Foster Care

The need

Foster care brings extraordinary strain—and extraordinary need.

Children and teens in foster care carry the weight of trauma, disrupted attachments, and constant change—while the systems built to support them are often stretched thin.

Over 330,000 children and teens in foster care face significant unmet unmet mental and behavioral health needs.
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Frequent placement changes disrupt therapeutic relationships right when when consistency matters most.

Foster and kinship caregivers manage trauma responses and behavioral crisis with little formal support.
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Guardianship and consent rules can delay care for kids who can't afford to wait.

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That's why we're here.

Built for foster care

With the right care team, therapy can be transformative.

Our diverse teletherapy team is licensed in youth and family behavioral and mental health, including cognitive talk therapy and medication management and psychiatry.

We built our model around the realities of foster care—placements change, caseworkers change, but a child's care team doesn't have to.

Immediate virtual access to trauma-informed pediatric and family therapy.

Continuity of care across placements and geographic moves.

Support for foster parents on attachment, regulation, and
behavioral strategies.

Measurement-based care to track outcomes and ensure progress.

Why partners trust Backpack

A model built for the realities of foster care.

Fast access to care

95% of patients begin care within 3 days of referral—reducing the delays that lead to crisis.

Trauma-informed therapy

Clinicians trained in trauma-informed, pediatric, and family behavioral health—including psychiatry and and medication management.

Continuity across placements

Care that stays with the child through placement changes, geographic moves, and caseworker transitions.

Support for caregivers

Guidance for foster and kinship parents on attachment, regulation, and day-to-day behavioral strategies.

Medicaid-focused expertise

Built to serve Medicaid-enrolled youth in care, with billing and eligibility handled for you.

Consent & guardianship navigation

Our care coordinators know that a DCFS Guardian—not a parent—often holds consent authority and works directly with caseworkers to move it forward quickly.

How a referral works

From referral to first session, without the runaround.

Referring a youth in care involves a few extra steps around consent—here's how the process moves from request to reporting.

Getting started

Step 1

Request an appointment

Online at hellobackpack.com/refer-a-patient, or call 866-968-6342 (avg. wait to speak to a rep, under 1 minute).

Step 2

Care coordinator outreach

100% outreach within 24 hours, 7 days a week—by SMS, phone, or email.

Step 3

Provider match & consent

We match the youth with the most suitable, culturally aligned provider and send consents ahead of intake.

When a child is still in DCFS care, the DCFS Guardian—not a parent—holds authority to consent to treatment. Our care coordinators confirm custody status up front and work directly with the assigned caseworker to route consent, so care isn't delayed by the wrong signature.

What happens next

Step 4

Intake

A comprehensive assessment with a backpack clinician covering strengths, needs, daily functioning, family history, and treatment goals.

Step 5

Treatment

An individualized plan with behavioral goals, therapy skills, home strategies, and psychiatric care if needed.

Step 6

Reporting

Monthly or quarterly reporting on engagement and outcomes, shared back with the referring partner.

By the numbers

Care that reaches kids where they are.

95%

of patients begin care within 3 days of referral.

Speed to care

90%

return for a second visit without extended scheduling delays.

Continuity

24 hrs

average time for care coordinator outreach after referral.

Responsiveness

330,000+

children and teens in foster care with unmet behavioral health needs.

Scope of need

250+

languages available to support diverse families and caregivers.

Languages

Therapy · Psychiatry
Family support

Whole-family behavioral health for the youth in care and the caregivers raising them.

Whole family

Who we partner with

We work with everyone holding a child's care together.

Backpack Healthcare partners with the caseworkers, agencies, and organizations coordinating care for youth in the foster system — so referrals move quickly, and no one navigates it alone.

DCFS & childwelfare caseworkers

Coordinating consent and care foryouth on their caseload.

Foster & kinship agencies

Placement agencies supporting caregivers and the children in their homes.

YouthCare &
Medicaid health plans

Network partners covering behavioral health for youth in care.

Courts, CASA &
guardians ad litem

Advocates and officers of the court are tracking a child's wellbeing.

Schools serving
youth in care

Counselors and staff supporting students navigating placement changes.

Group homes &
residential providers

On-site teams needing fast, reliable behavioral health support.

Not on this list?

If you're coordinating care for a youth in foster care, we want to talk. Tell us about your situation.

Let's get started

Let's make sure no child in care waits for support.

Backpack Healthcare is here to help caseworkers, agencies, and caregivers get youth in foster care into trauma-informed behavioral healthcare—quickly, and without the runaround.

Refer a foster youth

At a glance

Time to first appointment

3 days

Care coordinator outreach

24 hrs

Referrals & scheduling

866-968-6342

Ages served

4 and up

Languages supported

250+