Building Capacity in Military-Connected Schools

Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC)

http://www.colorado.edu/cspv/blueprints/modelprograms.html
http://www.mtfc.com/

Goals: To provide a positive and supportive family environment for juvenile offenders as an alternative to incarceration and hospitalization. Also for the youth to develop good relationships with the family and to begin better habits and behaviors.

Target Outcomes: A better adjusted youth who will not return to violence, crime or substance abuse and who has better relationships with their family and peers.

Populations: Teens with a history of chronic or severe criminal behavior at a high risk of incarceration. A family in the community that agrees to take on youth, caseworkers, biological family of youth and other officers connect to the youth.

Problem: Juvenile offenders need a better way to be rehabilitated than going to prison, this program aims to create a more comprehensive and multifaceted program for these adolescents.

Intervention:

• Foster parents are trained to provide a therapeutic environment for teens
  
  • parents attend weekly meeting and receive daily phone calls for support
• Teens biological family receives counseling with teen
  • goal is that teens can return home again later
• Coordination
  • frequent contact is maintained between teens case worker, family, teachers, parole officer, and other concerned adults

Resources: $2691 per month per youth and the average length of stay is seven months.

Results:

• Spent 60% fewer days incarcerated at12 month follow up
• Fewer subsequent arrests
• Ran away from program 3 times less
• Less hard drug use in follow up period
• Quicker community placement from more restrictive places like hospital or detention