Assistance Animals in Foster Care

There is controversy about using animals for therapy for mental illness. People are using animals to reduce stress and anxiety, and to help with social interactions. But when children are placed in foster care, their pets are often not considered. This means they may lose an important support system. Assistance animals are animals that help people with disabilities. There are three types: service animals, emotional support animals, and therapy animals. Service animals are trained to perform tasks for a person with a disability and can go anywhere with their owner. Emotional support animals provide comfort to someone with a disability and can live with their owner in housing. Therapy animals visit places like hospitals to help people, but they don’t live with one specific person.

Many children in foster care have mental health issues, and they have the right to get the help they need. When a child is placed in foster care, they get a mental health assessment to figure out what kind of help they need. The court can order them to get treatment if necessary. Many foster children take a lot of medicine for their mental health, and some even abuse it. A lot of the time, when kids are abused at home, the family pet is also abused. Having a pet can make a big difference in a child’s life, so it’s important to find foster homes that will also take in their pets. Pets can also help kids feel less stressed and be healthier overall. Animals can help people with mental health issues and trauma. They can provide comfort and support. Therapy animals, like dogs, can even help kids and people with disabilities testify in court. If someone in foster care has a disability, the foster care system has to make sure they can have a service or emotional support animal if they need one. The Fair Housing Act says that people with disabilities cannot be treated unfairly when it comes to renting or buying a home. This includes having a service animal, like a therapy dog, even if the place doesn’t allow pets. If a person with a disability needs the animal for emotional support, the housing provider has to let them have it, unless it causes big problems for the provider. If a doctor says the person needs the animal and it helps with their disability, then they should be allowed to have it in their home. Foster parents often have to pay for things their foster child needs that aren’t covered by Medicaid, like therapy animals. In Florida, the Department of Families has a system to help with these costs. It’s important for foster children to have access to therapy animals because they can help them feel better. This should be part of the child’s care plan and the local agencies should help cover the costs. It’s not fair to take away a child’s pet when they’re already going through a tough time. So therapy animals should be considered when deciding where a foster child will live. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) allows service animals to accompany people with disabilities in public places and housing. However, there are some exceptions, such as if the animal is out of control or not housebroken. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development also has specific guidelines for service animals in housing. Therapy dogs and certified facility dogs are different from service animals, and they have their own programs and purposes. In Florida, the Department of Children and Families is responsible for child welfare, and there are challenges in providing mental health services for children in foster care. This is a list of laws and resources related to the use of animals in child welfare and therapy. It includes Florida statutes, operating procedures for child welfare, research on the use of psychotropic medication for children in child welfare, and information on the link between violence to people and animals. It also discusses the benefits of human-animal interactions and the use of therapy dogs in courtrooms and housing for people with disabilities. This is a summary of a court case and some information about funding for mental health services for children in Florida. It also includes information about Matthew W. Dietz, who is a lawyer in Florida and works to protect the rights of people with disabilities. The article is from a section of the Florida Bar that focuses on animal law.

Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/assistance-animals-in-foster-care/