Walden's Special Health Care Needs (SHCN) Program was developed in 2002 to move medically fragile children out of skilled nursing facilities and hospitals into highly skilled and specially trained certified foster homes. This program also cares for children with technology-dependent conditions such as apnea monitors, nebulizers, oxygen, feeding tubes and other adaptive equipment. Other children in the program may include drug-exposed infants, juvenile diabetics, failure to thrive, premature infants or children with other life-threatening medical conditions. This unique program includes intensive training and support for professional foster parents willing to care for a child with special health care needs.

Often times, medical conditions are why some children came into foster care in the first place, when the birth parents either by choice or circumstance were not able to care for the child. It is not easy caring for a child with special needs, so at Walden, we provide the staff support and professional services each family needs to give a child a loving home. We also work with the family to make any safety or access adjustments that need to be made to the home prior to any placement. It is our goal that these children should grow up in a home where they can have the fullest range possible of normal childhood experiences, enjoy life in a family, and ultimately maximize their level of independence in their adult lives.

Our specialized treatment team, who work very closely with our medically fragile population consists of: Walden Social Workers, Skills Trainers, Psychiatrist, Behavioral Consultants; in addition to Regional Center Support.