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One of the primary goals of the Family First Prevention Services Act is to prevent children from going into care by providing them with evidence-based treatment options that have proven to be effective in reducing risk and increasing family stability. According to the Title IV-E Prevention Services Clearing House (https://preventionservices.abtsites.com), your State plan has been submitted and accepted. That means that you are likely considering which of the 12 designated Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) fits your state system. When considering programs, it is crucial to think about which models are comprehensive and meet the needs of families in your state. It is also critical to ensure that the chosen EBP Training Organization has systematic, cost-effective, and sustainable training programs with excellent implementation services to ensure successful practice. The most recently updated IV-E website lists FFT Partners, LLC (FFT Partners) as one of the training organizations that provide agencies FFT training, implementation support, and certification. 

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is one of the well-supported programs on the IV-E list and one of the most established EBPs in the Justice, Child Welfare, Mental Health, and Foster Care systems. There are a number of unique advantages to using FFT. The FFT model works with a range of ages from birth to young adulthood. FFT is family-focused addressing the functioning of the entire family in a way that builds post-treatment self-sufficiency. One of the primary goals of FFT is its focus on the engagement of families into the treatment process thus reducing drop out. The FFT model is both highly structured and flexible to meet the needs of a wide variety of families. The foundational research supporting FFT has found it to be effective in a wide range of cultural, ethnic, and racial groups. The model integrates case management activities into treatment making each encounter with families purposeful, helpful, and therapeutic. 

FFT Partners and its team members have been delivering FFT training, implementation, and certification services both nationally and internationally for more than 20 years. FFT Partners is led by Thomas Sexton, Ph. D, ABPP one of the model developers and primary authors of FFT in professional literature.

If you are considering FFT, our training program has several unique advantages you may wish to consider in choosing a training partner.

  • Our team has a well-established implementation approach for small organizations to the more extensive state systems. Our approach is guided by the most current implementation science and is aimed at the long-term sustainability of teams.
  • We take a collaborative approach—working with organizations and state systems by adjusting and adapting to fit the unique context rather than dictating and telling systems how to work.
  • Our training is cost-effective and mostly online. We utilize an online learning system to teach the knowledge of FFT, and onsite (online) guided-supervision of each therapist working with families to help move theory into practice. This approach cuts travel costs, is oriented to adult learners, and allows easy access to training without a wait. Replacing therapists who drop out within the first year is free, and replacements can begin within days to decrease any disruption in services.
  • We have a comprehensive measurement system of family functioning, youth behavior, mental health symptoms, caregiver strain, trauma, and substance use that assist in comprehensive case planning.
  • We use a unique HIPAA compliant, web-based measurement feedback system to maximize implementation, improve clinical decision making, and to provide the family voice in each treatment decision. Our system serves as a comprehensive evaluation system with data available to you in real-time for program evaluation and system compliance.
  • We use a set of transparent key performance indicators (KPI’s) to systematically measure the functioning of teams and the fidelity of the clinicians. Those KPIs serve as the foundation of our quarterly administrative meetings and provide community or state systems with a way of judging the progress of the team.
  • Our consultants are long time FFT therapists who continue to see cases, ensuring they have the practical knowledge to guide therapists in their learning journey.

If you are interested in quality and cost-effective FFT training and implementation services, we would be happy to meet with you via webinar to provide additional information, discuss potential projects, and answer any questions you may have. 

 

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Thomas Sexton – tom@functionalfamilytherapy.com

Pete Ranalli, Managing Partner - pete@functionalfamilytherapy.com

Visit us on the web at: www.functionalfamilytherapy.com

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