SPECIAL REPORT: By Stephen Naysmith, Social Affairs Correspondent

At 15, Dan is a teenage tearaway, who skips school and is believed to be dabbling in drugs. He's also on medication for depression following the death of his mother. He communicates - if at all - mainly through violence and aggression.

Katie, who is 14, has a history of sexual abuse and has trouble sleeping. She cuts herself when she feels overwhelmed and doctors believe she is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, due to the abuse and regularly witnessing assaults on her mother by a partner. Like Dan, she has a history of anti-social behaviour.

Also like Dan, Katie has been in local authority care in Glasgow for several years but placements have broken down because foster families or children's homes have been unable to cope with her. Dan and Katie are just too extreme for most families.

The options have almost run out for them. Unable to return home to their biological parents and unable to live in local authority care, they are probably headed for secure accommodation.

Until now that is, because the state wants to create a new cadre of "super" foster parents: ordinary people in the Glasgow area, who want to help some of the most damaged and vulnerable children in society, are being sought out to foster kids like Dan and Katie. In return they will receive an annual fee of £30,000, plus an allowance for the young person's keep of £9000.

Glasgow City Council and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde will begin advertising this week for single people or couples willing to take on the challenge of fostering some of the city's most troubled youngsters. The initiative is Scotland's first Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) programme.

Those being sought don't need fostering experience, as they will be trained in key behavioural techniques and expected to work closely with NHS, social work and education staff to ensure the approach is consistent across the programme. The system is closely modelled on a ground-breaking technique pioneered in the US state of Oregon and proven to improve the otherwise dismal prospects faced by such troubled young people.

However, participants in the programme will not be accepted unless they (or at least one of a couple) is willing to give up work to dedicate time to the child. They will also not be suitable if they have their own children, as the potential for risk and disruption is too great.

Of those so far fostered under the programme south of the Border, 20% have a borderline learning disability, 40% have significant behavioural problems and 16.5% are on medication for depression, ADHD, sleeping problems or psychosis. Family violence is in the background of 80% of youngsters fostered under MTFC, and 12% have a diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder - an astonishing 60 times the rate in the general population.

There is a national shortage of foster carers, but Anne Ramsay, the lead social worker on the project and responsible for recruiting carers, believes the campaign will be successful. "We have traditionally had difficulty attracting foster carers to look after these kinds of children," she concedes. "But we are targeting particular people who don't want to become these young people's parents, but want to become a significant adult in their lives.

"It isn't so much people's experience we are looking for - it is their skills and personality. I don't think it will attract the same people as mainstream fostering. "

According to numerous studies, MTFC has cut criminal behaviour and incarceration rates, reduced mental health problems, stabilised young people's relationships and improved educational attainment. It also costs considerably less than secure care in Scotland, which costs £3500 to £5500 per child per week, while MTFC schemes in England have delivered better outcomes for as little as £2000-£3000 a week. "It's a win-win situation," says project director Dr John Marshall.

The team put in place around each young person will include a therapist, principal teacher, social worker and a skills trainer, while a family therapist will work solely with the child's biological parents.

Every aspect of a young person's life will be examined and a new structure put in place to reward progress and move them forward in small but significant steps, giving them a stability most will never have experienced before. "We find it hard to offer therapeutic support to a lot of young people who need it," Ramsay explains. "This is about getting them somewhere we can hold on to them long enough to stabilise them and gain a detailed picture of their lives."

The programme will be responsive to flashpoints, with professionals from health, education and social work on 24-hour call to provide back-up.

"A lot of people realise there are young people out there who are failing, and people do care," Ramsay adds. "We know some of the outcomes these young people would otherwise face after leaving care - they are over-represented in mental health issues, the prison and homeless population, and still have a lack of educational opportunities. But the evidence is that you can successfully foster teenagers."

Marshall believes this new squad of elite foster carers will be attracted by three things: the opportunity to be trained in an internationally recognised programme, the 24/7 support from a cross-disciplinary team and the fair allowance.

"The foster carers are key components of the therapeutic intervention, so it reflects their professional role," he says of the payments, which are more generous than the allowances offered to traditional foster carers in the city.

Initially only five young people aged 11 to 17 will be fostered, with that figure rising to 15 as the service develops. Placements will be for nine to 12 months, and after that the young people are expected to move back with biological parents or into a more permanent foster family.