Catchers in the Rye: Treatment Foster Parents as a System of Care

PROBLEM:  Similar to the children in J. D. Salinger's novel, The Catcher in the Rye , youth in foster care face the specter of “going over the cliff.” METHODS:  The empirical basis for “treatment foster care” is reviewed, concluding that treatment foster care is both a clinically and cost‐effective form of community‐based treatment.FINDINGS:  Treatment foster parents prevent the fall of foster youth into the chasm of school failure, involvement with juvenile justice, and dependent living as adults.CONCLUSION:  Treatment foster care is an evidence‐based approach that is less restrictive and offers troubled youth an opportunity to engage and grow within a family setting.