Functional Family Therapy in Foster Care: A Different Way Forward

The foster care system is one of the most complex service environments we work in—emotionally charged, time-pressured, and shaped by multiple systems, all trying to do the right thing for young people. Yet despite best intentions, instability, placement disruptions, and delayed permanency persist as challenges.

Functional Family Therapy (FFT) in Foster Care offers a distinct approach. Unlike models that focus narrowly on the youth or a single placement, FFT in Foster Care is intentionally family-centered and relational. It works with the youth and the adults who matter most in their lives—foster parents, biological parents, and permanency caregivers—to deliver an evidence-based family therapy intervention tailored to real-world foster care contexts.

What Makes FFT in Foster Care Unique?

FFT in Foster Care adapts a well-established, evidence-based treatment model to meet the realities of child welfare. Its core goals are clear and aligned with what systems prioritize most:

• Improving placement stability by strengthening relationships and reducing conflict

• Supporting safe, timely permanency—whether through reunification, adoption, or guardianship

• Promoting youth well-being and mental health through family-based interventions rather than individual treatment alone

A defining feature of FFT in Foster Care is that work with biological or permanency families begins early, even while a youth is placed in a foster home. This parallel process helps stabilize the current placement and prepare for long-term family connections—reducing disruptions and supporting smoother transitions.

Common Factors That Lead to Placement Disruptions

Placement disruptions rarely stem from a single issue. More often, they result from a combination of stressors affecting youth, caregivers, and the broader system.

Caregiver Stress and Support Gaps

Foster parents are asked to meet complex needs, often with limited preparation or ongoing support. Without timely intervention, stress can escalate into frustration, conflict, or withdrawal—putting placements at risk.

Trauma-Related Youth Behaviors

Children in foster care may exhibit behaviors shaped by trauma, loss, and disrupted attachments. When these behaviors are misunderstood or unsupported, they can strain relationships within the foster home.

Communication Breakdowns

Misalignment between foster parents, biological families, caseworkers, and service providers can create confusion, mistrust, and unmet expectations. Poor communication often compounds existing challenges.

Lack of Family-Centered Interventions

Many interventions focus on the child alone, overlooking the family system surrounding them. Without addressing relationship dynamics and caregiver-youth interactions, underlying issues remain unresolved.

Why Family-Based Intervention Matters in Foster Care

Youth in foster care face deeply relational challenges: loss, trauma, disrupted attachments, and shifting family roles. FFT directly addresses these realities by focusing on how families function, communicate, and support one another—providing practical, structured, and flexible strategies that therapists can tailor to each family’s needs.

This approach doesn’t add another program to an already crowded system. Instead, it provides a coherent clinical framework that aligns with child welfare goals and supports ongoing learning through data, family voice, and continuous quality improvement.

Join the Conversation

If you work in foster care, child welfare, behavioral health, or system leadership—and you’re interested in approaches that improve stability, speed permanency, and strengthen family connections—we invite you to join us for an upcoming webinar with the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Come learn about a different way of working—one that keeps families at the center and helps young people move toward stability, well-being, and lasting connections.

Functional Family Therapy in Foster Care
February 25, 2026
1:00–2:00 p.m. ET

This session brings together foster care leaders and behavioral health providers to examine implementation strategies, lessons learned, and outcomes that matter for children and families.

Register Here