the principal’s office, Tyra was spending time in the classroom actually learning!

The CFC program provided Tyra with a lot of consistency, helping her to establish healthy routines and teaching her to voice her needs. Since Tyra maintained a close relationship with her father while in care, when it came time for her to graduate from CFC she was able to return home with the additional support of the Family Care Network’s Wraparound services. Tyra and her dad are now enjoying a fresh start, and a bond that they know will survive whatever may come their way.

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*names and photos of clients are ficticious to protect their identity