Treatment Foster Care is available to children and youth from birth through age 18 with emotional, behavioral, intellectual, developmental, or medical needs who can benefit from specialized help in a family setting. The stable environment provided by a PATH foster family and social worker allows children at-risk to avoid more restrictive and institutional types of settings.

Respite Foster Care provides temporary childcare to families needing a break from caring for their foster children or their own children. Respite care is provided by PATH foster families, and typically lasts from a few days to a few weeks.

Bridge Builders is an innovative program created by PATH to help teenagers who are about to “age out” of the foster care system.  The Bridge Builders program is youth directed, with an emphasis on self determination. The program addresses the psychological, emotional, and practical skills necessary for self sufficiency once a young person turns 18.

The Rural Expansion of Adoptive Communities and Homes (REACH) Project, a federally funded PATH initiative, helps families in rural Minnesota and North Dakota adopt children with special needs who are currently waiting in foster care. In collaboration with local, state and tribal agencies and through recruitment, education and support, REACH facilitates pre- and post-adoption services to prepare and sustain adoptive families. The REACH Project’s ultimate goal is to increase rural adoptions by 50 percent over the next five years.

In addition to PATH’s core services of treatment foster and respite foster care, each PATH state provides a variety of specialized programs and services specific to the needs of the local communities.