Family for Everyone
In 2010, driven by our concern that teens and young adults were leaving our care without permanent families and experiencing poor outcomes, we developed an Intervention and Outcome Model focused on building families, skills, and community for our youth.
For older youth in foster care, the traditional approach has emphasized life skills to prepare for independence. Plummer does not give up on finding family for older youth. We know that life skills are best learned in partnership with caring adults, and that permanency is important to support young people transitioning to adulthood.
Plummer’s Intervention & Outcome model informs and guides our practice to rebuild families around youth in a safe, measurable way. Permanent family relationships are paramount among the many data points we measure and evaluate.
Focus Areas
Plummer’s Intervention & Outcome Model focuses on three areas. Our theory is that when young people have all three of these things, they are more likely to succeed as adults.
- Permanency: Every youth has a safe emotionally secure parenting relationship with a life-long, legal family.
- Preparedness: Every youth should have the skills and support to meet his or her physical, emotional, educational, and economic needs.
- Community: Every youth has a safe place to live, a sense of belonging and a chance to positively contribute to the community.
Our top priority is for the highest possible percentage of youth to discharge to a safe, stable, emotionally secure parenting relationship despite 100% of them entering our care without one.