The Laraway Substitute Care program is licensed by the Department for Children and Families as a child-placing agency. This allows Laraway to recruit, approve, train and support our own foster homes for children who are in the custody of the State of Vermont.

There are approximately 25 male and female youth and children in the Substitute Care Program who range in ages from 8--18. Most, if not all, have been victims of intense psychological trauma that includes suvire neglect and physical and sexual abuse which has resulted in a long list of socially inappropriate coping skills. As a result their unique talents and gifts are often overshadowed by their acting out behaviors. They carry diagnoses such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Reactive Attachment Disorder. Their histories are marked by inconsistent parenting, numerous short-term placements and even
residential care facilities.

The Substitute Care Program is rooted in the belief that when children are surrounded by caring adults who ensure their safety and who seek to develop their hidden potential, those children can grow to trust and to once again hope for a future free from their abusive pasts. Laraway provides case managers, mentors, foster parents, respite providers, individual and group and family therapists who work as a team to assist the youth in regaining a sense of self by developing strategies to address each youth's specific treatment needs.

We chose the name Substitute Care for out foster care program because we can never truly replace a youth's family of origin. We see ourselves as a point along a young person’s journey, but not the final destination. It is the goal of our Substitute Care program to return kids to their homes, to their home community or to a community they can call home.

You can contact us via email for more information about our Substitute Care Program: subcare@laraway.org