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"I can not imagine being an intensive Professional Parent at any other agency. I have been a licensed foster parent for five years and with Alexander Youth Network for two. I feel extremely supported, appreciated and understood. Alexander makes us feel special. Though the children are number one, we also care tremendously for one another. We are like a family. There are plenty of training opportunities, chances to network with one another, and an outstanding Foster Parent Association that helps us communicate with management. What more could you ask for in an agency?"

  -- Foster Parent Daryl Haywood

Alexander Youth Network licenses and manages over 100 foster care homes in Piedmont North Carolina as part of its extensive array of children's mental health services. The agency provides four types of foster care, including Therapeutic Homes, Intensive Therapeutic Foster Care, Specialized Foster Care, and Rapid Response Crisis Homes.

Alexander recruits stable adults over 21 to serve as foster parents and pays a monthly stipend to in-service foster families that ranges from a few hundred dollars a month up to about $1,500 for the most intensive therapeutic homes. The agency provides training and handles licensing by the State of North Carolina.

Information sessions are held monthly in Charlotte and Lenoir for those interested in learning more about becoming a foster parent. To register for a session, call these numbers for details:
Charlotte: 704.366.8712 or 704.944.6097
Lenoir: 828.757.9706.

Click here to download our Foster Parent Recruiting Brochure.
The brochure contains Frequently Asked Questions about foster parenting and the process for licensing.

Therapeutic Care Homes
Therapeutic foster care families are located in Piedmont and western North Carolina and are supervised from offices in Charlotte and Lenoir. Therapeutic Foster Care provides a highly supervised family living environment for children and adolescents who are emotionally disturbed. Therapeutic foster families are licensed by the state and fully screened, trained and supervised by Alexander staff to provide quality services in their homes. Families are supervised by professional foster care coordinators and receive ongoing in-service training. A foster care coordinator is on-call for crisis assistance and consultation around the clock. Foster family respite is available to help families take needed breaks.

Intensive Therapeutic Foster Care
Intensive Therapeutic Foster Care is offered exclusively by Alexander Youth Network and bundles Therapeutic Foster Care treatment with other outpatient therapy and other treatment options such as community support or day treatment. Children in Intensive Therapeutic Foster Care have the most severe mental health issues and require services beyond traditional therapeutic foster care treatment.

Rapid Response Crisis Homes
Rapid Response Crisis Homes provides emergency care to children in the mental health system who need a temporary placement outside their normal home. Children can stay in a crisis home for up to 30 days while the child's treatment team works to ensure the child's treatment plan is best meeting the needs of the child and family. Foster families operating Rapid Response Crisis Homes are paid a stipend regardless of whether children are in placement in order to maintain space in the home. Currently Rapid Response Homes are offered in Mecklenburg County only.

Specialized Foster Care
Specialized Foster Care is traditional foster care for children who are able to live in a traditional family setting and have minor or not mental health issues. The program is flexible and can be individualized according to the child?s needs, enabling Alexander to serve both children needing longer-term specialized foster care and those in transition to other settings. All children served in the Specialized Foster Care service are in the legal custody of their local Department of Social Services. Specialized foster care is provided throughout the region.