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 18,000 children and teens in Illinois foster care face significant unmet unmet mental and behavioral health needs.

Frequent placement changes disrupt therapeutic relationships right when when consistency matters most.

Foster and kinship caregivers manage trauma responses and behavioral crises with little formal support.

Guardianship and consent rules can delay care for kids who can least affordto wait.

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/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 YouthCare and Medicaid-enrolled youth in care, with billing and eligibility handled for you.

Consent & guardianship navigation

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