Medical Foster Care

Sometimes children with chronic medical conditions cannot be cared for in their family home. For these children, the Medical Foster Care (MFC) Program provides home-based care that allows a foster child with a chronic medical condition to grow and develop within a family setting outside of their own.

Medical foster parents are specially trained to provide personal care services for these children. One of this program's most important roles is to ultimately return the child to their birth family by training the family to care for their child's special medical needs.

The program offers many services to the children, their birth families, and to the medical foster parents. These services include:

• 24-hour call-in system for medical support;
• A team of healthcare providers that include a pediatrician, nurse, and social worker. This team coordinates care for the children with medical specialists, hospitals, equipment providers, therapists, health facilities, schools, foster care staff, and families; and
• For those children who cannot be returned to their birth families, assistance is provided to find loving and nurturing adoptive parents.

Once a child leaves medical foster care, MFC Program staff provides follow-up to make certain that the child continues to receive the services they need.

Eligibility in Medical Foster Care Program

• Medicaid eligible child or young adult (age 0-20)
• Child or young adult who is in the custody of the Department of Children and Families
• Child or young adult with a special health care need that can be cared for in a home setting

Children or young adults seeking care from MFC must provide written consent from a parent, guardian, legal custodian, or court.

Children who are served by MFC will also be referred to the Children's Multidisciplinary Assessment Team for recommendations.

Contact Information

For more information about the MFC Program or how to become an MFC parent, contact your local CMS Area Office.

Related Links

• The Florida Department of Children and Families
• Agency for Health Care Administration
• Agency for Persons with Disabilities - APD