Program Services
Treatment Foster Care Division
In the Maryland area services are provided to children and youth, ages 0 to 18. Case Managers and advocates work with a team of dedicated foster parents to address special needs of youth, while expanding support services to birth families.
Treatment Foster Care Division – MD
William Frazier
410-685-2525
Independent Living/Young Adult Initiative
Justine Roberts, Program Manager
410-685-2525
The Independent Living/Youth Adult’s Initiative transitions youth, ages 16-21, into independent living. The program provides young people with a choice of housing options, wrap-around services, educational and vocational services.
WELCOME TO THE MARTIN POLLAK PROJECT!
INTRODUCTION
The Martin Pollak Project, Inc., a not-for-profit organization, was established in 1980 by Mrs. Elizabeth Pollak of Annapolis to provide specialized care for difficult to place and emotionally disturbed youth. The Martin Pollak Project, Inc. is licensed by the Maryland Department of Human Resources and The Social Services Administration as a child placement agency for the care of minor children.
THE MARTIN POLLAK PROJECT PHILOSOPHY
This foster parent manual explains the basic policies and procedures necessary to become a licensed foster parent and function as responsible, caring parents. The Martin Pollak Project realizes that foster parents are the key in carrying out its goals and objectives. Our foster parents provide a substitute parental model and are dedicated to the welfare of our children.
MISSION STATEMENT
The Martin Pollak Project, Inc. is dedicated to enhancing the lives of families and children by building on their unique strengths and by developing community to help establish productive and fulfilling lives.
COMMUNITY CENTERED AND FAMILY BASED PROGRAMS
The Martin Pollak Project’s continuum of care embraces a broad range of services responding to the needs and challenges of our children.
TREATMENT FOSTER CARE
BALTIMORE MARYLAND
Treatment Foster Care is a community based program that provides a supportive family environment in which many children are helped toward achieving their unique potential. These children enter foster care with severe emotional and or developmental challenges, accompanied by behaviors that require individualized and specialized planning and treatment. The goal of treatment foster care is to prepare these children to enter society. Foster parents receive training in various areas and are assisted by a team of professionals to help them with the care and treatment of these children.
YOUNG ADULT’S INITIATIVE INDEPENDENT LIVING
This is a transitional program moving young adults between the ages of 16 to 21 out of the foster care system to independent living. These youth are provided with housing, crisis intervention, advocacy, health services and referrals for many other important services that may be needed.
HOW CAN I BECOME A MPP FOSTER PARENT?
FOSTER PARENT JOB DESCRIPTION
As a licensed foster parent with The Martin Pollak Project, your responsibilities would be those of a substitute parent. It is important that you establish a positive relationship with the child placed in your care, and encourage him or her to establish relationships with other members of your family. As a foster parent you are entrusted with the care and maintenance of all medical and dental appointments, keeping abreast of school work by attending PTA and teacher visits, provide transportation when needed, arrange for child care as warranted and teach basic hygiene and living skills. MPP will assist you in locating the necessary resources in your community that could be of value to you in the rearing and development of the child in your home. Finally, MPP strongly believes in reuniting the child with his or her biological family. We strongly encourage our foster parents, if possible, to schedule visits with the biological parents.
APPLICATION
If you are interested in becoming a Martin Pollak foster parent, please call the office of The Foster Parent Certification Unit at 410-685-2525 extension 1235 and request additional information about becoming a Martin Pollak Foster Parent. A packet of information will be forwarded to you. You will also receive an invitation to attend an eight hour pre-service training to “test the waters” so to speak, to see if you really want to be a foster parent.
If after attending the first session, you decide to become a foster parent, you will be invited back to attend two additional training sessions. During the second session you will be given an application and asked to pay a one time fee of $50.00 to assist in defraying the processing cost of fingerprinting and background checks. Along with the application you will receive a complete packet of forms that need to be completed for certification. These forms will be explained in detail and will need to be completed within two weeks and returned to MPP. It may take as long as three months before certification is granted.
CERTIFICATION PROCESS
To be completely certified as a Martin Pollak Project foster parent you will be required to complete all the forms given to you. Along with these forms each individual living in the home over the age of eighteen (18) must have a criminal background check performed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the State of Maryland.
When all the requirements have been met, you will be informed and will receive a license from The Martin Pollak Project, Inc. stating that you have fulfilled all the requirements of certification and will now have your home listed to receive children.
FOSTER PARENT AGREEMENT
Once you become a foster parent you are required to sign a Foster Parent Agreement. This agreement states that you have been informed about the child being placed in your home, his or her mental and physical health and any prescribed treatment the child may have. The Martin Pollak Project will also provide you with the history of the child that you, as the foster parent would need, to assist you in properly caring for this child.
NON-DISCRIMINATION POLICY
The Martin Pollak Project, Inc. provides the opportunity to become foster parents to all persons who apply regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, religious or political beliefs, age, sex, and marital status.
This policy of non-discrimination is applicable throughout the entire process from the submission of the initial application to the placement of the child in your home. The staff at Martin Pollak Project, Inc. is very mindful of this policy and does their very best to maintain it in a professional manner.
PRE-SERVICE TRAINING
Once you, as a prospective foster parent, have completed the first eight (8) hour pre-service training and have decided to become a Martin Pollak Project foster parent, it is necessary to attend two additional eight (8) hour trainings. These three trainings are known as pre-service training. You are asked to complete all three (3) trainings for certification.
CONTINUOUS TRAINING
Each year Martin Pollak offers you, our foster parents, many advanced courses to assist you with your parenting needs. These courses have been carefully selected to meet the needs of today’s parents and cover a wide range of subjects. We ask that you attend at least six classes a year and a special event to maintain your license as treatment foster parents. These classes are usually held on Thursday evening from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. You will receive a yearly schedule of all available classes and our special events.
It is the goal of the training unit to present interesting and relevant information that you can use to assist you in meeting the challenges of foster parenting.
MPP feels very strongly that these updated sessions are important and tract very carefully the attendance of their foster parents. Failure to take the prescribed amount of training each year may result in loosing your license to continue to parent a child.
CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES
Each individual applying to become a foster parent must acquire clearance from Child Protective Services. The prospective foster parent is asked to sign a Statement of Understanding. This document clearly states that the signer understands that MPP will not certify anyone who has a history of, is involved in, or have any charges pending in a child abuse or child neglect case.
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION
A physical examination is required of each person living in the foster home. This examination must be obtained every two years.
HOME INSPECTIONS
All individuals applying to become Martin Pollak foster parents will have their homes inspected by the health department, the fire department and a home study worker from Martin Pollak Project.
The home study worker will make three visits and will assess the home in terms of members in the household, sleeping arrangements, availability of resources such as schools, recreational facilities, churches and the financial status of the prospective parents. The home study worker will then discuss any concerns that you may have regarding becoming a foster parent.
ANNUAL RE-CERTIFICATION PROCESS
Each foster home will be assessed on an annual basis from the date of the original certification. At that time a home study worker will visit again to review the home. The worker will note any changes which may have occurred in the family makeup or living arrangements and will update all necessary information.
YEARLY EVALUATION
As part of the annual update the foster parents are evaluated by the case manager working with the child. This review is required by law. These evaluations are meant to be used as a constructive tool and to allow The Martin Pollak Project, to continue to provide quality care to our children.
FINANCIAL COMPENSATION
As a Martin Pollak Project foster parent you will receive a stipend for the care and support of the child in your home.
The compensation received is based on a daily rate. The daily rate for one child in the Treatment Foster Care Program is $45.29 per night. The check is made payable to the foster parent by the 10th of each month.
MPP TREATMENT PHILOSOPHY
ENRICHED STRUCTURAL FAMILY THERAPY
The Martin Pollak Project, Inc. is extremely proud of its therapeutic treatment
philosophy. The basic idea of the Enriched Structural Family Therapy is that the family is the basic unit or foundation in the development of the individual. Within this context, MPP believes that the most responsive and effective method for children and families in crisis is another family system. It is further believed that the primary task for the family is to create a nurturing environment for the fostering of deep positive feelings in all relationships.
MPP uses a team approach in serving children and families. As team members everyone is a stakeholder, responsible for the outcome of our children. Foster parents are team members, and as such, have a great deal of influence in the course of treatment and decision making. We see our foster parents working together in a spirit of cooperation and harmony maintaining good relationships with everyone involved.
Each foster parent is trained in parenting skills. This training begins with exploring the realistic expectations of the child. Through consultation and interaction with our professional staff, guidelines for treatment are established and initiated. As a result, foster parents must stay focused on the treatment goals of their child and take an active role in the treatment process interacting regularly with the professional team assigned to the case.
SUPERVISION OF CHILDREN
The Martin Pollak Project staff and foster parents are dedicated to providing quality service to our children. With this in mind, MPP would like to clarify what it considers an important part of the supervision given to the child placed in your care.
The child placed in your care must be supervised at all times. We have a team in place (foster parents, social workers, advocates, mentors, tutors, and others) that are all responsible for the care or treatment of the child in some way.
Therefore, when any member of the team transports a child that child may not be left alone in a car, or may not be dropped off at a foster home or any other place where there is no responsible adult.
A child is not to be left in cars when a team member or responsible adult is conducting business or shopping.
A child who is accompanied to an appointment must be escorted to the appointment unless determined otherwise by the treatment team.
Our team approach also emphasizes communication from one team member to another. Each member must be kept abreast of what is happening with the child. It is important to adhere to this policy.
FAMILY SUPPORT SYSTEM
All foster parents are required to identify a family support or back up person. This person should be someone that is dependable and reliable and able to help out with the child whenever the foster parent is not available. This individual will be available to supervise the child in an emergency in the home of the foster parent. At no time can the child stay overnight in the home of the family support person, unless the home of the family support person has been certified as a foster home by MPP or the Department of Social Services.
SUSPECTED CHILD ABUSE/NEGLECT
Martin Pollak Project takes very seriously any threats or suspicion of child abuse or child neglect. Suspicion is based on “reasonable course to believe” abuse or neglect has occurred.
To report suspected abuse or neglect, the foster parent should immediately contact the appropriate case worker at MPP. If the person suspected of abuse is within the foster home, the child will be removed from the home and the home will be temporary suspended.
An investigation of the allegations will be conducted. If the findings of the investigation clearly states that there has been neglect or abuse in the home, the home will be terminated from The Martin Pollak Project.
Under Maryland Law The Martin Pollak Project, Inc. reserves the right not to license a prospective foster parent or continue to utilize a current foster parent until satisfactory clearance has been obtained, or until all allegations of neglect or abuse are cleared.
ON CALL PROCEDURES
Martin Pollak Project has a 24 hour 7 days a week “On Call Service”. Staff from MPP can be contacted whenever there is an emergency concerning a child in your care that MPP should be aware of. To report an emergency and seek assistance the telephone numbers are:
MPP Baltimore Office
410-685-2525
1-800-590-1145
MD Treatment Foster Care
443-520-3000
Young Adult’s Initiative
443-520-9039
THANK YOU
Being a Martin Pollak Project, foster parent is a very rewarding experience. There are many children who need a loving, caring family environment like yours. We, at The Martin Pollak Project, truly appreciate you for opening your home and your heart to our children.
Again, you can reach our staff at 410-685-2525 extension 1235 to apply to become a foster parent or to simply request additional information.